Women’s Basketball Preview

1999 - 2000 season

Talent. Attitude. Intensity.

These are the words that best describe the strongest recruiting class in the 14-year tenure of Sue Huffman, head coach of the Sac State women’s basketball squad.

Following a 3-23 season last year, Huffman and her staff realized that a youth movement was needed — but not just any youth movement. Entering the 1999-2000 campaign, Sac State will feature seven new additions to the team, all of which hailed from winning programs before becoming Hornets. This new crop of players, mixed together with seven returnees from last year’s unit, have given Huffman’s program a much needed face lift.

“We have got to get some new energy in here,” she said. “That’s why we’re full with 10 freshmen and sophomore with only four upperclassmen. Even though they’re highly skilled they don’t understand what losing is.”

This new energy is something Huffman said was lacking from last year’s women.

“These girls really work hard. It’s pushing those that were here last year so it’s real competitive,” she said. “It’s not automatic your going to start or even get your 20 minutes and that is what makes us different from last year.”

Also new to the squad this year is strength coach, Harry Theodore, He has taken over the conditioning duties for the team and, according to Huffman, has completely taken over the program.

“He conditioned them, he weight trained them and got them on a diet,” she said. “I’ve already seen tremendous improvement on the court and the pride that the girls now have because of it.”

Sac State will head into the season trying to give the Hornets their first Big Sky Tournament appearance since joining the conference in 1996 and their first winning record since 1993. Huffman said the goals have been established.

“We need to make it into the Big Sky Tournament and finish around .500,” she said. “We’re all on the same page, I hope.”

Huffman warns that with a young squad, mistakes are going to happen and a lot of teaching still needs to be done.

“This year I have the skill level to play a multitude of defenses and push the basketball more on offense so it’s just a matter of when they pick it up,” she said. “We’re going to make mistakes and we just have to live with that for a while. But they’ve got the tools to do everything.”

Another bright spot for Sac State this year will be it’s new home field advantage on campus at Hornet Gym. In years past, the team played downtown at Memorial Auditorium.

“It’s easier and I think the girls have some pride now,” Huffman said. “Even though it’s a run down gym it’s still our home. It gives us a sense of comfort to practice where we play even though it’s unique playing down there. I think the girls would prefer playing here because it’s on campus and it’s comfy.”

Pressure is a word not often used when referring to Hornet practices but it is a word that is being used around the community — pressure to win. Huffman has heard the criticism about her coaching style. She knows she is being evaluated by a new and very patient Athletic Director, Debby Colberg. But her attitude towards teaching her players will not change.

“By my philosophy, the most important thing for me in my players lives is not the basketball, it’s them as a person,” she said without hesitation. “If I can teach them about life using basketball then I will and the wins are going to come. I’m not ever going to back down on what I believe is right and wrong. If your only goal is to go out and win because you have to then you don’t play relaxed. I let them be creative and if that added pressure is on them then they are just going to go out there and play like robots, I don’t want that.”

Tracey Kenyon
Guard, 5’8”, Sophomore #32

I think the team has the ability to go further than we showed against Fresno State. Going 1-1 our first two games we showed that we can do it and the talent on the team is there. My role on the team is to keep the team sparked up, as much as I can do to keep energy out on the floor. Talent. We have the ability to run the floor this year because last year we didn’t have the ball speed, the passing, any of that. This year we have it. We have a lot of speed in the post area too. Our goal is to get over .500. If I get a record this year like I had last year I don’t know what I would do. I’m hoping we’ll at least put out a winning season.

Michelle St. Clair
Guard, 5’5”, Junior #23

Last year we lost a lot of games but this year we have players that are fighting to win, we’re not giving up.

Rexanne Rodriguez
Guard, 5’7”, Freshman #24

I think we have a lot of potential. There’s a lot of little things that we have to work on. We just got to pull together, play together as a team. We need to execute and pick up the intensity too. I’m the point guard so my role is to direct traffic, know what I’m doing, get everyone pumped up and just be the leader out there. I came to Sac State because they wanted to change the program and really push the ball. I was excited that I was getting do the same things that we ran at Nevada Union. I knew there was a lot of other freshmen with potential coming in and the excitement of getting to turn a program around. I think we can win half of our games but I know all of us want to win more than that. It’s realistic and I think we can do it. We’ve had some losing seasons and we want to have a winning season. I think people see us with all this potential and they wonder if we can do it.

Sydney Gatson
Guard, 5’9”, Freshman #22

I definitely think we are improving and we can live up to some expectation because we have a really good recruiting class. I feel with every practice and every game we’re progressing, playing hard and showing what we have the potential to end up doing. My role is to give my all out there on the court both defensively and offensively to give the team a spark. We have so much talent on this team I think that .500 is a very realistic goal for us. Since we have a young team we can progress on that goal every game. I came here because I really like the coaching staff and the player coach relationship. Plus it’s close to home and my parents can come watch. I don’t feel any pressure to win from anyone but within ourselves. I don’t think anyone is expecting us to win but I think as a team we are expecting ourselves to do good this year.

April Ranney
Center, 6’2”, Sophomore #40

We’ve improved since last year and we’re going to get better. This year’s team has a more intense attitude and we want to win more. The new people that have come in have a stronger will to win and are not just kicking back. My role is to be strong inside on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor and to get rebounds. My goal is to win. I don’t want to be in last place in the Big Sky or second to last place. Realistically this is a rebuilding year but I would like to do more than .500. I don’t feel pressure to win from the outside but I feel it in me. I can’t stand losing and losing last year was horrible.

Raquel Dominguez
Guard, 5’6”, Senior #11

We’re on a slow upward movement right now. I think the biggest difference between this year’s team and last year’s team is a lot more intensity and determination. My role is a backup to the guard position and to go in whenever the coach needs me. I think a realistic goal for this team is to win a lot more games than we did last year. We all came from winning programs and winning organizations in high school and junior college nobody likes to lose. I think the only pressure we feel is coming from us.

Kelly Smurzynski
Center, 6’2”, Sophomore #35

The first couple of games we we’re a little nervous because we are just starting to play together. We are really starting to pull together and play as a team more. It’s my second year and we have a lot of freshmen so I’m going to help them understand the coaches and what they’re trying to tell them because they get frustrated sometimes out there. This team has a lot more talent and is ready to win after last year. We’re shooting for .500 this year as a team. There was an article written in the Sacramento Bee about our coach and that kind of gave us a challenge. That makes us really want to win to show everyone that we aren’t losers and we can do this. It’s not so much pressure to win it’s just a challenge.

Sephora Scoubes
Forward, 6’0”, Sophomore #20

We’re getting to know each other better and how to play together. I think the chemistry is getting better and I think we should improve throughout the season. My role is to help score points whether it be inside or outside. We don’t want to win only three games like we they did last year so our goal is to be .500. I came here because it’s close to home. I wanted to go where I could get a chance to play basketball plus their paying for it which is always good. We just want to go out and prove everybody wrong. We’re just ready to show them that this team is capable of winning.

Imani Mayes
Center, 6’1”, Freshman

Right now we’re in a developing stage, with a lot of work to go in order to get where we need to be at. The past three games have showed us what we need to work on for future games. As a team we need to come together as a unit and right now we are not being consistent. One day some people will be doing things right one day and some others won’t be. Once we come together we will be fine. My role is to play around the basket in the post. Right now I’m a rebounder and a defender. Defense creates my offense for me. I think we need to prove ourselves in the Big Sky Conference that we can play in the league and that we deserve to be in Division I-AA. I like the atmosphere up here. We are a young team but that’s OK because I started out on a young team at Castlemont High School in Oakland. That first year was kind of rocky but we were improved and accomplished our goals. I’m hoping we can do that here too. It’s a challenge to me. I feel the pressure about winning but people are judging us on last year’s team, we are not last year’s team point blank. To me, I say just prove them wrong and make them eat their words.

PreShice Carter
Forward, 5’10”, Junior

I haven’t found a role on the team yet because I’ve been sitting out with bad knees. I think looking at the schedule we can at least break even and I hope we do better than that. I like the academics here. I’m an ethnic studies major and this is one of the schools that have that right now. We want to prove to ourselves that we’re good players.

April Woodson
Forward, 5’9”, Freshman

Since I’m a walk-on I’ve only been to one game and that was Fresno State. We’re starting to work as a team more, we need to be consistent and listen to the coaches but I think we’ll have a great season if we just work hard. Right now my role for this team is to cheer them on and get my time when I’m needed. Our goal is to be up in the Big Sky with Northridge and Montana. Basketball is my first love and I knew I would have a better chance to walk-on here than at Arizona so I walked-on made it and I’m having fun. I don’t think there is any pressure because we don’t have to prove anything. We’re a young team and we will get better everyday. No pressure really, just day by day.