Women's basketball recovered, ready for 2012-13

After three weeks off, the DePaul women’s basketball team is back at it again.

Fresh off of their 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, culminating with a tough loss to elite Tennessee, the Blue Demons have begun to get ready for next season.

Anna Martin, an honorable mention All-America member and unanimous Big East All-Conference selection, said there was good and bad to having the three weeks off after the season finished.

“The healing, recovering, resting your mind and getting it away from basketball for a little bit was nice,” Martin responded when asked what she did in the three weeks off. “The first week is hard because all you’re thinking about is the last game and what you could have done.”

Although she said that she is not one to reflect too much on games or seasons, she and the team were able to have one last look at the 2011-12 season with the Year End Banquet.

Martin was named the team’s most valuable player while the four seniors – Deanna Ortiz, Keisha Hampton, Maureen Mulchrone and Taylor Pikes – received the Maggie Dixon Captain’s award for commitment to the game and excelling on and off the court.

“Any postseason honors she received were well-earned,” Head Coach Doug Bruno said about Martin. “Anna did just a great job of picking up everybody through the tough losses. She stepped up and brought a ‘refuse to lose’ attitude. She also kept getting better and better as a basketball player.”

When asked about moving forward to next season, both Martin and Bruno admitted that playing without so many players turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the upcoming season.

“The bad news was that we had to play without them,” Bruno said. “But the good news was we could prepare for next year because we had to play without them.”

Bruno also said that in some respects it is easier to project for the 2012-13 year than usual because they only lost one senior that played in the last game of the season (Ortiz). Add to that the addition of Kelsey Smith, a 6-4 transfer from Michigan State who will be eligible to play after the fall quarter finishes, and the return of Chanise Jenkins and Alexa Gallagher, and excitement abounds for the team.

And those are just the players that are on campus.

There are three incoming freshmen signed and ready to come in for the fall: Megan Podkowa, Brooke Schulte and Brandi Harvey-Carr. Bruno spoke about the class in general and is excited for their arrivals.

“I’m pleased with next year’s recruiting class. I think it’s a solid class,” said Bruno, adding that he thinks this is a class that could step up and have early contributors, depending on how summer and fall workouts go.

Martin said that the recruiting class will “add depth and hopefully we won’t have to be the ‘Magnificent Seven’ again.”

Martin also echoed some of Bruno’s sentiments in his press conference after the loss to Tennessee about making the Final Four an ultimate goal, one of the few accomplishments the team has not attained yet. It’s also the stretch run for Martin and Katherine Harry, who will be seniors in the fall.

“We talk about how weird it is but I don’t think it’s sunk in that I’m a senior,” Martin admitted. “This is my last chance.”