Season Preview: Bruins look to build upon previous successes

2019-20 Roster
2019-20 Schedule
2019-20 NSAA Preseason Coaches' Poll
2019-20 NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team broke through on the national stage in just their third season in 2018-19 and are looking to take yet another step forward in the 2019-20 season.

A year ago, the Bruins won 23 games (against just 10 losses) and claimed a share of the North Star Athletic Association Regular-Season Championship before going on to win the program's first NSAA Tournament title and secure a bid to the NAIA National Tournament.

NSAA Preseason Poll:

On Monday, the NSAA coaches announced their picks for the league title and Mayville State edged out Bellevue by just two points to earn status as preseason favorites. The Bruins and Comets split four first place votes after sharing the NSAA Regular-Season title a year ago.

Mayville swept BU during the regular-season but the Bruins got their revenge with a 63-59 come-from-behind victory in the conference championship game.

Valley City State (50 points) was chosen to finish third, followed by Dakota State (35), Viterbo (27), Waldorf (22), Presentation (19), and Dickinson State (17).

The NSAA Tournament format remains unchanged from a season ago. The quarterfinal round will be hosted at the higher seeded team's campus on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The four quarterfinal winners advance to the NSAA Final Four, which will once again take place at the Watertown Civic Arena on Saturday, Feb. 29 (semifinals) and Sunday, Mar. 1 (championship) with times to be announced at a later date.

NAIA Preseason Poll:

After making their Top 25 debut last season, Bellevue opens the 2019-20 campaign among the schools also receiving votes with a total of 31 voting points. The lone conference representative in the Top 25 is Mayville State who checks in at No. 23.

Defending National Champion Concordia (Neb.) tops the poll with all 12 first place votes and 312 points while last year's runner-up Southeastern (Fla.) checks in at No. 2 with 302 points. College of the Ozarks (Mo.), Indiana Tech, and Dordt (Iowa) round out the top five.

This season will also mark the final season of the NAIA's split division format as the NAIA will combine Division I and Division II into one national division for the 2020-21 season. The final NAIA Division II National Tournament returns to Sioux City, Iowa from Wednesday-Tuesday, Mar. 11-17 at the Tyson Events Center.

Coaching Staff:

Dave Denly returns for his fourth season at the helm of the Bruins. In his – and the program's – first three seasons, Denly has led the Bruins to a 58-38 (.604) overall record and 31-15 (.674) mark in NSAA play, a pair of conference championships, and the program's first NAIA National Tournament Appearance.

James Benford returns for his fourth season on Denly's staff while Mercedees Morgan is back for her second year on the Bruin coaching staff.

The Returners:

BU returns three starters from last year's team in junior forward Elexis Martinez, sophomore guard Faith Ross, and junior guard Jamie Winkler.

Martinez, a first team all-NSAA selection and Honorable Mention All-American, led Bellevue in scoring (13.8 PPG), field goal percentage (47.1%), and rebounding (6.6 RPG) a season ago, second on the team with 37 blocked shots, and sank 71.4 percent of her free throw attempts.

Ross, a second team all-conference performer and last season's NSAA Newcomer of the Year, emerged as a key piece of the Bruins' offense after averaging 11.0 points per game and hitting on 41.8 percent of her three-point tries, sinking 81 treys on the season to lead the team.

Winkler was nearly Bellevue's fourth player to average in double figures last year, finishing at 9.9 points per game. She led the team with 112 assists, ranked fourth with 41 steals, and finished second on the club with 45 three-pointers made.

Also returning are a pair of sophomores who had significant roles off the bench last season in guard Taeha Pankey (4.6 PPG, 45 Assists) and forward Laura Jurek (6.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG), who was named MVP of the NSAA Final Four. Both Pankey and Jurek will be in the mix to start this season.

Sophomore guards Lexi Allen (2.3 PPG, 18 3-FG) and Miranda Hennings (2.6 PPG, 14 3-FG) return after getting spot duty as freshmen and both will likely see well-defined roles this year.

After sitting out last season as an intra-conference transfer, senior guard Cassie Jones will bring additional valuable NSAA experience to the team. In three seasons at Dakota State, Jones scored over 400 points, shot 78.9 percent from the free throw line, and appeared in over 90 games.

The Newcomers:

Bellevue welcomes three transfers and a pair of freshmen into the fold for the 2019-20 season.

Senior 5-10 guard Brittany Hill (Detroit, Mich.) was the second-leading scorer at Ohio Valley last season, averaging 9.3 points per game, and led the team in three-pointers made (31), steals (31), and three-point percentage (32.0%).

Junior 5-9 guard Jerrene Richardson (Fresno, Calif.) earned first team all-conference and second team all-state honors for Fresno City College last season. She led the team in scoring (16.8 PPG), three-point field goals (62), steals (93), and blocked shots (41), ranked second in assists (101), third in rebounding (4.7 RPG), and shot 79.2 percent from the free throw line for the Rams.

Junior 5-11 forward Khalilah Holloway (Minneapolis, Minn.) was a rebounding force in her two seasons at North Iowa Area Community College (2016-18), averaging 6.3 rebounds per game for her career to go along with a 6.5 point per game scoring average. She was twice an all-NJCAA Region XI selection and totaled seven career double-doubles.

New to the collegiate ranks are 5-11 forward Ayiana Uhde (Olathe West HS/Olathe, Kan.) and 5-10 guard Delaney VanBlaricon (Holden HS/Holden, Mo.). Uhde, a three-year letter-winner, and an honorable mention all-Sunflower League player gives the Bruins another strong frontcourt presence

VanBlaricon, a 1,000-point scorer in high school was a four-time all-MRVC East performer and earned the league's Player of the Year Award in both her junior and senior seasons. She led the district in steals, three-pointers, and free throw shooting as a sophomore, junior, and senior.

Schedule:

For the fourth consecutive year, Bellevue opens the season at the OKWU Classic. They play host Oklahoma Wesleyan tomorrow at 6 p.m. and McPherson on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Following another road game on Oct. 29 at College of St. Mary, BU will play their home-opener against Midland on Friday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. as part of the BU/NCC Classic that kicks off a three-game home stand.

Bellevue will head back out on the road for eight more contests away from home, including a three games against ranked opposition at No. 3-ranked College of the Ozarks (Nov. 15), No. 16-ranked Hastings (Nov. 30), and No. 5-ranked Dordt (Dec. 10). An exhibition game at Augustana (Nov. 25) is entwined in that road trip as well.

The Bruins kick off NSAA play at Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. After a short break for the Christmas holiday season, Bellevue plays four more home games, including two in the annual Fairfield Inn & Suites Bruin Classic before closing the year with their final 13 games in conference play.

BU plays a total of seven games against five different opponents that are either ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Top 25.

The regular-season wraps up on Friday, Feb. 21 against Dakota State at 5:30 p.m. inside the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

Coach Dave Denly"

"We're excited to get the season underway. We have a great group to work with; they know the expectations of the coaching staff and what it will take to win in our league. We gained a lot of valuable experience by reaching the National Tournament last season and I'm hoping that will have us prepared and eager to go out and compete against every team on our schedule."