Otahkians to begin practices Saturday

With all five starters returning from last year, Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen has reason to feel good about the 2001-2002 season as official practice begins Saturday afternoon.

"We're excited and ready to go," said Arnzen. "We've got an experienced team and I think we've added some quality new players. We've got high hopes for the season."

The Otahkians went 14-13 overall last year and finished a fourth-place 9-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference. They started off strong but lost seven of their final 10 games and suffered a disappointing home defeat to Tennessee-Martin in the first round of the OVC Tournament.

"I thought we had a very good beginning last year but I was really disappointed with the month of February, the way we ended," Arnzen said. "It's not like we got killed. We lost a lot of close games. I could say maybe we were inexperienced, but we're not that way any more."

Southeast's leading returning player is 5-foot-11 junior forward Lori Chase, a first-team all-OVC selection last year as she led the Otahkians in scoring at 14.7 points per game and was second in rebounding at 6.7 a contest. Chase shot 85 percent from the free-throw line and set the OVC single-game record for foul shots with 23.

"Lori had an excellent season last year and we're looking for more good things from her," said Arnzen.

Arnzen is also expecting big things from 6-2 senior center Pam Iversen, who will be entering her fourth season as a starter. Iversen averaged 9.4 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game last year while shooting 60 percent from the field, but she never did appear to be fully recovered from a major knee injury she suffered late the previous season.

"I think Pam is finally healthy and that's going to make a big difference," Arnzen said.

The Otahkians' other double-figure scorer from a year ago is 5-7 senior guard Veronica Benson, who had a strong debut season after coming in from the junior-college ranks. Benson averaged 12.1 points per game and shot 51 percent from the floor.

"Veronica had a solid first year for us," said Arnzen.

Rounding out the returning regulars are 5-5 junior point guard LaShelle Porter (9.6 ppg) and 5-9 junior forward Tiffany Melis (6.6 ppg). Porter was second on the squad in assists with 68 while Melis hit a team-high 34 3-pointers.

Three key reserves who saw action in every game last season are also back: 5-8 sophomore guard Christine Rathke (6.6 ppg), 6-2 sophomore center Tisa Thomas (6.0 ppg) and 5-7 junior guard Kristy Roherty (2.1 ppg). Rathke actually led the Otahkians in assists with 71.

Another returning player who was limited to just five games last year because of a shoulder injury is 6-3 senior center Cindy Bates (0.4 ppg).

Arnzen has high hopes for several newcomers, led by 5-9 junior forward Keela Ball from Itawamba Junior College in Mississippi and 5-9 freshman forward Andrea Koeper, a former all-stater at Jackson High School. Both should compete for serious playing time and perhaps even starting spots.

Another key freshman is 6-foot center Tanya Guell from Wisconsin while 5-9 walk-on freshman Candice Coffey rounds out the squad.

The Otahkians will have two home exhibition games, Nov. 2 against St. Louis Goldstar and No. 9 against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The regular season begins Nov. 16 against Montana in the Texas-Pan American Classic.