Women’s Basketball Prepped for 2012-13 Season

POCATELLO, Idaho – With the 2012-13 women's basketball season just around the corner, many are wondering if the Bengals have what it takes to repeat as the Big Sky Conference champion. Head coach and reining Big Sky Coach of the Year Seton Sobolewski believes it is definitely a task his team has the potential to achieve.
 
“I think we have what we need to compete for a Big Sky Championship,” Sobolewski said. “We have some good guards and good forwards. We can rebound the ball and we can really dig in and play defense when we need to. We don't have any glaring deficiencies and I think that gives us a chance to win a Big Sky Championship.”
 
Idaho State returns all but one of its starters from last season's championship squad. Sobolewski will look to senior guard Kaela Oakes, senior forward Ashleigh Vella and junior guard Lindsey Reed to lead his team offensively while junior forward Cydney Horton will play a pivotal role on defense as she was ISU's top rebounder and shot blocker last season.
 
Many other returners for Idaho State saw substantial playing time last season including junior guard Kara Jenkins, senior forward Jessa Jeppesen, sophomore guard Blaire Brady, junior guard Sheryl Bitter and senior forward Taylor Floyd.
 
“We have quite a few upperclassmen this season,” Sobolewski said. “We've got five seniors, a large group of juniors and a lot people with experience. We also have some really good young talent that we are developing but I think that large group of experienced players is really going to help us this year. This team has played in some tough games in tough environments so there isn't going to much this season that they haven't seen before. In Big Sky we will know what to expect when we hit the road to play at the Montana schools or what it's like to play at home in tough contests. I don't have to worry about wondering whether they will understand the magnitude of a game or not.”
 
While the team lost just one starter from last season, it is a starter not easily replaced as Chelsea Pickering was a major scoring threat for the Bengals last season. Sobolewski has spent most of the offseason answering the question of how he will find a replacement for such a pivotal player.
 
“I've been asked that question frequently and my answer every time is that it will be a collective effort,” Sobolewski said. “When I first got here people were asking how I would replace players like Natalie Doma and Andrea Lightfoot. You can't replace a Lightfoot or a Doma and you can't replace a Chelsea Pickering with one player. You have to do it collectively. Everyone has to do a little bit more and I think you're going to see a little bit more out of Vella, Lindsey, Kaela and everyone down the line.”
 
The Bengals welcome two new players to the team this year, Alissa Willard and Anna Lee Policicchio. Willard is a 5-11 junior guard from Roy, Utah who transferred from Western Wyoming Community College. Policicchio is a 6-2 freshman forward from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
 
“The role for Anna Lee and Alissa this year will be to learn and to figure out what the Division I intensity level is like. We want them to learn and to prepare for the future. You could see them play sooner rather than later but I think you'll see them spend a lot of time learning the ways of Division I ball.”
 
Here is a closer look at this season's ISU squad.
 
Point Guard
 
Three-year starting point guard Kaela Oakes highlights the returners at this position. Sophomore Blaire Brady and junior Sheryl Bitter also return to the team this year at the point guard position.
 
“Kaela is one of our team leaders,” Sobolewski said. “She is one of our lead scorers and best on-ball defenders. Blaire has really developed nicely this season in her perimeter shooting and ball handling while Sheryl has really become one of our best perimeter shooters.”
 
Wings
 
Junior guard Lindsey Reed is ISU's top returner at this position as she has been a starter there in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. Last year, Reed averaged 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
 
Reed is joined by fellow returning guards Kara Jenkins, a junior from Algona, Wash., who was a big playmaker for ISU last season, as well as sophomore Becca Schrimpsher, redshirt freshman Justine Joudrey and senior Abyee Maracigan.
 
“Lindsey is most likely going to be one of our leading scorers,” Sobolewski said. “She is athletic, hard-working and a player that can score in a bunch of different ways. Kara Jenkins is a smart, hard-working, blue collar player that can hit shots and knows what role to fill to help us win.
 
Junior Alissa Willard will look to add depth to the position.
 
Forwards
 
Seniors Ashleigh Vella, Jessa Jeppesen and junior Cydney Horton highlight the returners at this position. Horton averaged 6.9 rebounds per game and tallied 47 blocks throughout the season while Vella was one of ISU's top scorers and rebounders, averaging 11.2 points as well as 6.4 rebounds per game. Jeppesen shot 41.8 percent from the floor and averaged 5.6 points and five rebounds per game last season.
 
Vella, Jeppesen and Horton are joined by fellow returners, Taylor Floyd a senior from Topeka, Kansas and junior Jessica Jensen.
 
“Ashleigh Vella will be one of our top scorers, rebounders and defensive players at the forward position,” Sobolewski said. “We've also got Cydney Horton who is a great rebounder and great athlete who can score around the basket. Jessa is a lot like Cydney. She is a long athlete who is a great rebounder.”
 
Freshman Anna Lee Policicchio will be a new face for ISU at the position this season.
 
The Bengals open the 2012-13 season this Saturday, Nov. 3 with an exhibition game against Colorado State Pueblo at 12 p.m. in Reed Gym. ISU officially opens the season on the road against Kansas and Kansas State. The Bengals face Kansas State Friday, Nov. 9 at 4:30 p.m. and Kansas Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.