Harper Taylor was pleased with the way her first season as women's basketball coach at Kansas Wesleyan progressed.
The Coyotes qualified for the Kansas Conference's postseason tournament by winning their last three regular season games. It was an abrupt reversal after three consecutive losses put them on the brink.
"Just kind of learning through adversity, pushing through the experience," she said. "Being a head coach doesn't come with a playbook of how to do it the right way or how to do it the wrong way. I think it really built a strong foundation for this year. All of the close games that we had really showed us that we can produce a product and put a team together that can be in close games and compete with anybody, no matter what their talent is."
KWU finished with a 14-15 record and was eighth in the KCAC at 11-11.
"She might start for us this year; she's been a great glue player," Taylor said. "I gave her some very specific things I wanted her to do in the offseason, and not only did she do them, but she saw the benefits. She looks like a completely different player and I'm very excited about her."
"Schutz came from a very good program," Taylor said. "She's very smart, her basketball IQ is through the roof and is a very versatile player. She's 6-1 and can play inside, she can play outside defensively because she is so long. Dawson, offensively, is really crafty. I'm trying to get her used to being at (point guard). She's not fully there yet, Odessa's going to be mostly there, but Andy could maybe fill that backup spot."
Freshman guard Keimara Marshall from Topeka has a chance to contribute, according to Taylor.