Jared Shlensky
Sports Editor
The North Central College Cardinals season came to an end last Saturday February 22 after falling to local conference rival Elmhurst College 95-85 inside R.A. Faganel Hall.
After finishing last season with a .500 record of 13-13 along with sneaking into the conference tournament, the Cardinals failed to do either this year, finishing seventh in the CCIW regular season standings and an overall record of 11-14.
Despite the team’s inconsistent play, head coach Michelle Roof felt there were still some positives to take away from the season.
“I think we’re a little disappointed with the results of how the season wrapped up in conference play,” said coach Roof. “Ultimately, I think there were some positives. A couple of people really improved their game and have us really excited and looking forward to next season, so that’s always a bonus.”
Fortunately North Central only graduates one senior from this year’s squad, giving the Cards high hopes for next season with seven juniors and three sophomores expected to return for the 2014-2015 season. The lone senior who won’t be back next year is senior guard/forward Marion Boeck, who averaged six points, 3.9 rebounds and two steals per game this year.
“Marion was persistent and committed,” said coach Roof. “Marion did whatever we needed. She came in as a guard for us and ended up playing just about every position on the floor for four years.”
While coach Roof’s up-tempo, ‘unconventional’ style of play showed better results in the 2012-2013 season compared to this season, the fourth year head coach plans to stick with it for now.
“We’re going to continue to play up-tempo, push the ball offensively and look to score in transition,” said coach Roof.
Roof’s offensive coaching strategy, which utilizes every single player on the roster, averages just over 84 field goal attempts per game, half of which come from beyond the arc, and shoots about 10-15 seconds into the shot clock each possession, is not expected to undergo any change for next year. However, coach Roof’s defense, which has used a full-court press/ on just about every possession for the past two seasons, is opened to change.
“On the defensive end, we’re always looking at making some tweaks and adjustments to see what we need to do,” said coach Roof. “In order to press and play the style of defense that we want to right now, we need a lot better rebounders. We’re going to look at this recruiting class, see what we have coming in and then make some decisions defensively of what we’re going to do.”
