Oct. 9, 2002

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - There are plenty of reasons for the Western Washington University women's basketball team to enter the 2002-03 season with lofty aspirations.

The Vikings return eight letter winners, including three starters, from a squad that was 24-5 last season, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship with a 16-2 mark and reaching the West Regional final of the NCAA Division II National Tournament before falling to eventual champion Cal Poly Pomona, 71-70, on two controversial free throws with two seconds left. Five of the top six scorers are back, all of whom averaged at least 9.2 points a game.

Coach Carmen Dolfo (13th year, 255-98), who is in the top 20 among active NCAA II coaches in winning percentage (72.2), doesn't question the talent, but says success will go beyond simply putting great athletes on the floor.

"This is a physically talented group, but how we come together will be huge," said Dolfo. "We need to focus on developing cohesion on the court and staying confident in ourselves and each other."

Western is aiming for a school-record sixth consecutive 20-win season. The Vikings have made five straight national appearances, the last four in NCAA II, and have been knocked out of the tournament by the eventual national champion each of the last three seasons.

Dolfo said the team views last year's close loss in the regional final not as motivation, but rather as an indication of what can be accomplished.

"It left us with a bittersweet taste, but we're not obsessed with it," said Dolfo. "We showed that we had the ability to be there and it gave our players the confidence that they can be there."

Nearly the entire front line returns intact, and although the starting backcourt graduated, there's strength there, too. Megan Quarterman (Granite Falls), a 5-foot-9 senior and Western's second-leading scorer last year, moves into the starting lineup, and 5-4 senior Kristy Eggen (Shorline/Shorewood), who started every game for two seasons in the mid-1990s, returns after sitting out four seasons and redshirting last year.

Leading the frontcourt is 6-0 junior center Jenn McGillivray (Salem, OR/South Salem), who earned second-team all-GNAC honors last year, leading the Vikings in scoring (13.1 avg.) and rebounding (5.6) while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 76.1 percent on free throws.

"Jenn has a complete game," said Dolfo. "She has a knack to score, she's a good rebounder, and she's developed her defensive game."

Both starting forwards also return. Stacey Miller (Bellingham/Sehome), a 5-11 senior, averaged 10.6 points and shared the team lead in rebounds (5.6) while shooting 42.9 percent (54-of-126) on 3-pointers. Miller is probably Western's top outside shooting threat, whereas 5-11 junior Tessa DeBoer (Lynden/Lynden Christian), a GNAC academic all-star who averaged 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 55.2 percent from the field, is the team's top defensive stopper. DeBoer held NCAA II Player of the Year Lauri McIntosh to a 4-of-24 shooting performance in last year's regional final.

"We need Stacey to assert more leadership," said Dolfo. "She's a very good athlete and I think the more responsibility she assumes the more her play will come up. Tessa is a competitor. She's a very hard worker, she's not afraid to bang and she steps up when we need her."

But Western's frontcourt strength is hardly limited to its returning starters. Sophomore center Susan Rodgers (Gig Harbor/Peninsula) averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 blocked shots while playing just 15.7 minutes a game. The 6-6 Rodgers, the tallest player in school history, shot 56.3 percent from the field for the season, showing a remarkably soft touch, and scored 26 points in a win over Seattle Pacific.

"Susan took a big jump and is an extremely important piece of our team," Dolfo said. "The more she gets excited about basketball, the better she'll play. She doesn't yet realize her potential."

Also back are 6-0 junior forward Megan Toth (Arlington), who played in every game last season, providing inside strength and 2.0 points and 3.1 rebounds; and 5-10 sophomore forward Jodi Gerald (Puyallup/Cascade Christian), who averaged 2.6 points in 27 games and can also play guard.

Rounding out the frontcourt are two redshirt freshmen - 6-2 center Stephanie Dressel (Gig Harbor) and 6-0 forward Tina Donahue (Stanwood), a transfer from Santa Clara.

Quarterman, a lightning quick driver who has also seen time at forward, was eighth in the GNAC in scoring at 12.7 points a game despite making just three starts. She scored 20 points or more in four straight games late last season, becoming just the third player in school history to accomplish the feat and the first to do so coming off the bench.

Eggen was a starter for Western in 1995-96 and 1996-97, averaging 9.9 points and 3.2 assists the former season as the Vikings reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament, then earning first-team all-Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference honors as a junior the following year, contributing 8.9 points and team-bests of 2.9 assists and 2.5 steals. She enters the season just 55 assists and 57 steals short of Western's career top 10 in both categories.

"Megan and Kristy give us good leadership," said Dolfo. "Megan has gained a lot of confidence and has worked extremely hard in the off-season. Kristy knows what we expect and her intensity level can give us a boost."

Providing additional depth in the backcourt are two 5-6 freshmen that earned all-state honors as high school seniors. Samantha Hubbard was a first-team Class 3A all-state pick, averaging 16.0 points, 7.5 assists and 4.0 steals for White River High School, where she was a four-year starter. Dachelle Davis (Yakima) was a second-team Class 3A all-state pick, averaging 17.1 points and 4.0 assists for West Valley High School, where she also started four years.

Kelly Colard (Elma), a 5-10 junior guard who played the last two seasons at Whatcom CC, will redshirt.

Western's schedule is tough from beginning to end, as the Vikings open the season by hosting Colorado Christian and five-time NCAA II National Champion North Dakota State in the WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic on Nov. 22-23, and later host Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 28 as part of the GNAC/CCAA Challenge Classic.

We're an experienced team, we can't use the 'we're young' excuse anymore," said Dolfo. "We need this kind of schedule. We might take some lumps, but we need the challenges."