Lady Bears facing tough schedule with young team

As Cheryl Burnett begins her 15th year as head coach of the Southwest Missouri State University Lady Bears, her biggest concern is how to fill the gaps left by last season's veterans, according to SMSU Sports Information.

Last year's 29-6 record was due in large part to five seniors, four of them starters, including Jackie Stiles, who ac-counted for 30.3 points per game to make her the NCAA Division I career scoring leader.

But the Lady Bears also lost Carly Deer, Melody Campbell and Tara Mitch-em to graduation. During their careers, the four helped lead SMSU to a 101-28 record, a Missouri Valley Conference regular season title, one league tournament crown, four straight NCAA Tour-nament berths and the 2001 Final Four.

Of the four senior starters on last year's team, three played for SMSU for four years, and the other was in her third year with the program. Lady Bear fans are surely wondering if this year's team can carry on the winning tradition and make it to NCAA post-season play with just one returning starter and six returning letter winners. Of those seven, only two have three years' experience with the program, but they will help form the nucleus of a team that includes five newcomers and one player sidelined by injury a year ago.

There are six seniors on this year's roster. The most recognizable member of the team may be Ann Cavey, who has lettered the last three years for the Lady Bears. Cavey, a 6-foot-3 forward, played in all 35 games last year and started 12 games, averaging 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Erica Vicente, 5-foot-8, played in all 35 games last year, starting six of those games. A native of Brazil, Vicente is the heir apparent to the point guard position held by Campbell last year. The Lady Bear's leading returning scorer, she averaged 6.1 points per game and led the team in assists with 146.

Erika Rante, 6-foot-4, is the only returning player who started more than half of last season's games. Also a native of Brazil, Rante proved herself at low post, playing in all 35 games and starting in 19. She finished the season fifth in scoring with 5.9 points per game and is the leading returning rebounder at 4.6 per game.

Kinga Kiss, at 6-foot-7, is the tallest player ever to be a member of the Lady Bears squad. Kiss, a native of Romania, played in 27 games last season, starting 12 games. She averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Two other seniors, Dzenata Kadic and Carolyn Weirick, round out this year's veteran lineup. Kadic, a 6-foot-5 forward, has been a member of the Lady Bears the past three seasons but appeared in just 15 games last year. Weirick, 6-foot, sat out the entire season last year as a redshirt after suffering a knee injury before the season's start. Weirick will look to challenge at one of the forward spots.

The final two returning players earned their varsity letters last season as freshmen. Both gained a considerable amount of experience in their first year with the Lady Bears.

Stephanie Busbey, 6-foot-4, played in 31 games and led the team in field goal accuracy (.652) while averaging 3.6 points a game. Morgan Hohenberger, 5-foot-8, played in 32 games, averaging 2.8 points per game.

Without returning starters the door could be open for several newcomers, and Burnett has put together another promising recruiting class including several guards. One transfer and four first-year freshmen complete the Lady Bear Roster.

Charlotte Nelson, a 5-foot-10 guard, transferred to SMSU after two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Adrienne Bush, a 5-foot-9 guard, is a freshman from Russellville (Ark.) High. Two players came to SMSU from Oklahoma: Kiesha Thomas, 5-foot-7, is a product of Choctaw High, and Jennifer Lingor, 5-foot-10, is a graduate of Tahlequah High. Nicole Lehman, 6-foot, from Lamar High, rounds out the freshman class.

Last year the Lady Bear's schedule ranked 35th in the nation, but the team was well-equipped to handle it. Although this year's team lacks the experience of last season's, the schedule will be equally challenging. SMSU will face six opponents that reached NCAA Tour-nament play in 2001. These include Arkansas, Missouri, Texas Christian, Tulane, Iowa and Drake (a Missouri Valley Conference member).

SMSU also will face one of the state's other Division I schools, Saint Louis University, as well as Denver, Western Kentucky and Southwest Texas State.