Women’s basketball returns with experience, fresh faces

STEVEN HANCOCK/THE ARBITER. Jamia Malone drives past a San Jose State defender during last year's game in Boise.

The Boise State women’s basketball team returns to action this winter, getting senior guards Tasha Harris and Jessica Van Hoogen back from injury, as well as welcoming a set of new faces to the team. Although just five returners who played in games last season for the Broncos are back, the team seems poised to make a run at a WAC championship.

With Harris and Van Hoogen coming back and last year’s emergence of now-sophomore guard Heather Pilcher, the Broncos return an experienced and talented backcourt with depth and athleticism. One of the only questions that seems to linger about the backcourt is which freshmen will emerge as go to players and what the rotation will look like.

“We haven’t talked about that. We have no idea who’s doing what yet. But [Heather] is going to play a huge role, I know that much. Her role’s still going to be significant, we just don’t know,” Harris said.

“She’s really athletic and she’ll give us a lot this year,” Van Hoogen said.

Another question that will be addressed in the backcourt is how the Broncos will handle the transfer of former freshman guard Courtney VanBrocklin.

“We hated to see her go, but you kind of can’t live in the past,” Harris said. “You just have to move on and go with what you got, and you know we still have a lot of guards, we still have a lot of people. It hurts us a little bit with depth but we should do okay.”

The frontcourt also boasts a few notable returners, including junior forward Janie Bos and fifth-year senior Rebecca Kepilino.

“[Rebecca] is getting her health back and getting her shape back and she’s going to be really helpful and we have a couple freshmen posts that are just athletic and work hard and like to bang, so they’re going to have a huge impact,” Harris said. “They’re very strong. And then we have a transfer, Nicole Brady, who’s a junior so she brings a little more knowledge and she has a lot of skills on the perimeter. So I mean, they’re new people, they’re new faces, but they should help us a lot.”

In the Western Athletic Conference media and coaches preseason polls, Boise State was picked to finish third in both polls, behind only Louisiana Tech and Fresno State. Although this team has not played together and hasn’t had a lot of time to gel on the court, they are expected to make a push for the conference title.

“We haven’t officially talked about team goals yet, but, as always it’s always to be WAC champions and I think just to put our best foot forward and always play every game to the best of our ability,” Harris said. “If we win or lose, we know we gave it our all. We don’t want to have a season with any regrets this year.”

It looks as if team chemistry on the court will be the deciding factor in the outcome of the season. The parts look to be in place to make a run at an NCAA tournament berth, but the team will have to learn to play together on the fly.

“On the court, it’ll take a little time, especially since we have a lot of freshmen and people that are just new to college basketball in general. I think that we’ll do okay. I think that we’re already starting to get to know each other a little bit,” Van Hoogen said.

The Lady Broncos face a couple of particularly tough matchups in preseason play. They play Oregon at Eugene in early December and could possibly play Washington State in late November. The games should provide a good view of how well this team can play heading into conference action.

“It will help us prepare and get ready for our league definitely because those are really tough teams to beat,” Van Hoogen said. “They’re going to be real good competition for us. If we can do well with them, then we’ll be able to face the people in our conference and do pretty well. We’ll see if that happens.”

Both Van Hoogen and Harris were former preseason WAC players of the year before being hit with injuries early last season. Their health seems to be mostly back, but they made it clear that this year wasn’t about them, but rather that it was about leading the team and having a successful season.

“Our bodies have been through a lot just this past five, six years,” Van Hoogen said. “We’re not thinking or really going to talk about our injuries or our health anymore. It’s just going to be the will and our heart that’s going to push us through the year. Like [Harris] said, the knowledge of the game; we’re not going to worry about us getting beat up or anything else.”

“I think when you get older you just become a smarter player and you become more calm, you know, prepared for game situations so I think we’ll be able to kind of keep everybody on the same page and just keep an even tempo throughout the game and the season,” Harris added.

With the dynamic backcourt duo back, the sky is the limit for Boise State. Leadership won’t be an issue and depth will be key, as well as having a post emerge as the go-to player in the frontcourt. It’s too early to tell now, but if everything goes to plan, it could be a special year for this team.

The Lady Broncos’ first game is at home. The exhibition match-up against Lewis-Clark State is on November 8 at 2 p.m.

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