Four players quit the team, two became academically ineligible and one of the leading scorers may be out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.
To say the least, Northeastern Illinois women`s basketball coach Mike Fogel has faced uncertainty-and not much company on the bench. Seven players. Half the team. Gone. Disaster.
Disaster relief?
”We dressed two softball players for the game (last Wednesday) against Chicago State,” Fogel said.
But, strangely enough, with fewer players have come more victories. Northeastern, 2-25 last season, is 6-10 and looking for more.
”What`s unbelievable is we`re doing it,” Fogel said. ”They believe they can win. They`re busting their butts.”
Only six players-Pam Osterbrink, Debbie Pozdol, Tara Minor, Cyndie Donner, Jeannine Meldahl and Sonya Malinowski-have been on the roster for the last three games.
Osterbrink, a 6-foot-1-inch sophomore from Kewaskum, Wis., leads the team in scoring (17.2 average) and rebounding (10.7). Sophomore guard Cathy Fowler, from King, was the No. 2 scorer, averaging almost 16 points a game, but her knee injury may keep her sidelined. Pozdol, a sophomore from Niles West, averages 13.5 points a game. Donner, eligible for only a month after quitting school and returning, is just shy of 10 a game. Point guard Minor runs the show.
One reason the men`s basketball team is more successful this season is balanced scoring. Five players are averaging in double figures-Shawn Harlan
(15.3 points), Leonard Langdon (12.1), Sid Pointer (10.8), Zach Phillips
(10.8) and Victor Snipes (10.7).
