Most of last season’s top players are gone, but Chicago State women’s basketball coach Mike Clark doesn’t think they took last year’s winning edge with them.
“We’ll be competitive,” said Clark, whose team finished 9-18 after losing its first eight games. “We’re a young team, and maybe you could say we’re rebuilding. But I feel good about this group.”
Clark’s roster contains just one senior, guard Shindana Garrett from Corliss High School. She and Bloom High freshman Serita Crawford, who figures to start in the backcourt, are the Cougars’ only local players.
Four-fifths of the likely starting lineup hails from Detroit. Twins Yolanda and Cassandra McGehee will start at forward, 6-foot freshman Kelly Knox is the center and Charleta Rogin will open at a guard.
“But just about anyone can start. It’s really a team of 10 starters,” Clark said. “We’ve got some good depth.”
The Cougars expect a boost when the second semester begins and junior Katrina Robinson, a starter at guard last season, returns to the team. She’s academically ineligible the first semester.
The schedule, starting with Monday’s opener at Illinois-Chicago, figures to be tough.
“We play some pretty good basketball teams, but I think we can be pretty good ourselves,” Clark said.
The Jan. 5 game at Northeastern Illinois marks Chicago State’s debut in the six-team East Coast Conference. The league tournament is set for March 4-6 in Buffalo.
