This past Friday night, the UW women’s basketball team started the 2003-04 season with a statement of dedication and stamina.
As the night wound down, the Badgers were led into the early hours of a Saturday morning by newly named co-captains Lello Gebisa and Emily Ashbaugh. Precisely at 12:01 a.m., first year head coach Lisa Stone began her first practice following the official tip-off of the NCAA basketball season.
“I’ll tell you right now, there’s no one in this room that wants postseason more than those kids,” Stone said, answering her first questions by the media. “They want it bad, and so do I. There’s potential in them and I told them I’m going to do my best to maximize their potential to get there.”
Stone’s decision to name Ashbaugh and Gebisa as captains came after an evaluation of their leadership qualities and a 2003 season in which each excelled on the playing floor. Gebisa led the Big Ten in blocks (2.1 per game) and in rebounding (6.1 per game), and was one of only two double-figure scorers for the Badgers a year ago. Ashbaugh added 8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game to combine with Gebisa, giving UW a dominating presence down low.
“They have been great leaders throughout the summer and preseason conditioning,” Stone said. “They are the unquestioned leaders of this team. I’m going to have weekly captains’ meetings, and I am pleased to work with two such great communicators.”
Ashbaugh is familiar with a midnight practice. She took part in “Midnight Madness with Dick and Jane” her freshman season but admitted that this year’s full-blown practice would be a much tougher task.
“This is a real three-hour practice. It’s going to be grueling and hard,” she said. “I think our anticipation for this moment will carry us through three hours in the middle of the night. We’re tired of the pre-season. We’re ready to get rolling.”
An off-season that has lasted nearly four months has UW anxious to produce against strong competition between itself and their exhibition opponents.
“There’s something kind of cool, though, about being the only ones awake working at something, knowing not a lot of other people are working at it,” Ashbaugh said. “You get to know that you at least have that much.”
The Badgers hope this season’s early start will help them better last year’s 7-21 finish.
— Compiled from staff reports
