Ravens ready to host HCAC tournament

The Anderson University women’s basketball team is taking preparation for tonight’s Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament contest seriously.

The proof of that can be found in the team’s activities in the nine days since the Ravens (17-7) were last on court for a competitive contest. It was Feb. 20 when AU smothered
Manchester to secure the HCAC title and the right to host the tourney.

“The team voted not to take any days off,” said Ravens coach Marcie Taylor, now in her 18th season at the AU helm. “It’s been business as usual. We’ve had seven practices.”

“We’re used to just having Sundays off,” said Lauren Vail, the lone senior on the squad. “We want to work hard and stay focused. We don’t want to be too satisfied with the win over Manchester.”

It would be hard not to be impressed with the 71-44 win in that title-clinching game.

“We came in the Thursday after the game and looked at the whole game,” Vail said. “We enjoyed it. But there are still things we can do better.”

Improvement might be necessary to secure a win in the 6 p.m. game against Hanover (15-10). The Ravens defeated the Panthers 71-66 in overtime on the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium floor, but then lost on the road, 61-58.

“They have a fairly young team, so when we played them the first time, we didn’t know much about them,” Taylor said. “We made some adjustments as the game went on. When we played them down there, they played very well, but we weren’t focused for that game.”

The AU focus defensively for the game will be 6-foot-1 freshman center Molly Martin, from Terre Haute North High School. She leads the HCAC in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Martin also leads the team by averaging 11.8 rebounds per contest.

“She’s a big body,” Taylor said. “When we lost to them, we didn’t rotate well and got beat on dribble penetration.”

Only three times in the past dozen games have the Ravens allowed 60 or more points.
Offensively, the Ravens have five players averaging more than 7.5 points, but nobody averaging more than 13.8.

“We don’t have any superstars on the team,” Taylor said. “We have balance, and we get production out of a lot of players.”

Junior Kayla Martin leads the Ravens in scoring (13.8 points) and is tied for the lead on the boards (8 rebounds). Tiffany Bowsher is a sophomore with is averaging 9.4 points and 8.3 rebounds. Mandy Seward is a junior guard who averages 5.4 assists and 8.3 points.

“Our guard play is definitely better than last year,” Taylor said. “I give a lot of credit for that to (assistant coach) Mandy Harrison. She’s done a great job. We’re taking better care of the basketball.”

The Ravens also seem to have the ability to bounce back from adversity.

“When we lost in January (60-47 at Manchester) we bounced back with a string of wins (six),” said Taylor. “When we lost in February (61-58 at Hanover), we ran off a string of wins (three and counting).”

Tonight’s second game (scheduled for 8 p.m.) pits Manchester (17-8) against Transylvania (14-11).

The tournament winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

“We had the choice to play in the 6 p.m. game or the second game,” said Taylor. “But with our championship at 2 p.m. (Saturday) instead of 7 p.m. like the men, we’d rather get the extra rest.”

Story written by Herald Bulletin Staff Reporter Rick Teverbaugh