Change in culture, approach puts Hawks on right path to rebuild successful program

QUINCY — Uncomfortably comfortable.

That sums up what life has been like this fall for the Quincy University women’s basketball players.

The cultural and physical changes they’ve experienced as first-year head coach Kaci Bailey establishes her program and her expectations have made life uncomfortable at times. Yet, working through it and embracing the change has created a camaraderie making the Hawks comfortable with each other.

“I think we struggled a little embracing the cultural change, especially those of us who have been here in the past,” said senior guard Maddie Spagnola, who is entering her fifth season in the program and is returning from an injury that sidelined her all of last season. 

“We were used to so much of the way things were in the past that it’s hard to adapt. I know for myself and a lot of others we’re embracing it because we know it will get better.”

The Hawks also don’t want to endure the malaise that plagued the program the past couple of seasons.

“I think change is going to be a good thing for us,” said junior forward Sarah Nelson, the team’s top returning scorer at 12.3 points per game. “We’re going to focus on high intensity and keeping the energy up. I think that’s going to be very good for us because I feel like we feed off each other in that way. As a whole, we feed off the energy.”

Energy has been Bailey’s selling point since her hire in April.

“The big thing has been adjusting to the standards, the work ethic, our daily routine and how we come to work every day,” Bailey said. “They don’t want a repeat of the past.”

Here are five aspects that will determine if that becomes possible:

Pushing the pace is vital

Spagnola’s eyes lit up when asked what the strength of this group would be.

“Speed,” she said.

With an abundance of solid backcourt players and a lack of size and depth in the frontcourt, the ability to create tempo is a must. Nelson, who shot 52.4 percent from the field last season, is adept at running the floor and keeping pace with the guards, which is a dimension Quincy would like to exploit to create easy scoring opportunities.

“We know we’re going to be outsized and outbodied,” Nelson said. “We’re a small group. Realistically, we just are. So that’s one thing we have to take advantage of because we do have a lot of people who are fast on the court.”

The addition of guard Beth Matas Martin to a backcourt featuring Dami Adeyinka and Spagnola, who has been cleared by doctors for full contact but likely won’t be in the lineup until next weekend, should allow the Hawks to force the issue.

“We’re going to try to get up and down the floor,” Bailey said. “Make or miss, we’re going to try to go. We want to put the defense on its heels and then play in space.”

Scoring needs to improve

One of the Hawks’ biggest struggles during the past five seasons — they won just 25 games in that stretch — has been the ability to score. They ranked 14th in the 15-team Great Lakes Valley Conference last season, averaging just 62.5 points per game.

Two of the top three scorers are gone as well. Laney Lantz, a third-team ALL-GLVC guard a year ago when she averaged 16.9 points, chose to leave the program midway in early November. Jazzpher Evans, who was chosen to the GLVC All-Freshman team last year, transferred after the spring semester.

So Bailey and her staff addressed the need for scoring by signing Grace Flanagan, a second-team NJCAA Division II All-American, and Martin to add some spark offensively and provide better perimeter shooting.

The Hawks also will need junior guard Emma Knipe, sophomore guard Gabi Burns and senior forward Amanda Porth to contribute more.

“We play well off of each other,” Nelson said. “We have shooters that I trust. We’re not just trying to score in one way. We have a lot of options.”

Defense needs to buckle down

Bailey calls it “disadvantage defense” during the Hawks’ daily drills.

“That’s what the game is all about,” Bailey said. “The offense is trying to get you at a disadvantage.”

So the coaching staff is continually putting pressure on the defense in order for the Hawks to learn how to adapt, overcome and make plays to keep the opponent from scoring. Last year, that was a struggle as they allowed 73.6 points per game. Only Missouri S&T was worse.

“Getting them to buy into team defense is big,” Bailey said.

During a couple of preseason scrimmages, including one against Millikin, the Hawks made significant strides in help-side defense and scrambling.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever played that well defensively before,” Spagnola said.

Building confidence is critical

The Hawks open the season in the GMAC-GLVC Region Crossover at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio, with games against Ursuline and Wisconsin-Parkside. In fact, they are going to make it a whirlwind weekend by playing an exhibition game Sunday at Cleveland State.

Maintaining energy throughout the stretch is key.

“I like the energy. It’s a lot different. It’s way more intense,” Spagnola said. “It’s a lot more competitive. We have a lot of change going on, and it’s great.”

Seeing success, even in small doses, is critical to building confidence. 

“I definitely think we’re moving in the right direction,” Nelson said.

Right culture will lead to right results

After going 2-18 last winter, the Hawks understand turning the program around is a process. It starts with establishing the culture. For Bailey, that’s making sure accountability, respect and passion are part of everything the Hawks do.

“We talk a lot about laying the foundation for this culture,” Bailey said.

That includes doing everything with energy and being a constant voice.

“You can control that,” Bailey said. “You can’t always control if the ball goes in the basket, but you control how hard you work and how much you talk.”

The Hawks see the changes coming and understand what Bailey hopes to accomplish.

“She has a lot of things she wants to fix internally,” Spagnola said. “She’s accepting the challenge that she has and moving forward.”