Southeast's Wright optimistic after offseason knee surgery

Kara Wright had one of the better freshman seasons by a Southeast Missouri State women's basketball player in quite some time last year.

And that was with a bum knee.

Wright, now healthy after offseason knee surgery, believes she's ready to take her game to another level while also helping continue the program's resurgence.

"I feel great," Wright said. "I feel like we can make some noise this year, especially with our conference being so senior-heavy last year."

Wright was Southeast's top high school recruit for last season. She didn't disappoint.

Wright moved into the starting lineup just under halfway through the year and ultimately ended up on the Ohio Valley Conference's all-newcomer team, the first Southeast women's basketball player to earn postseason OVC recognition since the 2008-09 campaign.

The 5-foot-11 guard from Louisville, Ky., finished as the Redhawks' No. 4 scorer (8.5 ppg), was second in assists (56) and second in blocks (15). She led the way in field-goal percentage (.455).

Wright especially stood out during conference play, her 10.6 scoring average ranking second on the squad.

"I can't complain," Wright said about her rookie season. "It was through the grace of God and my teammates."

Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler had high hopes for Wright when she signed with the Redhawks.

"Kara had a great freshman year," Margenthaler said. "She's got a year of experience now and we're looking for big things from her."

Wright has been bothered by a bad knee for some time, saying she dislocated the patella four times since age 13. She said the knee bothered her last season.

"I played through pain last year," said Wright, recently named to the all-OVC preseason team, the lone underclassmen on the 10-player squad.

Wright finally had surgery in March, and the procedure prevented her from playing basketball the entire summer.

"You never want to sit out, but I took it as a learning experience," she said.

Wright, like all of her teammates and coaches, is excited about the Redhawks' prospects for this season after they made major strides during Margenthaler's second campaign last year.

The 2012-13 Redhawks posted the program's most overall and conference wins since the 2008-09 season. They went 11-18 overall and 5-11 in OVC play, which tied the Redhawks for ninth place among 12 teams -- their highest finish since 2008-09.

Wright believes last year was the start of big things for the Redhawks.

"Everything we did was just a stepping stone," she said. "We want to build the program. ... We're headed in the right direction."