Ready or not, veteran Western women open Sunday

Scott Holland
MACOMB – Despite not getting a ton of offseason work in and having to pause practice for two weeks in October due to a positive COVID-19 test on the roster, the Western Illinois women’s basketball team feels it is progressing toward being ready to open the season this Sunday at Wisconsin.
The Leathernecks did not get the benefit of spring or summer team workouts and had to work in separate groups throughout the fall but even though the team has only been whole for a short time, they are just happy to have the season right around the corner.
“We’re focusing on enjoying practice and getting the chance to play, not everyone is getting that chance right now,” Western junior Danni Nichols said.
During the fall, due to Illinois COVID-19 restrictions, Western could only practice seven to eight players together at a time, putting the veterans in one group while the newcomers were in another.
The move paid dividends as new faces got acquainted with each other while the familiar crew grew tighter and were able to get a little ahead of schedule.
“It was different, it was weird to get used to, we were split by who we live that way if anyone got COVID, it would be easier to quarantine,” Nichols said. “It felt like preseason when we do groups but they’re smaller and usually would get mixed up. It was strange this year because there are so many people I didn’t get to see play until a few weeks ago.
“It was really strange, you feel like you haven’t played with them forever, but it was exciting to finally get to.”
On a team that returns four starters and two of its top reserves, Western did not have much work to do to get up to speed, which did help a portion of the roster skip some of the introductory work.
“It’s helping, that’s the main thing, even not having much practice, everyone has so much experience and is more confident and comfortable on the floor practicing,” center Evan Zars said. “I think that helps the freshmen coming in too, when everyone knows what’s going on, it can be a good example for them. When they’re watching, everything they see flows so much better so it helps them see and get through drills and workouts quicker.”
With the Summit League schedule requiring teams to be a little deeper this season and WIU playing a multi-team event at Eastern Illinois in December, any experience the less experienced players can get in the offseason should pay dividends come conference season.
“It reminds me a lot of playing summer ball, playing a lot of back-to-back tournaments and games, so you have to get back to that mentality,” Nichols said of the schedule. “We will need some other people to step up and I think we have the players to do that.”