MU women’s basketball putting new pieces together
A new era has dawned for the Marquette women's basketball team.
That was clear on Saturday as MU fans got their first look at this season's Golden Eagles during an open practice at the Al McGuire Center.
Head coach Megan Duffy has replaced Carolyn Kieger, now at Penn State. Six freshmen and a sophomore transfer have taken the place of last season's senior class, which won two Big East regular-season titles and a conference tournament in their four years.
"You've heard about the championship trophies and the rings," Duffy said. "We're going to continue to build on that and have a great sense of urgency."
Here are a few insights from Saturday:
Enthusiastic teacher
With that many new faces, this was a typical early season practice in that the action seemed a little chaotic at times.
That's OK to Duffy. She was often in the middle of the floor, directing traffic and enthusiastically making corrections. She's definitely a hands-on coach.
"These young ladies are working their tail ends off," Duffy said. "We don't have out-of-bounds this early in practice. So they're flying for loose balls, trying to take a charge, doing the extra little things that it takes to be a great team.
"Especially as a young team, you want that energy and balance every day. That's what we stand for."
Familiar names
Junior guard Selena Lott is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 7.1 points per game last season. Lott and senior sharpshooter Isabelle Spingola (5.2 ppg) will likely be the main cogs of the offense.
Spingola drew the biggest cheers from the crowd on Saturday by nailing back-to-back three-pointers at the start of 5-on-5 action.
But look for 6-foot-2 senior Altia Anderson to play a big role on a team without a lot of options inside.
Anderson got more playing time at the end of last season after Erika Davenport was lost with a knee injury in late February.
Anderson had some nice moments in the practice, including a nifty reverse layup. She also was a key facilitator on offense from the high post.
The super-talented Golden Eagles could run and gun on offense during the last few years under Kieger, but this team will likely have to work for its points.
Fresh faces
You can forgive MU fans for still trying to put faces to names of all the newcomers.
Several freshmen flashed their talent on Saturday. Camryn Taylor adds some size at 6-2 and showed some ruggedness inside. Taylor Valladay, who is wearing a bulky knee brace while working her way back from an injury in high school, has the ability to be a spark plug at point guard. Jordan King displayed some savvy, making several nice passes.
Different look
It is common for women's college teams to practice against a group of male students.
Kieger didn't do that, but Duffy held a tryout recently and has a handful of guys to simulate opposing offenses and defenses.