MT. CARMEL, Ill. -- When the Wabash Valley women's basketball team opens the season Saturday at Three Rivers, veteran coach Luke Scheidecker will have his team as well-prepared as any in school history.
That's thanks to a rigorous pre-season schedule that matched them against better talent than they will see on most nights of the regular season.
All by design.
"That's why people come here, so they can go on and play Division I basketball when they get done here," said Scheidecker of the pre-season slate that included a major junior college jamboree and scrimmages against three quality Division I teams.
Three Rivers finished 28-1 last year, its' only loss coming to Tyler, Texas in the second round of the NJCAA national tournament in Lubbock, Texas. The Raiders did the same thing the year before, falling for the first time in a 24-1 season in Lubbock.
On top of that, the Raiders will carry a 37-game home-court winning streak into the game.
So, the challenge is daunting.
"It is a great test right from the get-go," Scheidecker said. "That is why these scrimmages have been good, to prepare us for the first weekend."
First up on the pre-season tour was the Shalin Hoops MId-America Showcase in Lawrence, Kan. on October 15th. There were 34 other juco teams gathered, including Three Rivers, Moberly Area and Great Rivers Athletic Conference opponents Kaskaskia and Shawnee.
Three nights later, the Lady Warriors scrimmaged a Murray State team which could be one of the top teams in the country this season. The Racers are loaded with returnees from a squad that finished 22-10 and played in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Then it was off to Carbondale and a meeting with Southern Illinois, another member of the WNIT field in a 21-10 season.
The final scrimmage came against Southern Indiana, which after a 23-6 season last year, has made the jump to Division I.
Scheidecker likes what he sees in this team.
"We are very deep this year and very athletic," he said. "We can play a lot of different styles. We have a great inside presence, and we have great guard play. I am excited about the group because we will be hard to guard and we are really good defensively."
Scheidecker says his team will have more of a post presence this year, in part because of one thing he heard repeatedly from coaches and scouts who watched his team play: "Our freshman from last year have made a huge jump."
One of those returning sophomores was already considered one of the top point guards in the country last year. Shaulana Wagner averaged 12.2 points per game.
"It really starts with her. She sets the tone," said Scheidecker of the 5-foot-10 Detroit, Mich. product.
The Lady Warriors lost their top scorer, Daija Smith, to graduation. Scheidecker is looking for a group effort to replace her 17.3 points per game.
"We don't have that someone to fill that role of an elite scorer, but we have a lot of people who are good scorers and can do it by committee," Scheidecker said. 'We have eight or nine people who could drop 20 points any given night. That is what makes us so dangerous."
Wabash Valley, 28-2 last year after a first-round national tournament loss to Western Nebraska, has some impressive numbers all its' own, numbers to protect once the season progresses. The Lady Warriors have won 99 consecutive GRAC games, in addition to 89 straight wins at Spencer Sports Center.
And they are looking for a seventh straight trip to Texas for the national tournament.
The 1 p.m. (CDT) opener is part of a weekend classic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Olney Central plays Southern Arkansas University Tech (1-0) at 3 p.m.
Sunday at 1 p.m. (then CST), the Lady Warriors face Southern Arkansas, 17-8 a year ago, followed by Olney Central vs. Three Rivers at 3 p.m.
Last year, WVC led the nation in scoring (88.1 points per game), and the Lady Warriors were first in field goals made per game (33.7) and third in field goal percentage (.464). They were just as impressive on defense, winding up seventh in opponent's shooting percentage (.330), and 10th in steals (13.5 per game).