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Brett Seybert
Reporter
November 4, 2005
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The 2004-2005 season did not go quite according to plan for Milligan women’s basketball head coach Rich Aubrey. A final record of 11-23 left much to be desired, as did the 7-15 mark in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.
Despite all this, Aubrey remains positive and points out something that he is
expecting will help propel this year’s team to a much better result: his team’s
success in last year’s conference tournament.
The 2005 AAC Tournament that saw the ninth-seeded Lady Buffs advance to the
championship round, knocking off regular season champion Brevard (N.C.) along
the way, which could prove to be a launching pad for success.
“The tournament came at a time of year when we were trying to finish up the
recruiting process and sign some new players that we felt could come in and
help. It was really good for them to see us have success in the postseason,”
Aubrey said.
Some of the recruits that were convinced to begin their collegiate careers at
Milligan include local high school standouts Rikki Baughman, who averaged 15.7
points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game at Elizabethon High School; Renee
Ensor, who averaged 10.4 points per game and 5.8 assists per game at Unaka High
School; and Hali Sparks, who averaged 10.2 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per
game while playing at Unicoi County High School.
“It was also important for our returning players. The excitement that they
brought to the summer workouts and conditioning and preseason has related to the
fact that we were successful at the end of the year,” said Aubrey .
Three starters from last year’s AAC tournament runner-up will be returning:
senior Kari Stout, who led the team scoring by averaging 13.6 points per game
last season, and junior Kacie Letterman and senior Leah Seevers, who averaged
10.9 and 9.7 points per game respectively.
Three key players not returning, however, are post players Ann Marie Gardner, who
averaged 9.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and Lacy York, who averaged 7.8
points and 6.9 rebounds per game, as well as guard Ginny White.
Making up for the loss of two forwards will no doubt be a challenge for the Lady
Buffs this season.
“We’re probably going to have at least seven different people start throughout
this year. Our starting lineup is going to be more flexible this year. It’s not
been a question of who do I put out there, but rather which one do I want at
that particular time. I think there’s going to be minutes available to everyone
on our roster,’ Aubrey said.
Aubrey and his players, however, maintain an air of confidence, perhaps as part
of a carry-over effect from last year’s postseason success.
“The conference tournament proved that we have great potential as a team,” said
Stout. “In the tournament, we were the underdogs but showed everyone we could do
it and earned a lot of respect from the other teams in the conference.”
Momentum certainly goes a long way in the world of sports, but in the end the
success or failure of a season boils down to one thing - fulfilling potential.
If that goal is achieved, both Aubrey and Stout believe this could be a
spectacular year for Milligan women's basketball.