Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles wants everyone to know that this is not the same basketball team from last season. She believes that kind of persona has generated a lot of anticipation within the program.
“With our team this year, I think there’s just a rejuvenating level of excitement, I think for everybody because we have such a different basketball team.”
The Lady Toppers get to find out just how different they are for last season’s team when they open the regular season against Murray State at 8 p.m. Friday in Diddle Arena.
The level of excitement is not lost on freshman forward Vanessa Obafemi.
“The nerves have calmed down a little bit (since the exhibition game),” she said. “But of course I’m going to be a little nervous with my first college game. But I think once I get into the game, I’ll calm down.”
The nerves will have to subside quickly if Western wants to start the season successfully. Murray State will kick off a non-conference schedule in which the Lady Toppers will play four of their first six contests against teams that made last season’s NCAA tournament.
Cowles believes they got off to a good start in the Lady Toppers 120-47 victory over DT-3 from an effort standpoint.
“I think what came out of Sunday that made us so proud as a staff, and I think our girls felt it too, is that we just played so hard,” Cowles said. “And I can live with the mistakes I see on game film with play that hard.”
Sophomore guard Amy McNear saw those mistakes herself, mainly on the defensive end.
“There were a few mistakes, like with defensive rotation,” she said. “With a game like that, we know we just have be very confident in what we do. That game, we saw some things that made us look good and bad.”
Murray State will present far greater of a challenge than DT-3 for Western.
Like the Lady Toppers, the Lady Racers earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. They return their top two scorers from last season in senior guards Amber Guffey and Ashley Hayes.
“I think you have to give credit to the fact that they understand what it’s like to win a championship and the play in the NCAA tournament,” Cowles said. “That just brings so much value to a team’s confidence, and I think our team understands that and has to take notice of that.”
Though the team must be ready for all facets of the Murray State attack, Cowles said one constant must remain for the team, regardless of who they are playing.
“All in all, we’re going to have to be ready to play basketball for 40 minutes,” she said.
Reach David Harten at sports@chherald.com.
.