Bradshaw, King look to grow along with Redhawks

Junior guard Allyson Bradshaw already has made her mark as one of the more prolific 3-point shooters in Southeast Missouri State women's basketball history.

Sophomore forward Connor King is trying to make her mark as a key rotation player for the Redhawks.

Ty Margenthaler has high hopes for both local products entering his third season as Southeast's coach. Bradshaw is a Notre Dame Regional High School graduate while King graduated from Jackson High School.

"We're looking for good things from both players," Margenthaler. "They're going to be a big part of our team."

Bradshaw expanded her role last year for a squad that posted the program's most overall and conference wins since the 2008-09 season.

Southeast went 11-18 overall and 5-11 in Ohio Valley Conference play, which tied the Redhawks for ninth place among 12 teams, their highest finish since 2008-09.

"I think we're ready [to make a big improvement]," Bradshaw said. "We filled a bunch of spots with new players and we've got a lot of players back."

Allyson Bradshaw

Bradshaw made strides as a sophomore despite battling a shoulder injury for the second straight season.

Bradshaw's freshman campaign in 2011-12 saw her average 5.3 points per game and hit 34 3-pointers while shooting 29.1 percent from beyond the arc. She played in all 29 of Southeast's games off the bench.

The 5-foot-7 Bradshaw bumped her scoring average up to 8.2 points per contest last year, fourth-best on the Redhawks, as she played in 27 of their 29 games and made 10 starts.

Bradshaw was Southeast's top 3-point shooter, hitting 48 of 144 for 33.3 percent. Her 82 career 3-pointers are tied for eighth in school history.

"I hope I can keep making 3's. I'm still working on them," said a smiling Bradshaw.

Bradshaw also hopes she can stay healthy this season, something that has not been the case during her first two collegiate seasons.

Bradshaw tore her right labrum as a freshman, then tore her left labrum as a sophomore. Both injuries came during practice and slowed her down some, although she played through the pain to miss only two games last year after not missing any games as a freshman.

"I feel good now," Bradshaw said. "I think it was good for me to play through the pain because the first two years were crucial for me. I didn't want to have to sit out."

Bradshaw was a starter for Southeast at the outset of last season but, after suffering the injury, primarily was used to provide a spark off the bench, which she invariably did.

"We need her to be that deadly 3-point shooter, and she can drive the basketball as well," Margenthaler said. "She's got two years of experience, which is big. Hopefully we can keep her injury-free."

Bradshaw said she is looking to display a more well-rounded game this year.

"I need to work more on getting to the basket so I can be known as more than just a 3-point shooter," she said. "I also want to be more of a vocal leader on and off the court."

King hopes to be a bigger contributor after experiencing the normal growing pains of a freshman trying to adjust to the college level.

"I learned a lot as a player, a lot about the game," King said. "The physicality [was the biggest difference from high school]. There's no more like you're the biggest player on the floor so you can dominate."

King had her moments in limited action last year, averaging 1.3 points and 2.4 rebounds while averaging 9.5 minutes. She appeared in 26 of Southeast's 29 games, all off the bench.

"She didn't play the minutes she wanted, but we look for her to give us quality minutes this year," Margenthaler said. "I feel like she's improved. She can score down low and hit the outside shot."

The 6-2 King believes, like her coach, that she is ready to take her game to another level this season.

"I feel like I'm mentally a lot more ready, and strength-wise. Those are the two areas where I've made the biggest improvement," King said. "I'm ready to step in wherever coach needs me at ... just do whatever it takes to help the team get to Nashville [site of the OVC tournament]."