Hoops heat up winter cold

The women's lacrosse team is no longer alone. Oberlin has sprouted another winning team: women's basketball.

Two years ago, women's basketball struggled through fight after fight between players and the coach. The chemistry was volatile. The team finished with a dismal record of 1-21. After a schism developed between players and the coach, the season was finished.

Last year saw some major improvements, but still the team had its internal conflicts. They finished the season 6-16, but the record did not reflect how close many of the games were. "Last year we lost a lot of games by only a few points," sophomore Regina Respert said.

But this year the tide has changed. The women are tied for the best record in Oberlin women's basketball history and are ranked third in the conference. On a team with three first-years as starters and no seniors even dressing out, what any other school would call a building year has become this team's salvation.

"I don't think things are really that different," Coach Ann Gilbert said. "We were very competitive last year, but we didn't have the depth or the chemistry."

But when a team of 13 players has six first-years, where could this depth and chemistry have come from?

"Things came together pretty quickly. Any time you have a team of players who want to play and are smart it doesn't take long to gel," Respert said.

Gilbert said she introduces her players to the family concept of team play in the preseason. This value is taken seriously. When problems arise, they are resolved immediately, and Gilbert said this has been a really positive way of keeping conflicts from getting in the way of play.

First-year Raegan Johnson felt the team welcomed the new players from the beginning. Because there were so many talented first-years no one was singled out as a threat to the team. But even though the first-years have meshed with the rest of the team, their presence has caused some animosities among the team veterans.

"No position belongs to anybody. You have to earn it, but this has made for harder competition in practice," Gilbert said. "We've done a lot of talking to our talented upperclassmen who may feel like they're taking a back seat. We don't look at it like that."

Respert agreed. "A team is like a bowl of soup," she said. "The '96 group were the bowl and the water. My class was some of the vegetables, and this year was the meat. Next year will be the seasoning, but if you forget about the bowl and the water, you just have a mess."

So when did this team realize it was good?

"We realized it the first time we played Witt at home. We lost, but that's when it all started," Johnson said. She felt confident that if the team was mentally together, there was no reason the team couldn't win the conference this year. "Definitely next year," Johnson said.

Though the first-years have led on the court, no one has yet stepped up and become the vocal leader Gilbert thinks the team needs. "They are apprehensive about taking the lead," Gilbert speculated. "We need a verbal leader, but we don't have that yet. There is a lot of potential, though."

Despite the lack of a leader off the court, the team becomes a thriving organism on the court, and the right hand usually seems to know what the left hand is doing.

"I think when we're at our best we're more intense. We're more show boats. We get hyped. We get amped. When we're playing together, we're phenomenal," Johnson said.

"We definitely have the most athletic team in the conference. Our team possesses a style that is unique in the conference," Gilbert said.

This athleticism has emerged out of Gilbert's recruitment strategies. She said many of these players were just short of playing for division I schools. "They can do more with the basketball. That has made it possible in one year to make significant strides in the conference," Gilbert said.

"This will always be a special team. They will never ever be forgotten. No coach could ask for more than what I've been given this year," Gilbert said.

The team is in Georgia today and will play Spelman College Saturday.