By Kenton Brooks
Eddie Kite had plenty to enjoy in coaching the Connors women’s basketball team the last two seasons.
A combined 58-10 record over the two years, an appearance in the national tournament and a Region II finalist more than filled his memory book.
But that’s all in the past.
The Cowgirls are literally rebuilding going into the 2009-10 season that starts next Wednesday at home.
Kite has to replace seven players — including all five starters who signed Division I scholarships — off last year’s 30-5 team that helped the Cowgirls reach the national tourney for the first time since 1999.
It’s not the easiest thing to do to bring in a new team.
“When you have so many new faces, not only are trying to find new talent and people who can play, but you’re also trying to develop team chemistry,” Kite said. “That’s the hardest thing you have to deal with in junior college.
"You can have a lot of great players on your team, but if you don’t have that team chemistry, you’re pretty dysfunctional.”
Magen Roth and Mariah Norwood are the only returnees.
Roth, a 5-foot-10 sophomore forward, only played six games last year before tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. Also a 5-10 forward, Norwood, a Sequoyah High School graduate, came off the bench, but she’s been hampered by a leg injury and pink eye that has cut into her practice time.
But the infusion of new players that include Sierra Cornwell of Preston and Brittany Love of Haskell has Kite excited about the upcoming season.
“We might not have Division I-caliber kids on our team, but we’ve got some really hard working kids in our program right now,” he said. “Hopefully, they can live up to the precedent that was set the last two years.”
Cornwell leads the newcomers. A talented athlete who won a combined four state championships in basketball, softball and track, the 5-foot-7 guard isn’t short of optimism going into the new season.
“We could be as good as they were,” she said. “We’re really quick and fast. I think people will underestimate us because of our size. I think we’re going to do really good this season.”
Other newcomers include 5-8 Whitney Mannon of Gore, 6-4 Valerie Blackwood of Ontario, Canada, 5-10 Taneisha Johnson of Mansfield, Texas and 5-11 Kendra Flemming of Fort Smith, Ark.
The “veteran” of the team is just as confident
“We’re so comfortable with each other,” Roth said. “I’m very excited for our team. If we work hard as a team, we’ll be fine.”
The Cowgirls open the season against the Bacone junior varsity.
