Undefeated North Central having lots of fun
North Central women's basketball team is playing a fun brand of basketball, and its 7-0 record so far is the result.
"The kids play with so much freedom," Cardinals coach Michelle Roof said of her team. "They know that they have the green light, they push the ball. They love to get out and run and shoot and score and play basketball. Who wouldn't want to play that way?"
The style is fast. On offense they look to push whenever possible. Defensively, they bring pressure with a full court press, anchored by 6-foot-2 transfer Jamie Cuny (Naperville Central) on the back end. The combination of play can be dangerous, but in their seven wins the Cardinals have scored more than 100 points five times, something NBA teams often don't do.
In addition to Cuny in the post, Tess Godhardt has led the team as a versatile guard. While Roof insists on staying focused on each day, she said her team can compete with anyone.
Wheaton College:
From Day One the goals for the Thunder women's basketball team has been the same, a conference championship.
Wheaton is off to a hot start, 7-0 on the season, but the challenge has been there. Coach Kent Madsen said the Thunder scheduled a difficult nonconference schedule just to prepare his team for the CCIW. The Thunder has won games against typical NCAA Tournament teams like Hope College already.
The expectations are high for a reason. Wheaton only lost two players from last year's team and has returning starters Katie McDaniels and Ellie Zeller. Madsen said he has challenged everyone on his team to continue to improve and expects to use his deep, talented bench this season.
Benedictine:
Just a third of the way into its season and the Benedictine women's basketball team has already had a roller-coaster start. After dropping their first five games, the Eagles have turned around and started NACC play with three straight wins.
The slow start is partially due to all of the fresh faces wearing Benedictine uniforms. There are 10 freshman on the team, with six of them seeing regular playing time. Coach Kristen Gillespie said her team is coming out of its learning curve.
"We just couldn't figure out how to finish a game or play a full 40 minutes," Gillespie said. "I'm not a big fan of moral losses, but I do feel good going in to conference. I feel like we are pretty well prepared for anything anyone can throw at us here on out."
The wins have helped validate the team, Gillespie said. After being picked to finish fourth in their conference, the Eagles have already knocked off two teams picked ahead of them. Gillespie said her young team hasn't backed off its season goals. It is looking to compete in the NCAA Tournament this year, she said.