Inexperienced Women's hoops team starts 1-3

It's too early to say for sure and you wouldn't know it from their 1-3 record, but after the game against Wooster on Wednesday you can't help thinking that the team looks good.

They've been looking good from the start, with a win over Waynesburg 53-50 and a in close loss to LaRoche 79-74 in their opening tournament at Walsh. Only Hiram has been able to pull away from them this year in a 71-54 loss. And these are first-years?

Women's basketball this year started with the trauma of a 13 player defection to intramurals, many of those players citing coach Ann Gilbert as the reason. The only non-first years left on the team at the beginning of the year were senior Toah Nkromah and sophomore transfer Nicole James.

Six new first-years stepped in to fill the void, all of whom were called top recruits. And despite the fire and commitment shown by both players and Gilbert in the preseason, the overwhelming sensation was of a team teetering on the edge of another 2-22 season.

The Yeowomen will be outnumbered in every game they play this year by about 14 to eight, and they're looking at conference rivals that expect to pound them into the court. Does anyone else see an Oberlin sports trend this year? Gilbert, for one, does not, and she's pushing her team to believe.

"This year, ignorance is bliss," said Gilbert. "These freshmen think that they can beat anybody in this conference."

The game against Wooster showed some of the possibilities of a team that doesn't know what the odds are.

Oberlin quickly got into a seven-point hole in the first half and had to call a time-out. When they came back out onto the floor they chipped away at that lead until with four minutes left they took it away from Wooster on a lay-up by first-year Shakila Williams which was set up by classmate Ikeya Hillman.

Then on baskets from five different players, the Yeowomen built up a five point lead by the end the first half.

"Every player we have can shoot the basketball," said Gilbert.

That lead turned to eleven not long into the second half. But after that, the team began to show its age.

"We just made some young, freshman mistakes," said Hillman.

These included shooting the ball as if they were down by 11 instead of ahead, forcing plays, turning the ball over, and breaking down on defense. Wooster's Katie Montague almost single-handedly dismantled the Yeomen, scoring twenty points in the second half.

Montague and breakdowns were the story for the rest of the game, as Wooster built a double-digit lead in the last five minutes that Oberlin chased without much success. The game ended with a 13 point deficit in favor of Wooster.

This puts the team in a 1-3 hole, but the signs for the rest of the season are positive. The team is 20 points above last year's scoring average. Also last year, the Yeowomen averaged losses by 28 points. This year that number is seven.

Players are also stepping up to fill their potential. First-year center Monica Bush and forward-off-guard Hillman look particularly promising on the scoring end, as does first-year Chamia Peterson. Bush has scored 23, 18, and 19 points in the last three games (9 at Waynesburg, where she played only 18 minutes) and has been described by Gilbert as "one of the best post players in the league." Bush was named all-tournament at Walsh. On defense, Nicole James was cited as a key factor.

Of course, the reality is that every player is indispensable to Gilbert this year, due to sheer numbers as well as the arguments for their talent. She makes decisions on the starting team the day before games, a tactic she also uses as a motivational tool.

But perhaps most importantly for the state of women's basketball at Oberlin, on a team that is to some extent still in the shadow of the extremely negative player-coach relationship hinted at by the resignation of 13 of last year's players, the players this year appear to be getting along with Gilbert.

"She's not just someone that I can see on the court, but off as well," said Hillman.

"She's a lot more positive than coaches I've had in the past," said Bush. "She's like the coach I would ask for."

Assistant Coach Blake New affirmed these positive attitudes about Gilbert. "Ann is always very open to my ideas," he said. "She's been really receptive."

Gilbert said about her team, "The players' goals this year are very much in line with my philosophy." The main emphasis of this, according to Gilbert, is the idea of family.

But Gilbert will also argue that she's no different than last year. "I am still a pretty demanding coach that rewards players who work hard."

The upcoming game against powerhouse Wittenberg this Saturday should be an important test of Gilbert's philosophies. Last year Oberlin was crunched 83-41 and 91-29. But Oberlin was also hammered by Wooster last year 77-40 and 94-35, and this past Wednesday's game can be seen as a milestone. The team is turning around, but it's going to take time.

"Right now," said New, "everybody's trying to find their role." New also commented that the team "already shows signs of being a strong unit."

How long it takes for the team to really gel is the big question in terms of wins, and possibly in distancing this year's season from the last.

Rising above the rest: First-year Shakila Williams shoots over Wooster's defense in Oberlin's home opener Wednesday. (photo by Whitney Smith)