Women’s basketball fired up, ready to go

The heat for a winning season is on as the women’s basketball team geared up for a season opener last Friday. Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells, or just “Coach” as the team calls her, had a light practice.

“[It’s the] day before a game, so we are just relaxed and doing some shooting drills,” she said.

Little seemed relaxed about the Lakers. The coach and the players said they have one big expectation:

 “To be competing for a conference championship,” Scherr-Wells said.

And confidence seems to be high.

 “I’m expecting a lot of big things from us,” said forward Kiara Towles. “I believe we can win any game that we play.”

The Lakers look to use that as an advantage this season.  Although the Lakers possess high spirits, Scherr-Wells did have her team brush up on some things for Saturday’s game. The team ran basic offensive sets, worked on baseline and sideline inbound plays, and worked on team timing. The Lakers also went through numerous shooting drills to fine tune their form, motion, and rotation on the ball - drills that look to pay dividends.

The Lakers return with three all-conference players (Casey Davis, Maria Tamburrino, and Towles) and one of the top three pointer shooters (Erin McCaslin) in the conference. Starring junior shooting guard Davis is also a vital member of the team. Her abilities help embrace the weight of the team.

“I love the pressure and it motivates me a lot,” Davis said.

Even with her prior success, Davis is looking to become more of a communicating leader on the court.

She wants to be “more vocal,” she said.

She talked about how she looked forward to that opportunity in the scrimmage this past Saturday against Lewis University. The two teams met for the Lakers’ season opener this Saturday, Oct. 27. They spoke about their excitement at Friday’s practice.

“Words can’t explain, I’m very excited; I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting on this moment since the end of last season,” she said before the game.

Forward Tamburrino also said she anticipated the game.

“I want to see what it looks like all together,” she said.

The team was excited and not too worried about an early morning Saturday match-up.

“Definitely not, since we’ve been practicing at 6:30 a.m. every morning… that’s going to seem late to us,” she said.

 “We can always get hype no matter how early it is,” Towles added.

One thing is for sure, Scherr-Wells said she wants to accomplish a lot in the scrimmage and said the team plays well together.

Scherr-Wells also mentioned that getting a solid rotation and allowing everyone some game time experience is a goal as well. That includes the freshman on the team.

Davis and Tamburrino agreed that the freshmen look promising.

The Lakers wrapped up practice by working on a last second play to get the ball up the court and get a quick shot.

“Be fairly aggressive,” Scherr-Wells said about the tip-off. “Come ready to play and don’t be intimidated.”

Scherr-Wells showed no intimidation in building the program and called it an incredible honor that she thinks about all the time.

She also said she remains optimistic while heading into her third season as head coach.

“As coaches we are never 100 percent satisfied,” she said.

“It was one of the reasons why I came to Roosevelt because I wanted to make history....I truly think we will be one of the top teams of our conference,” Tamburrino  said.

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The Lakers gave it a go, but fell short in its season opener to the Lewis University Flyers, 73-98. Check back next week for more season coverage. Follow us on Twitter for continuing coverage: @RUTorch.