With every new women’s basketball season, players come together and hope to gel into a championship team. No player is more important on the basketball court than the point guard, and for the San Diego State women’s basketball team it’s Sandy Wright, who must know every teammate’s on-court nuances and personality.
And Wright knows she will have to be productive if the Aztecs are going to make a run at a Western Athletic Conference Championship and possibly a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“The point guard is like the quarterback,” Wright said. “If you don’t have a point guard, you don’t have an offense.”
SDSU hasn’t had much of offense early this season and has struggled to a 2-2 start. Wright will accept most of the blame; she is averaging six assists per game. But she is also averaging nearly as many turnovers. She finished second in the WAC last season with 130 assists.
Head coach Beth Burns said, “We expect her to build on last year’s accomplishments in order to have a great senior season.”
Wright and the Aztecs will have a successful season if Wright can get the ball in the hands of returning forwards Jodi Nowlin-Tres and Olivia DiCamilli.
Nowlin-Tres earned All-WAC honors last season, finishing sixth in the WAC in scoring (15.2 ppg) and first in steals (3.4 spg). She is off to a similar start in her senior season, leading the team in scoring in three of their first four games against quality opposition.
“Playing tough teams early in the season are good experiences,” said Nowlin-Tres, who scored 14 points against nationally ranked Stephen F. Austin earlier this season. “Hopefully, it will help us down the road.”
DiCamilli was an All-WAC honorable mention last season. This season, she’s second on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and leads the team averaging eight rebounds a game.
“Olivia is a smart, talented player,” Burns said. “She’s a great passer, relentless rebounder and overall team player.”
SDSU lost three key players from last season’s squad, which finished 20-8 overall and third in the WAC with a 9-5 record. All-WAC center Tameka Johnson is no longer with the team and All-WAC defender Edna Rodriguez has grabbed a clipboard and joined Burns’ coaching staff as an assistant. Also, shooting guard Angela Walker was lost to graduation, and her spot will be filled by freshman Deidra Rucker.
The two open starting spots will be filled with familiar faces; Jurate Zukauskaite will play in place of Rodriguez and Atiya Williams will take over for Johnson.
Zukauskaite, a reserve on last season’s squad, won’t defend as well as Rodriguez, but she can shoot the basketball. Last season, the 5-foot-11 senior finished second in the WAC, shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the three-point line.
“Jurate will be able to contribute obviously as a three-point scorer,” Burns said, “as well as providing leadership as a returning player.”
If nothing is open on the perimeter, the ball can be given to Williams in the paint. The 6-foot-2 center redshirted last season after playing for SDSU in the 1994-95 season. She has already been a force inside this season, recording 14 of the teams 18 blocked shots.
“We’re thrilled that Atiya is back in our lineup,” Burns said. “She fills a role on our team that no one else can; she gives us a presence in the paint.”
If Williams needs a breather, Burns will look to senior La-Taya Woods. The 5-foot-11 forward has shown to be a productive reserve (5.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg) in limited playing time this season.
“My job is to come off the bench and score and to get back and play defense,” Woods said.
The remainder of the team is new to the Aztec program, but will be expected to play a lot of minutes. The new recruits include junior college transfers Olanike Farodolu and Shaneya Harris and freshmen Courtney Bale, Robin Hayes, Sophia Sledge and Rucker.
“We have a lot of people who can contribute,” Burns said. “In a conference like ours, you have to have people who on any given night can step it up.”
