Isn’t the Internet great? You name it, you can find it there. You want to find out how to cook a mongoose, there’s a website. You want to go on a diet to lose 50lbs while eating everything in sight, it’s there. You want to find a long-lost girlfriend and there are 20 sites that are more than willing to help you out. You want to do a little bit of background for an article on the University of Dayton’s women’s basketball team and you look and you look and you look. I went everywhere. I went to ESPN, CBS Sportsline, CNN/SI, The Sporting News, and every other site under the sun. I checked Yahoo, NBCi and NorthernLight. Nothing, nothing, and more nothing.I had to ask myself the question, “Why?” Do they not work as hard? Do they not practice as much? Do they not lift as many weights? If you had asked me this one year ago, I would have probably said that they didn’t. But last spring my view of women’s basketball changed significantly.

I hired an intern who planned on attending a Division II school in the fall on a basketball scholarship. Now remember, this was in the spring and not the middle of the basketball season. She would go to school until about 12:30pm, get in her car, drive for about 30 minutes and work here until 5:00pm. After that, she would do one of three things: go to a second job, go back to school and lift weights, or go to a local gym and pay $5.00 to practice for 2-3 hours with her AAU team. She’d then go home and do her homework. This happened Monday through Friday. During the weekend, she would travel somewhere around the state to play in a AAU tournament. This went on for months. When the AAU season was over, it was back to a full regimen of weights and conditioning.But I haven’t answered the question about why I couldn’t get any information about UD womens basketball. I would guess that it’s because most men have little or no appreciation for women’s basketball. Do you remember those ESPN ads just before and during the WNBA playoffs? They showcased a couple of 30-something-year-old guys shooting hoops in the driveway — huffing and puffing. They’d then show some of the WNBAers and make the statement that “they are better than you are.” I’m sure most of you scoffed and asked the question, “who cares?”

There are people that care however and that legion is growing. To quote one of my favorite movies of all time, “Build it and they will come.” Have a good women’s basketball program and people will show up. When we held the NCAA Women’s Regional Tournament two years ago, UD had the largest attendance of any of the four locations and set a Midwest region attendance record for a host not showcasing the home team. It wasn’t too many years ago that the women actually outdrew the men at their respective Final Fours. Certainly that was because of the size of the arenas involved, but it does beg the question, “Are the women worth watching?”

If you enjoy the game of basketball verses the sport of basketball, the answer is an emphatic “Yes.” The women play a game that’s similar to what the men used to play. Take a look at the film of days gone by and you’ll find that the men didn’t jump out of the gym, and behold, actually knew how to pass and shoot the ball. Today’s men’s game has turned into a shoving match of Goliaths under the basket and a sprint and high jump competition for the outside players. The passing game has gone by the wayside. The outside shooting has dropped off so much that the 3-point line is only 19’ 9″ from the basket. Today’s better players should be able to hit that with ease, but we applaud someone that merely hits 1 out of 3 from that range.

The women’s basketball team at the University of Dayton is worth watching. They know how to pass, shoot, and run. They know how to work the ball for a good shot and they know how to play defense. We often get caught up in the men’s program because they helped put the University of Dayton on the map. We tend to forget that it was the women’s team that actually won a national championship 20 years ago.Although they never hit the depths that the men fell to in the early 90’s, the women’s program has struggled since the move to Division I. That struggle seems to be ending — and can only be seen in the rear view mirror. Ted Kissell was faced with a very important decision two and a half years ago when Clemette Haskins decided that it was time to move on. The program became stagnant. Few even knew or cared if the women won or lost. Kissell knew that we had the facilities and the right league to prosper, but he had to find the right person to lead us to that Promised Land.

When Kissell introduced Jaci Clark as the new head coach, many wondered why she made such a move. She was a top-notch talent that had recently been named WBCA District 4 Coach of the Year. She could have gone to a larger program that had tasted more recent success, but she just felt right about UD. It didn’t take long for her to make her presence felt. Clark guided Dayton to their first-ever A-10 tournament win in her first season. They then proceeded to take #9 Virginia Tech to triple overtime before losing 73-72. This was just the beginning, however.

Last year, the women started the season against the defending national champion Purdue Boilermakers. It took a buzzer beater to beat the women that day. That started a season that never saw the Flyers win more than three in a row or lose more than two in a row. With just a break or two, the season might have been more successful, but for the first time in many years the Flyers found themselves in post-season play. Battling the Florida Gators to the end, the women could hold their heads high after a hard fought 97-93 loss. They knew, however, that this was just the beginning and that the 2000-01 season would bring more opportunities for them to excel.

To do that, they will need to find a way to replace the multi-talented Christi Hester. Christi led the team in minutes, scoring, assists, blocks, and steals. Despite this loss and the loss of fellow senior, Janette Jaques, the Flyers look to be much improved. In addition to returning 10 players, two college transfers will bring both experience and height to an already tested team. This will be a well-balanced team that will push the ball when necessary and won’t be afraid to get their hands dirty on the defensive end of the court.Clark feels that it all starts on the defensive end. “We increased our pressure a good deal last year and we hope to increase that this year. You do have to have a half-court game, however. You can beat the bad teams with one dimension, but with the schedule that we have, we will have to be good at all phases of the game.”

Coach Clark is very pleased with the type of team that will be returning, a team of many looks and abilities. “We are very deep. We have the ability to give different looks. We need to prove that we can be consistent offensively. We are very sound defensively, we just need individuals to step up offensively. We relied a great deal on Christi last year. We cannot rely on one or two people offensively, it will be a tough year to get things going on a consistent basis if that is the case.”

With the continued development of the freshmen that saw significant time last year, this is a team that is poised for a run at the NCAA tournament. Five teams from the Atlantic-10 made it to the postseason — three to the NCAAs. Both division winners went in addition to the conference tournament champion. Schedule strength is very important to Coach Clark. “The conference is highly thought of because we are not afraid to play good teams and we have done very well against those teams. It is a very competitive conference.”

Player Profiles…

Marnina Sullivan, 5-7, Sophomore, G/F
Marnina gained some valuable experience last year while playing in 20 games. She shot 40% from the field and 50% from the free throw line. She will need to improve her ball handling this year if she expects to increase her playing time. Coach Clark: “She knows the game very well. She really has the ability to go to the basket.”

Victoria Jones, 5-3, Senior, G
Victoria played her high school ball at Dayton Patterson. She played in all but two games last season and brings with her the ability to bomb from long-range. Jones finished second in the country in shooting her freshman year but can also distribute the ball with the best. She made nearly 40% of her three pointers last year and gives Clark an important weapon off the bench. Coach Clark: “She has shown a great deal more confidence this year. She is very excited about her senior year.”

Chrissy Donovan, 5-10, Sophomore, G
Donovan is another sophomore that will bring some valuable experience to the floor after appearing in 26 games last year. An all-around athlete as witnessed by her 11 high school letters, Chrissy creates match-up problems, as most women guards are several inches shorter. She can go to the hoop, pop a three, or dish to an open player. Coach Clark: “She is a very good outside shooter. She has worked on her all-around game. She is a very smart player.”

Shannon McFadden, 5-6, Junior, G
McFadden started 17 games for the Flyers last season, but saw her playing time fade as the season wore on. Shannon will need to improve on her 29% shooting from the field last year to regain the starting point guard position that she lost. She has quick hands and will be an important contributor as the Flyers turn up the pressure this year. Coach Clark: “A total competitor. She has made the most of her gifts. She is the spark plug and fire behind us.”

Stefanie Miller, 5-5, Sophomore, G
Miller, a local product from Beavercreek HS, started 13 games last season while averaging 22 minutes/game. She was the best 3-point shooter on a team of good three-point shooters. She led the team with 37 threes while hitting on over 48%. She also made over 91% of her free throws. It’s obvious that Miller is someone that will see a good deal of court time, but she will have to reduce her team-leading 71 turnovers to be effective. Coach Clark: “She is a great floor leader with the ability to score. She needs to develop her confidence and step up this year. She really came on strong as the year went on. She needs to realize that her individual offense is going to be very important for us.”

Kristy Hineline, 6-1, Junior, C/F
Kristy, from Toronto, made the All-Canadian Team her senior year in high school. She originally signed with Bowling Green during Jaci Clark’s tenure, but only appeared in 13 games while coming off the bench two seasons ago. Hineline will be one of six players 6’ and over to form a strong front line combination. Having been able to practice with the team since her transfer, she should be an immediate help with the ability to run the floor well. Coach Clark: “She is extremely athletic with the ability to dominate. She will need to get back in the flow of things because she has been off the [competitive] floor for a year.”

RaeLynn McIntosh, 6-3, Senior, C/F
McIntosh started 21 games for the Flyers last year and led the team in rebounding. RaeLynn has the size to be a dominating player on the inside and will need to use that size to help move the Flyers to the next level. She was the top inside player in assists and was second on the team in blocks with 16. McIntosh led the team in both scoring and rebounding her sophomore season. Coach Clark: “She is a great leader and faces the basket very well. She is extremely excited about her senior year.”

Sarah Schloss, 6-0, Junior, F
Although she is 6’ tall, Schloss is more of an outside player at her forward position. She will need to improve on her three-point shooting as she only connected on 25% during the season and only 21% in conference play — a considerable drop-off from 33% as a freshman. Her playing time diminished as the season went on but she certainly has the talent to be a major contributor. Coach Clark: “She is very smooth. She makes it look like it is effortless for her. She has great ability, but she needs to show it over time. She needs to become more aggressive. We will be counting on her to score.”

Alena Martens, 5-10, Junior, G
Martens is quite possibly the best returning player from last year. She started 16 of the last 17 games and averaged over 24 minutes and 11+ points during that period. She was the only player on the team to shoot over 50% from the field, but does not have particularly good range. She is the type that moves well with and without the ball but will need to reduce her turnovers. Coach Clark: “She will be relied upon heavily as she is one of our most experienced and consistent players. She is a very hard worker and shows good leadership ability. She is going to show continued improvement in her game.”

Heather Haselman, 6-1, Sophomore, C
Haselman increased her playing time as the season wore on. She is a good shooter around the basket with a range up to 15 feet. She improved her shooting, rebounding, and TO/Assist ratio during the second half of the season. Haselman is a very physical player and should see the floor often in 2000-01. Coach Clark: “Great potential. She is very strong but at the same time has good control of her body and can be very fast as a post player. She has shown continual development with loads of potential.”

Mandy Winner, 6-2, Junior, F/C
Mandy is a transfer from Central Michigan and will be eligible to play at the end of the first semester. Winner came off the bench for Central last year, but still averaged 7 points per game in only 13 minutes of playing time. A good rebounder, she will be a great late-December addition. Coach Clark: “She has a great understanding of our system and should be able to really help us out when she becomes eligible.”

Cyndi Stull, 6-0, Sophomore, F
Stull only played 20 minutes per game but led the team in rebounds per game. She has the ability to be a big-time player now that she has moved into her sophomore season. Every part of her game improved as the season went on. Stull has the ability to dominate a game as witnessed by her high school highs of 41 points and 26 rebounds. Coach Clark: “She is a very strong player, a great rebounder. She has a real nose for the ball. She worked very hard this summer on her free throw shooting. She will find herself at the free throw line a lot and that should help her with her point production.”

The long-term question needs to be asked and that is: “Where is this program going?” There are several similarities between the mens and womens basketball teams. We saw a trip to the NCAA last year and flirting with the Top-25 on the men’s side. This year could be the breakout year for the women. Certainly, the loss of their best player will be difficult to overcome, but they seem poised to do just that. I asked Coach Clark about the Top-25 and if we had a chance to get there soon. “With the schedule that we have we can make it into the Top-25 if we play consistently. We have legitimate teams on our schedule. The rest is up to us, we can control were we are. I’m not concerned about being in the Top-25; I’m more concerned about getting ready for our conference. If we get into that Top-25 that’s great, but that is not as important as playing better as the season goes on. We will have to prove ourselves over a long period of time.”

One has to wonder how Dayton will respond to two teams in the Top-25. It is certainly something that will happen in the near future. Can women’s basketball at UD rival the men for attention? It is unlikely that there will be 13,000 screaming fans on a regular basis, but it is certainly possible that the women can improve enough to rival many of the men’s programs in the Atlantic-10 in home attendance. With all of the talk of the potential movement of teams from conference to conference, having two strong basketball programs can only bode well for the University. Ted Kissell made the right decision two years ago. It is now time for us fans to sit back and enjoy ourselves.