Azusa Pacific women’s basketball season hasn’t tipped off yet, but the season is approaching quickly, with very high expectations. This year’s PacWest preseason poll has picked APU to finish the season second, behind reigning national runner-up California Baptist University. However, APU’s women’s basketball team is not satisfied with that second-place ranking.
They want to win it all.
The 2015-16 Cougars have a total of nine seniors on the team, and with an extremely strong and experienced squad, the goal of winning a championship is within reach for APU.
“We want to win the national championship,” head coach T.J. Hardeman said. “With a total of nine seniors, there’s the feeling of ‘This is our time, this is our year,’ so that’s a good feeling on the team. Everyone’s mentality is: ‘Whatever I can do to help the team, I want to do.’”
Senior forward Kelly Hardeman, the coach’s niece, is the team captain and has helped lead the Cougars in the right direction. Last season, she ranked second in the PacWest in scoring (19.1 ppg), fourth in rebounding (9.9 rpg), and fifth in blocks (2.0 bpg).
“Besides the fact that it’s my last year of playing college basketball, [the PacWest preseason poll] is a huge motivation for me,” Kelly Hardenman said. “I think for all nine of us [seniors], we’re all motivated by that, and it gives us a little fire that you can’t really get unless you have a team full of seniors.”
Kelly Hardeman is a two-time first-team All-PacWest selection, and was tagged as the preseason choice for PacWest Player of the Year. This is her second time being selected in the preseason for the honor, as she also earned it as a sophomore in the 2013-14 season. However, she prefers not to listen to the preseason hype.
“To be honest, I don’t think it means anything [winning preseason player of the year],” Kelly Haredman said. “I try not to pay any attention to it, because I know that it comes with a lot of anticipation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m honored to get the award, but I think that it’s more of a reflection of my hard work.”
Last season, the Cougars went 19-10, finishing on a strong note with a five-game winning streak, before getting edged out by Hawaii Pacific in the PacWest tournament semifinals. This year, they want to begin where they left off—with a winning streak—and they want it to stay that way throughout the entire season.
“Our communication has really improved,” said senior guard Cydnie Jones. “That’s something that we’ve been working on. Our defense was really good last year, but now we’ve taken that extra step. Offensively, it’s important just to move the ball around in order to get a flow going, and not letting the other team get any open shots or offensive rebounds.”
Jones led the team last year in assists (131) and in steals (65), averaging 11.0 points per game.
Senior forward Miriam Zabinsky and junior center Maggie Dumphy also return for the Cougars. Last year, Zabinsky was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game; Dumphy led the team in blocks (60) and averaged 10.1 points per game last season.
The team also expects a contribution from senior guard Allison Greene and sophomore guard Joelle Tampien. Neither Greene nor Tampien played last year, but their skill sets will definitely impact the team this year.
“[Greene] was an All-League player two years ago, and she probably has the highest basketball IQ of anybody on our team,” Coach Hardeman said. “She brings knowledge, understanding and competitiveness. She’s going to help us out a lot.”
“[Greene and Tampien’s] impact is huge,” Kelly Hardeman said. “It definitely takes a lot of pressure off of me, and for others as well. The pressure is not on one player to have their best game in order for us to win, because we have someone who can come off the bench and do equally as well.”
With the amount of experience and ambition from this basketball team, APU may prove themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the PacWest.
The Cougars will begin their season with two consecutive away games. On Nov. 13, they will play at Cal Poly Pomona, and on Nov. 14, they will take on Cal State Dominguez Hills. The home opener is Nov. 17 against Cal State L.A.