WEBSTER GROVES – Webster University is set to open the 32nd season of intercollegiate women's basketball this coming weekend as the Gorloks host its annual Webster Tip-Off Classic at Grant Gymnasium. 
 
The Gorloks will open its own Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 16 against Belhaven (Miss.) University at 8 p.m. and will conclude the two-day, four-team event on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. against Concordia University (Chicago). Spalding is the other team playing in the event and they will face Concordia (Chicago) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Belhaven on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Webster, who was picked to finish fourth in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, returns no starters and just five players that saw action on last season's 20-7 squad that captured the SLIAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history and first time since 2011. 
 
"We are excited to get the season going this weekend. We have so many different weapons, so many different things we can do. This is a new group this year that is energetic and I'm excited to get everyone back healthy and see what we have," Webster head coach Jordan Olufson said. "I think this is a loaded group and I'm ready to see what we can do when we reach our full potential. We're at that point we're we are tired of going against each other, so it is time for us to go against someone else and see what we can do against them for 40 minutes."
 
Along with returning just five players that saw action on last season's team, the Gorloks also added 17 newcomers to its roster, including 16 freshmen and a sophomore transfer from Greenville University. 
 
"We have almost a whole new team this year as we are really young and lack a lot of experience," Olufson added. "We're kind of starting over with the reloading mindset. Nothing is going to change with what we do, despite the fact we have almost an entirely new team this year. The make-up of this team with its length, athleticism with some size and depth makes us excited and once we're able to blend everything together, we'll be really good."
 
Olufson said that the returners from last season were able to learn a lot from last year's core group of players and those learning opportunities should benefit his team this season. 
 
"The sophomores we return kind of got a little bit of a taste of it, the taste of the NCAA Tournament and they got to learn from our core group from last year," said Olufson, who is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Gorlok women's basketball program in 2018-19. "I think the experience we do bring back is big, so we have to have carry over from that as they help out our newcomers."
 
One of the top returners for the Gorloks in 2018-19 is junior guard Jaysea Morgan (Fisk, Mo./Twin Rivers). Morgan, who is the team's most experienced player as she has played in 53 games and made two starts since arriving on campus in 2016, averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds 2.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game last season and shot 47 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 87 percent at the free throw line. In two seasons, Morgan sits 19th on the school's all-time list in steals with 115. 
 
"Jaysea has been a big part of our success the past couple of seasons and we're excited with her leadership ability," said the Webster coach. "She has been really good. I kind of thought she'd be too aggressive coming in, but she has been really good with the freshmen, been really good at handling situations and has been kind of a more nurturing leader. She's also been able to do her part from the side of taking care of business for her. I think she is probably one of the best defenders in the league and I've felt that the past couple of years. I think it's been hidden because we were so deep at a lot of spots, but I think we'll be able to showcase her more this season."
 
Morgan is the only junior listed on Webster's roster this season as along with her, the team's roster has seven sophomores and 16 freshmen. The 2018-19 rosters features a total of 24 players. 
 
As a team, Webster returns just 17 percent of its points (343 points) and rebounds (168 rebounds) and 11.5 percent of its minutes played (624 minutes) from a season ago. 
 
In addition to Morgan, the team's other returners from last season include sophomore guard Jasmine Bishop (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), sophomore forward Darieana Hunter (Norman, Okla./Norman), sophomore guard Kiara Rhines (Glendale, Ariz./Ironwood) and sophomore forward Hayley Taylor (Highland, Ill./Highland). The Gorloks also bring back redshirt sophomore forward Kaylee Heggemann (Washington, Mo./Three Rivers CC), who missed all of last season due to injury and took a medical redshirt year. 
 
Among those five returners, Hunter is the most experienced as she played in 20 games last season and averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Rhines and Taylor each played in 11 games and scored a combined 20 points in those 11 games and Bishop, who is sitting out the first semester due to academic issues, played in eight games and averaged 1.3 points and 4.1 minutes per game. 
 
"Dari came in last season hurt, but this season she comes in not hurt and that's crucial. I think learning behind the Lucas twins (Aley and Taylor) really helped her picking up what we're doing, not just from the press, but also in the half-court and also making herself more active in the post. She has really taken a big step forward, now we have to get her more aggressive, but I think last year helped her," said Olufson. "Kiara has really gotten into shape and has a better mindset this year. She has been impressive and her growth from freshman to sophomore year has been huge and we just got Hayley back from volleyball, so we have to get up to speed with what we're doing. Kaylee got hurt last year and then got hurt again early this year and has been limited so far."
 
While Olufson and his coaching staff brought in 17 newcomers this season, including 16 freshmen, perhaps the most important newcomer might be sophomore guard Naomi Johnson, who prepped at St. Louis' Incarnate Word Academy and played as a freshman last season at Greenville University. As a freshman with the Panthers in 2017-18, Johnson played in 20 games and averaged 4.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and a 1.1 assists per game and shot 42 percent from the field. 
 
"Naomi has been great. One, from a team standpoint, the team loves her. Her personality really fits great with our group. She can do whatever we need her to do, she can knock down the three, she can drive, she can score, she can penetrate, she can create shots and is always continuing to learn and improve," Olufson said when asked about Johnson's presence this season. "Perhaps the best thing is she is still trying to learn, wants to learn and is a student of the game. She'll make a mistake, we try to teach her, she learns and is trying to adapt. She is so versatile, really hard to guard her 1-on-1 as she will break you down and if you try to stop her, she can kick it out and find a shooter on the wing."
 
Olufson says that the experience Johnson received playing in the league last year at Greenville will be beneficial to his young and inexperienced team this year.
 
"The experience she had last season coming in here is really going to help us and also help her as well," Olufson stated. 
 
While Johnson will be able to help on the offensive side of the court, Olufson really believes the help she will provide on defense end of the court will be tremendous.
 
"We're really excited with Naomi and her ability to drive and penetrate and then on the defensive end, she is really good. With her and Jaysea, the ball pressure is really good and that should benefit our press," the Webster coach added.
 
Johnson isn't the only newcomer that Olufson is counting on to help his team this season as the Gorloks brought in 16 freshmen this season, including six of them from high schools in the state of Missouri. 
 
"We are really excited about the freshmen and some of them are going to get the chance to contribute right away," said Olufson. "We've got a couple of key freshmen banged up and we really look forward to getting them back healthy."
 
Among the freshmen this season that are expected to contribute according to Olfuson are forward Addison Beussink (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran), guard/forward Hannah Cottrell (Steelville, Mo./Steelville), guard Caity Jones (Weast Plains, Mo./Thayer), guard/forward Brylee Manes (Republic, Mo./Republic), guard Alyssa McByers (Leander, Texas/Leander), guard Raven Washington (Hazel Green, Ala./Hazel Green) and forward Taylor Zarr (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville).  
 
The other freshmen this season include center Scarlett Anosier (Boynton Beach, Fla./Grandview Prep), guard Amaya Baker (McDonough, Ga./Union Grove), guard/forward Abby Booker (Steelville, Mo./Steelville), guard Lauren Freeman (Fort Worth, Texas/Timber Creek), center Lauryn French (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica Catholic), forward Donyell Harris (West Palm Beach, Fla./Lake Worth), guard Ebonee Johnson (San Antonio, Texas/Taft), guard Juliana Marrero (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Vero Beach) and center Courtney Ragland (New Athens, Ill./New Athens).
 
"Addison and Brylee have really stepped in and fit into our mold of what we do. One, because of their length, they can run the floor, super-long athletic and really two different types of players," said Olufson. "Addison is really great with our press, kind of a versatile 4-5 and not a back-to-the basket post player. She is really good in the mid-range, kind of combination of an Aley (Lucas) and Taylor (Lucas), can post up, but can also step out, more of a stretch four, but really does a great job in transition. She can run and really put a lot of pressure on a post player that needs to get back in transition. Brylee is kind of different kind of player as she can shoot it, can drive, she gets deflections out of nowhere and will do some things kind of unorthodox, where it's not the mechanical rotation, but she gets there, makes plays and can light it up.
 
"Those two are really going to be able to stretch the defense in a lot of different ways and we're excited about those two."
 
In Webster's exhibition game on Nov. 3 at Missouri S&T, Manes scored six points and had four rebounds, while Beussink, who earned All-State honors as a senior at Saxony Lutheran, sat out the game due to injury. Manes was one of three newcomers to start the exhibition game as she was joining in the starting line-up by Johnson and Cottrell, along with Hunter and Morgan. 
 
Olufson said that Cottrell, who was a four-time All-Conference, All-District and Missouri Sportswriters Team selection at Steelville, is expected to help out in the backcourt and is currently learning to play the point guard position. In the exhibition against Missouri S&T, Cottrell had eight points, five rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes of action, but committed 10 turnovers as Webster had 33 turnovers in the game. 
 
"Hannah is really doing a nice job for us. As a freshman, you don't say this a lot about freshmen, but she's leading and learning at the same time. She is still on a growth process where she is still learning the college game, but we're pretty excited about where she's going," added Olufson. "She is trying to learn the point right now for us, that's an area we have to get a little better at, but she can play the 1- through-4 spots. She can score, she can drive, she can defend. Alyssa (McByers) is doing a really good job early, her growth over the last three or four weeks has been great on the defensive end. She is kind of a glue person, where ever you need her, she'll go there for us. Taylor (Zarr) is another freshman that has been good in practice and has given us some depth at the 4 and 5 spot."
 
The Gorloks come into action this season nursing numerous injuries that have sidelined several players for most of the preseason camp and two of those players that have recently begun practicing are Anoiser and French, who are two players the Gorloks are counting on in the post this season due to their size. 
 
"Lauren and Scarlett have kind of had a tough early part of the season, they'll take one step forward and then two steps back. I think once we can get them fully healthy and practicing more regularly they could really help us as both of them will be dominant forces on the block," Olufson stated. "Scarlett is an athletic post player with a dominant post game and Lauren is so strong, she can rebound and score if we can get the ball down there to her as she's going to score the ball. We have to get them caught up and get them going, but those two are really good post players."
 
Olufson said that the exhibition game against Missouri S&T was a good learning experience for his team and it gave the coaches an opportunity to see what we needed to improve heading into the regular season. Webster fell 92-54 to the Miners. 
 
"One thing we learned was we have to be consistent. When things were good, we started the game good, it was great, but when they (Missouri S&T) made a run, we kind of folded, which is kind of a sign of a young team. We have to be more consistent as the game of basketball has runs and we handle those runs is something we need to learn," the Webster coach said. "The next thing we learned is that we have to guard people, stop the ball in transition and have we have got to be able to run our offense. When we ran, we were good and when we didn't, we weren't great. It's the little things we do from practice to practice that have got to carry over and I just thing with our young team, you can't have flashes, you can't be good in one drill, you can't be good in one game and not the next. You have to be consistent and have carry over."
 
Olufson says that one of the big keys this season for his team will be consistency. 
 
"Consistent is probably No. 1 for us. We also have to stay healthy, we have to compete and I think it has to be a lot of things we've always done. We have to outwork people, have to be tough, push transition, got to defend, it's not going to be a secret to what we do," added Olufson. "It's all those little things that matter. There's no different whether you're a freshman or a senior, all those little things matter. If we do those little things and get better every day then we should have success this season."
 
One of the biggest strengths for Webster over the past few years has been the Gorloks ability to play defense and force turnovers as last season, Webster ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in turnover margin (+11.0), fifth in both steals per game (16.3) and turnovers forced per game (27.6) and sixth in steals (439). Over the last two seasons, Webster has forced a total of 1,579 turnovers (29.8 per game) and has collected 893 steals (16.8 per game). 
 
"We've shown some flashes of being good on defense and those flashes show us we can be really great and so with youth, if you can see the flashes, it means it's coming, but once again, we have to be consistent. Sometimes we're not rotating on time and sometimes it's an effort thing and everything we've been seeing right now is self-inflicting. It's not because of what another team is doing to us, it's the learning curve and the positive side from a coaching perspective is it is all correctable," Olufson said when asked about the progress on his defense this preseason. "If we're doing it now in October that means that by the time we reach the middle of the season, if we can get that, we're going to be good. Our crutch can't be, we're young, our crutch is that we have to be better each day and if we can clean up the press, the rotations and all that, our press will get better every day and that helps our defense get better. I think once those flashes become more and more flashes consistently, then you've got something."
 
In the Preseason SLIAC Coaches' Poll, the Gorloks were tabbed to finish fourth as they received 46 points and one first place vote. Defending league champion Greenville was tabbed to repeat as champion as the Panthers earned four first place votes and a total of 55 points. Spalding and Westminster were each tabbed second as they each earned two first place votes and 51 points. 
 
If the preseason poll is any indication as the top five teams are separated by a total of 14 points, it should be a highly competitive season in women's basketball in the race for the four spots in the SLIAC Tournament at the end of February. 
 
"I think the league is going to be really competitive. I think a lot of teams got really, really good returners and I think everyone is going to be able to compete. I think people have some really good teams and really good incoming players," added Olufson. "I expect it to be a dogfight to get into the Top 4. I really think it will be competitive and if you don't bring it every game, you could lose on any given night."
 
Friday's season opening opponent, Belhaven, comes into the season with four returning starters and six lettewinners from last season's 4-21 squad. In the Preseason American Southwest Conference Coaches' Poll, the Blazers were tabbed to finish fourth in the East Division.
 
Among the key returners for Belhaven and fourth-year head coach Steve Calder is senior guard AaLiyaha Thornton, who averaged a team-best 11.6 points per game last season and was named the ASC Preseason Watch List. In addition to Thornton, the other two returning starters are senior forward Alexis Caldwell and senior forward Lauren Brooks. Caldwell was second on the team in both scoring (8.1 ppg) and rebounding (4.3 rpg) and Brooks averaged 7.6 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. Both Caldwell and Brooks were also named to the ASC Preseason Watch List.
 
Belhaven opened 2018-19 season with an 82-72 overtime road loss on Tuesday at Millsaps. In that game, junior guard Peyton Papenburg led the way for the Blazers with 17 points, while Brooks added 16 points and nine rebounds. The Blazers shot 36 percent from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line and 54 percent (15-for-28) from the free throw line. 
 
"Belhaven has their core kids back. They are really good as they have a speedy guard and a good post player. They'll push transition when they can and they like to drive and kick and also like to drive and isolate. They will play a tougher half-court man-to-man defense and will look to run when they need too," Olufson said. "It is going to be tough, because we are going to have to be able to guard and make sure we get back. If we don't get back, they'll just go to the cup. For us, we need to be able to stop the ball as that is one thing they like to do is dribble penetrate and right now that is not a great thing for us."
 
Saturday's opponent, Concordia-Chicago, has played a similar style to the Gorloks the past few years, but during the offseason, the Cougars hired a new coach, Lauren Rosengarden. The Cougars, who open its 2018-19 season on Wednesday with a 68-42 win at Marian, returns two starters from last season's 17-9 team that finished fifth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference with a 13-7 record and earned a spot in the NACC Tournament for the second consecutive season.
 
The two returning starters for CUC are junior forward Crystal Corr and junior forward Annika Rae. Corr averaged 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and also had seven double-doubles, while Rae averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game a season ago. In addition, they shot 33 percent from the 3-point line and collected 343 steals and forced nearly 21 turnovers per game. 
 
"Concordia has done similar things to us as they press, like to run a lot of people out there and they can defend. It will be an interesting weekend and both games will be a great test for us," Webster's coach said. 
 
This weekend marks the eighth consecutive season that Webster is opening its women's basketball campaign with the Webster Tip-Off Classic. Since the event began in 2011, the Gorloks have posted a 9-5 record and have won four straight games in the event since falling 56-46 to Aurora in 2015. In addition, Webster has won six straight season openers since suffering a 47-45 loss to Concordia-Chicago in the Webster Tip-Off Classic to open the 2011-12 season. 
 
Following this weekend's two games in the Webster Tip-Off Classic, Webster will take a week off before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 24 against Augustana (Ill.) at 6 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium.