Richard Anderson photo
Cowgirl seniors (facing, from left) Elisabeth Dissen, Megan McGuffey and Rebecca Vanderjagt will be counted on for leadership and a little more scoring this season.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
For the past three years, Cowgirl seniors Megan McGuffey and Rebecca Vanderjagt have shown the ability to score points … but only on occasion as role players mainly off of the bench.
It’s safe to say that Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski will be looking for points out of McGuffey, Vanderjagt, senior Elisabeth Dissen and junior Aubrey Vandiver this season.
To say the least.
The Wyoming Cowgirls, coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance, will be in somewhat of a rebuilding mode this season with the graduation of Hanna Zavecz, Justyna Podziemska, Jodi Bolerjack and Dominique Sisk. Take those four from the Cowgirl lineup and you lose about 89 percent of the team’s points scored last season.
“What that says is I don’t play a lot of people, I don’t juggle my lineup much,” Legerski said. “We lost a great deal of experience. I think that is what we’re going to have a tough time replacing.”
Legerski said he doesn’t look at it like he is losing 42 points and 16 rebounds a game. He said he looks at it like he is returning just 24 points and 17 rebounds a game.
“You cannot win any games with 24 points and 17 rebounds,” he said. “The nice part of it is when your senior class leaves, they don’t take all of those shots and rebounds with them. They’re still out there on the floor and we have to have other players step up. Our senior class, I am excited about. They have all played integral roles in the success that we have had in the last three. Their roles will change again. They’ll have to be more in the forefront and they will lead the way.”
For players like McGuffey and Vanderjagt, it’s a new role for them, but a challenge they are excited about facing.
“We definitely lost a lot of our scoring power,” Vanderjagt said. “But now it just gives different people opportunities to step up and score.”
Both Vanderjagt and McGuffey averaged just 3.9 points a game last season. Yet, there have been times in their careers when they have stepped up to be double-figure scorers.
Knowing that, Vanderjagt said that she has worked hard in the off-season to be assertive and to look for her shot.
“It doesn’t change that quickly, but I am still working in every practice being more aggressive to the basket and looking to score when I can,” Vanderjagt said.
McGuffey came into the program with immediate success and was named the MWC Newcomer of the year after her freshman season. But for most part, she has been thought of as a utility player behind the likes of Zavecz. That will obviously change this season.
“It’s a little different from the past three years. I’ve been counted on to get rebounds, to get a few baskets here and there,” McGuffey said. “It will be a big adjustment this year because we had so much offensive talent in the previous years. It is just something that we have to develop as practice goes along.”
Her role, along with that of Vanderjagt and Dissen, is different from a leadership standpoint … it’s not just with scoring.
“Mostly with me, Rebecca and Elisabeth, our roles are going to be for the younger kids looking at us for experience and look to us to just feel comfortable out there and to just give them some reassurance,” McGuffey said.
The Cowgirls will also be asking for points from Vandiver, who was third on the team last year with a 10.9 average, along with sophomores Jade Kennedy and Hillary Carlson, and a slew of talented freshmen. Vanderjagt said that while they may have lost some scoring punch, the cupboard isn’t exactly bare.
“We have so many new girls this year that can score as well, so we can still look to give up our shots to them as well,” Vanderjagt said.
The season is just under way for the Cowgirls, as they will open the their exhibition slate in about three weeks. This time in practice and the non-conference schedule will give them time to find the scoring punch that they need.
McGuffey said at least they’re not opening with Utah or other top teams in the conference. At the same time, there’s no doubt that it already has been different.
“Hopefully, we’ll get those kinks out before those games,” McGuffey said with a smile. “But there have been times, even in these practices, where we are so used to finding our scoring threats from last year. Yeah, it’s going to be an adjustment period. We have so many young girls who can shoot and score, it will only be a matter of time when we find out.”
The change in the basketball air for the Cowgirls is one of anticipation and apprehension. The change is also bringing in an added competitiveness out on the court -- even from the returning players.
“Everyone is competing for positions because we did lose so many people,” Vanderjagt said. “It’s very different from the previous years. It’s a lot more learning, but it is good for us to refresh, I suppose.”
And for the three seniors who were a big part of building the program to where it is today, it’s also a chance for them to continue the tradition they have built as leaders and not followers.
“I really like my teammates and my class -- Rebecca and Elisabeth,” McGuffey said. “I think all three of us are just excited to play this year. In the past three years, we were all role players, so I think we’re ready to come in there and provide some leadership and continue on with what we have been doing.”
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