April 10, 2008

Milwaukee, WI (UWIRE) -- At the start of the season the Marquette women's basketball team had a tough act to follow. The team was coming off one of its best seasons ever after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2007. It lost four key seniors, making a repeat performance difficult.

Enter six freshmen into the equation and the team was forced to rely on a lot of youth and a few seasoned veterans like Svetlana Kovalenko and Krystal Ellis. Somehow, that combination amounted to a WNIT championship.

After her team's WNIT title game victory Saturday over Michigan State, head coach Terri Mitchell lauded her players for accepting every challenge they faced this season.

"When you face adversity, you have two choices: you either are crushed underneath it or you decide you're going to overcome it, and this team decided from the very first day that they were going to do something special," Mitchell said.

It was difficult to gauge expectations for this team at the beginning of the year, but it was certain the Golden Eagles would be intriguing to watch. Ellis entered the year with All-American hopes, while Kovalenko, the team's lone senior, was looking to go out in style.

Mitchell aimed to assemble a speedy lineup. A plethora of guards and quick post players had Marquette looking like a team that would get up and down the floor with ease.

Marquette's strongest asset was forcing turnovers to start the fast break. The Golden Eagles forced 21.3 turnovers per game this year, compared to last season's 16.6.

The run-and-gun style was met with mixed results early in the season. In its first four games, Marquette went 2-2, and one thing was clear - this team needed Ellis to perform like a star. The Golden Eagles' first two losses came without their marquee guard.

While the team was hopeful all year that it would make the NCAA Tournament, there may have been a blessing in disguise in the fact that they did not. There is something to be said for making the tournament, but losing in the first or second round would not have meant as much as rattling off five straight wins to capture the WNIT crown.

"That was the first time this whole season we've won five games in a row," Ellis said. "It's the experience. We all just got to play together and everything else."

Marquette had not even won three games in a row entering the tournament and had a 4-11 road record before winning its final three away from the Al McGuire Center.

The tournament also served as a platform for Marquette's freshmen to showcase their talent. Angel Robinson averaged 16.2 points in the WNIT and Jocelyn Mellen averaged 8.6.

It was not only the freshmen who excelled in the tournament. Junior Erin Monfre broke out in the championship game with 15 points on five three-pointers.

Monfre did not have the type of year she was hoping for. She averaged 3.1 points per game and the loss of her mother only compounded things.

"You go through what I've been through this season with my mom and all that family stuff, it's a huge win," Monfre said. "You know she's watching down and she was helping me get those shots in."

Finishing as WNIT champions was an emotional ending for the entire Marquette team, but next year's expectations are already starting to set in for some.

"I already bet them that they're going to be in the Top 25 preseason rankings," Kovalenko said. "They're not going to skip a beat, and they're going to keep going and be even better next year."

(C) 2008 The Marquette Tribune via UWIRE