Last season, the Saint Louis University women’s basketball squad posted its first winning record in 13 years. This year the program thought that their winning ways would stick.
However, the team finished the 1999-2000 campaign with a less than desirable 11-17 record. Yet the Billikens had many more victories that never showed up in their record.
“When we came in as freshmen, we wanted to look back and say we got better and made the program better,” said senior point guard Kara Wile. “Even though we didn’t have the record we wanted, I don’t view this as a step back. We had more challenges off the court that we met.”
One of the challenges the Billikens faced heading into the season was a lack of experience. The team consisted of two seniors, three juniors, no sophomores and eight freshmen.
Senior shooting guard Mandy Lueking said, “We went into the season with high expectations. We wanted to make the postseason. We worked hard and did the best we could.”
Coach Jill Pizzotti said, “When the season started, we had the feeling that we had enough talent to get to the postseason. That was the team’s goal going in.”
The Bills had a promising start, beginning the year 5-0. This was the best start for a SLU team since the 1980-81 season. During that run, the Billikens defeated Dayton 83-69 and Southern Illinois Carbondale 52-44.
The Bills first loss came in a hard-fought, physical battle with Missouri, 78-65. This game renewed a rivalry that had ceased in 1983.
SLU entered Conference USA play with a 7-4 record.
“We had a tough nonconference schedule. We hoped those games would help us learn for when conference came around,” Pizzotti stated.
When Conference USA play began, the Billikens suffered a rash of injuries. They lost April McKinney, Melissa Oliver, Katie Battern, Jana Tillman and Harmonie King in early December, depleting their bench.
“We had little margin for error going into the season. When we had the injuries in December, we unraveled a bit. It was too much for us to handle,” Pizzotti said. “We were like that for five or six weeks. The injuries made us a different team.
“Early on, our strength was our bench. We won some games because we could throw so many people at other teams. We lost that advantage,” she said.
C-USA wasn’t kind to the undermanned Bills. SLU lost their first two conference games to UNC Charlotte and Houston by a total of three points. They went on to lose three more C-USA games by less than five points a piece.
“The conference was as strong as it could be. Maybe we should have had more teams in the (NCAA) Tournament,” Pizzotti said.
Late in the season, the Bills returned to almost full strength and showed some of the fire that pushed them to their 5-0 start.
“When we had a full squad back, we had some resurgence,” Pizzotti said.
Highlights from conference schedule included a 56-52 victory over Louisville at home. SLU followed this victory with a 61-54 win over UNC Charlotte on the road.
The Bills received some surprises from the young team during the season.
“Lakia Jones was a big surprise. She’s a raw athlete. On the defensive, and especially on the offensive end, her play surprised me,” Pizzotti stated. “Melissa Oliver gave us quality minutes. She provided energy and an attitude that we needed. You usually only see that in an older player,” Pizzotti said.
The results weren’t what the Billikens wanted for the year. This year’s struggles may lead to successes in the near future.
“It was new for us to have half the team be underclassmen. It was a learning experience for everyone,” Wile said.
“This year was challenging, but fun. We had the opportunity to teach certain things,” Lueking said.
Pizzotti has high expectations for next year.
“I’m looking forward to it. We’re so young, and the future’s bright. The ladies are already working hard for next season. The majority of the team will have college basketball experience next season. Next year looks good,” Pizzotti said.
