They waited patiently for the call that never was to come. The NCAA field had been announced and it wouldn’t be too long before they would know their fate in the WNIT. The big question had to be, “I wonder who we get to play?” But after a short time, the question had to change to, “I wonder when they are going to call?” And finally, “How could they have left us out.”

In what was another step in Jaci Clark’s plan to become an annual NCAA Tournament participate, the Flyers improved their schedule and improved their record. Yet for some reason, their season ended when they lost to an Elite Eight Xavier team 80-71 in the A-10 Tournament Semi-Finals. Clark related,” It was certainly disappointing for the players in addition to being a big shock based on what had happened the year before.” It was a season that ended in disappointment but also gave an indication of what the future might bring. At 16-13, the women won more games than any team since 1990-91. The promise of continual improvement that began with the hiring of Clark after the 1997-98 season had been achieved with more to come.

It doesn’t matter if it is men’s or women’s basketball, you win with athleticism. There were a number of things missing during Clemette Haskins’ stay at UD, but

probably the most significant was the level of athlete necessary to compete against the upper echelon of Women’s College Basketball. There were several good players that attended UD during that period of time, but there was no real depth, at least not the depth that is currently present. When the starter sits down, there is no reason to believe that there will be a big drop-off in talent or execution. Because of that, the preseason has been filled with spirited competition for starting positions that will continue throughout the season.

This is a team that not only has size, but also the speed needed to be a contender for entrance into the NCAA Tournament. The Flyers will be exciting to watch as they attempt to create an up tempo scheme. The preseason has been directed with that in mind, “We are really making a conscious effort to push the ball. We have a lot of people that are capable on offense and we need for our offensive production to increase. We have been in the sixties and I’d like to get into the seventies. At the same time, our defense has been very stingy and we need to keep it that way. We will extend the floor with pressure”

This is a team that will play a schedule dotted with teams from the SEC, Big-10 and ACC (AP-No. 23 Maryland) and that doesn’t even include possibly the best team on the schedule, St. Mary’s who is found in most pre-season top-25’s. In addition, three teams from the A-10 made it to post season play that will return strong teams (AP-No. 20 George Washington) for the upcoming season. This is part of a plan that has been in place since Clark arrived, “The non-conference schedule is tough, but I am not scheduling with no success in mind. I am still expecting success from our team. It just makes us work harder for it. It makes the summer and all the work that we put in during preseason worth it. We need to hit the ground running. Our players want to be put in competitive situations. They want to play those types of teams.”

But not all is rosy in Flyer country. Even before the season started, the leading returning scorer and rebounder, Cyndi Stull, went down with a season ending injury. The ACL is healing nicely but it is highly unlikely that Cyndi will return this season. Although there are no positives to be taken from this injury, it at least happened months before the season started and the players and coaches had plenty of time to make whatever changes needed to be made in their planning for the season. When questioned about how Stull’s injury would affect the team, Jaci related, “It questions our depth in the post, but Kristy Hineline is coming off a fabulous summer and she is really going to look to dominate and assert herself. Heather Haselman has gone through a physical transformation and has really committed herself to getting into great shape. She has become much stronger and with that comes confidence. You can see in practice that she can really hold her own on the inside.”

Make no mistake about it, though; this would appear to be Stephanie Miller’s and Chrissy Donovan’s team. Miller is now the leading returning scorer on a team that will look at every opportunity to improve its offensive production. Miller also led the team in assists and steals. “Stephanie Miller has to be a factor for us from day one. She is our returning leader in scoring and has some of our best game experience.” Miller and Donovan team up to be one of the top three point shooting backcourts in the conference hitting 38% of their treys last season. “Chrissy Donovan really needs to assert herself and be there on a daily basis. She is very capable but has not been consistent. These two players really need to pick up their level. They need to realize when they have a good shot to take it and when not to take what for them would be a bad shot. It’s not just missing shots, it is recognizing when they have a good shot available and not to turn it down. Their middle ground needs to be at a higher level, which will in turn give them better games. They need to be assertive.”

Continuous improvement is one of those buzzword terms that swept the business world a handful of years ago. That same term can be applied to Jaci and the rest of the team, “We are in a great conference. We need to continue to be competitive to win that conference. We will be at that next level when we are in position to win the conference or be in the championship game of the tournament. We have not been there yet. We have made steps in that direction but the steps become smaller and much harder. When I first got here, we could take a step and it would be a giant step and it was a lot easier. Now as we get better and the competition gets stiffer at that spot we are trying to take over those steps are harder and harder. The next step will include getting into the NCAA Tournament. When we get there, then we can work on the next level.”

This is a team that has a good deal of upside potential. There is a good deal of depth at each position despite the knee injuries to both Stull and newcomer Angela Cape. Clark’s thoughts on the 2001-2002 Flyers:

Marnina Sullivan: 5-7 Guard, Junior-Point Guard. She pushes the ball really well. We will see a lot more of her this year.

Chrissy Donovan: 5-10 Guard, Junior-Great outside shooter. She needs to be assertive and look for more shot opportunities.

Shannon McFadden: 5-6 Guard, Senior-Great hustler, pushes the ball well on offense. Very good defender. A lot of energy.

Emily Williams: 5-10 Guard, Freshman–Great outside shooter, has big range. She comes from a good high school and AAU background. Plays well in big games.

Stefanie Miller: 5-5 Guard, Junior-Is the backbone, will play a lot at either the one or two. She needs to keep looking for her offence. Needs to keep us playing well as a team.

Sarah Allen: 6-0 Guard, Junior-Instant offense. Impact when she is eligible, December 16. She can really help us; she sees the floor very well.

Alena Martens: 5-10 Guard, Senior-She has been sick a good part of the preseason and will need to get back into her game. Very strong. We need her to be enthusiastic about her senior year. Drives well to the basket.

Leslie Burns: 6-1 Forward, Freshman-Very athletic, rebounds well, defends very well and can run the floor.

Sarah Schloss: 6-0 Forward, Senior-Must be an offensive threat. Needs to step up and be more consistent.

Cyndi Stull: 6-0 Forward, Junior-Recovering well on her rehab. Very unlikely that we would consider bringing her back this year. She was in awesome condition when she was injured which has helped her to come back strong. She will have two years left.

Kristy Hineline: 6-1 Forward/Center, Senior—Extremely athletic. Has to be a force for us inside. She needs to be consistent throughout the course of the game. Her inside game is dominant. She has the ability to step out and face the basket, but she needs to establish her inside game first.

Heather Haselman: 6-1 Center, Junior-Physically in great shape. She is a very skilled, graceful athlete for her size. I look for her to really help us out.

Mandy Winner: 6-2 Center/Forward, Senior-Depth in the post, good finisher. She understands the game.

Angela Cape: 6-3 Center, Freshman-Coming off an ACL injury, her status is still day-to-day. Possible red-shirt. Runs the floor well, has good skill and intelligence levels, just hasn’t had much of a chance to participate.

I asked Jaci to give me the Reader’s Digest version of the upcoming season and what needed to happen for the team, to be successful. “We are taking on an extremely ambitious schedule this year. We need to play well as a unit. People need to step up and be consistent. We need to make sure that things off the court do not get in the way of our common goal, everything else is secondary. I think our athletic ability and work ethic is very solid. Our size and physicality of our players is very good. We are working and maturing as a team.”

This is a pivotal year for the Flyers. They have shown the kind of improvement that would be expected when you bring in a coach with the track record of Jaci Clark. Although they did not lose much in the way of scoring through graduation, the loss of Cyndi Stull and her 11.2 ppg and 7.5 rpg will be missed. They still have a good deal of depth and should be able to improve upon last year’s record.

Even though she won’t admit it, Clark has been aiming toward next year since Dayton was given the NCAA Woman’s Regionals for the 2002-2003 Tournament. When they were here before, the Arena had more in attendance than any other location. Should the Flyers make it that far, it would be a watershed moment for the program. The Arena would likely be filled and people that didn’t even realize that there was a woman’s program would get to experience it in the most exciting manner possible. With this in mind, there has to be some urgency to getting us to the “next step.”

The Administration has given the program what it needs to get there. The Donoher Center is matched by none. The women will participate in the Paradise Jam inthe U.S. Virgin Islands this year. Recruiting is not limited to the tri-state area. All of this is not lost on Jaci, “We will continue to schedule tournaments like the Paradise Jam. Both teams that we will play are very good teams. We will also be taking a European type trip every four years. We are not limited by the Administration by who we play. We have all of the tools needed: budget, good education, and facilities. We continue to establish ourselves as a very good choice for recruits.”

It would be easy to look past this year with the anticipation of the Regionals the following year, but that will not happen. Jaci Clark and her players are driven to win and win this year. This team will be better than last year’s. A post-season tournament is waiting for them; it is just a question of whom the call will be from.