Season Outlook

New Coach, New Beginnings for Queen Bees

New head coach Nathan Altenhofen is taking over the reins of the defending Midwest Classic Conference champions after Amy Eagan left at the end of last season. He will have the difficult task of replacing eight key players from last year’s squad that finished a perfect 14-0 in the conference season.

Last season, Coach Altenhofen went 32-2 at Odessa College to win the NJCAA Division I National Championship and was named the NJCAA National Coach of the Year. After coaching at the junior college level, Coach Altenhofen will now have the benefit of having players for four years instead of two.

“I’m extremely excited to have the opportunity to develop players for four years,” Coach Altenhofen said. “Players will make significant strides from the time they are freshman to seniors.”

To do so, the Queen Bees went through a rigorous off-season training that included several foot acceleration drills and strength training. Coach Altenhofen is implementing a system that will have the Queen Bees playing at a much faster pace than previous years.

“Our style should be very fan-friendly,” Coach Altenhofen said. “We play uptempo with a defense that will force a lot turnovers and an offense that will shoot a lot of three pointers.”

Fortunately for the Queen Bees, they return two of their premiere outside threats from last season’s team. Jenny Clark (G, 5-6, SO) and Casey Breitbach combined for 90 threes in 2006-07.

“This style of play is very good for quick athletes that can shoot the ball,” Coach Altenhofen said. “It should be very effective for players that Casey and Jenny.”

Besides their shooting prowess, Clark and Breitbach will be counted on to bring along the younger guards.

“Casey and Jenny have shown their leadership ability on and off the court, Coach Altenhofen said. “They have very strong work ethics, quality experiences from last season and are tremendous spot-up shooters.”

With their experiences from last year, Clark and Breitbach are the most experienced players on an extremely young team. Six of the eleven girls currently on varsity are freshman and the Queen Bees do not have a single senior in the program.

“I think it’s good for a first year coach since virtually everyone is new and they are learning a new system,” CoacH Altenhofen said. “We have the youngest team in the conference and probably the country.”

Complementing Casey and Jenny are several new faces to the program. Mary Burmeister (C, 6’1, FR), Ali Dolphin (G, 5’7, FR) and Whitney Rumbold (G, 5-6, FR) should see a lot of playing time as freshman.

“Our freshman will make large contributions and there could be as many as two to four starting at some point in the season,” Coach Altenhofen said.

“Whitney has the ability to score inside and out, and doesn’t get rattled. Ali is probably the hardest worker and the best transition athlete,” Coach Altenhofen said. “She makes everyone on the floor better because of how hard she works and she has the potential to be our best defender. Mary is the anchor to our half-court defense and she is a strong help side defender that runs the floor very well for someone her height.”

Megan Smith (F, 5-8, FR), Shelley Charvat (C, 6’0, FR) and Jennifer Lickteig (F, 5-9, FR) are three more freshman that should see significant playing time on both the junior varsity and varsity teams.

“These girls have done a really nice job and are fighting for varsity minutes. They will continue to compete on varsity as well as develop on J.V.”

Four other players, Drew Widdop (C, 6’2, JR), Dara Widdop (C, 6’2, JR), Illinois Central College transfer Callie Sobaski (F, 6’1, JR) and Amy Fulfs (G, 5’3, JR) round out the varsity depth chart. Drew and Dara saw some playing time as sophomores where they combined to score 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

“Dara and Drew look noticeably improved from last season,” Coach Altenhofen said. “Callie Sobaski adds a very strong presence in the post. She is a good complement player to our other players that run the floor well because of her post strength. Amy will add more experience at the point position.”

Sophomore Aysha Washington and junior Mandy Crino may see some time on varsity this season. Aysha appeared in 18 games last season and scored 1.8 points per contest. Mandy saw action in 25 games and gave the Bees 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds a game.

“Right now Aysha and Mandy are on JV, but they could give supporting minutes on varsity in the future,” Coach Altenhofen said.

The Queen Bees have had lots of recent success, going 111-58 over the past five seasons. Coach Altenhofen is no stranger to success either having compiled an 80-16 record in just three seasons at Odessa College, including a 66-3 mark over the past two seasons.

“My goals here will be the same as at Odessa. I want to get our program to be competitive at the national level and to compete for a conference and national championship,” Coach Altenhofen said. “We will continue to make our players faster and stronger by developing their quickness to they can reach their athletic potential.”