Mike Barrett, LSSULakers.com
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The Lake Superior State women's basketball team is gearing up for the 2018-19 season.
Behind the bench, second year head coach Brandon Lokken is looking to continue building the program back to its past heights.
"For us, our goal is really simple, and that's just to get better every day," said Lokken. We're focused on what we do each day in the weight room, in practice, everything with the goal of getting better each day."
Last season, the Lakers went 3-22 overall, with a 2-18 mark in conference play. A highlight of last season was the season finale win against Purdue Northwest. The Lakers staged a second half rally, defeating the Pride 60-57.
A quick look at this season's roster will show 4 freshmen, 5 sophomores, 3 juniors and 2 seniors, making for another young squad for coach Lokken. In addition, there are three players who played high school basketball locally in the Eastern Upper Peninsula — sophomore Abigail Ostman in St. Ignace, sophomore guard Taylor Bryant in Newberry and freshman guard Mackenzie Kalchik in Sault Ste. Marie.
"We have great team chemistry, our team gets along very well," said Lokken. "It makes for a fun environment."
"We really like our freshman class," he added. "All of our freshmen come from really good programs. They're bringing great energy and they're great to be around.
The Lakers lost just one starter to graduation, and while Tamara Novic and her team high 11.3 points per game (PPG) are gone, most of the roster is battle tested from last season. Juniors Lexie Khon and Claire Radtke started all 25 games last season, while sophomore Ostman started in 15 of the 16 games she played.
"We still have a very young team," remarked Lokken, "so for us, it's more about the number of returners we have. We're starting much further along than we did last year, which is helping us to propel ourselves further."
Radtke, a native of New Berlin, Wisconsin, has started every game she has played for Lake Superior. The guard averaged 7.3 points per game (PPG) last season. In addition, she collected 76 rebounds and had 33 steals throughout the season.
Khon, who came to the Lakers from Jackson, Michigan, became a regular starter midway through her freshman campaign. Shooting 45.2 percent from the field, Khon averaged 7.8 PPG — a nearly 2 point improvement from her freshman season. On the other side of the ball, the forward grabbed 101 rebounds and had 10 blocks.
Joining Radtke and Khon in the starting lineup, Ostman transferred to Lake Superior from Michigan Tech, where she had redshirted. Jumping into the lineup midseason, the native of Mackinaw City, Michigan made an immediate impact, averaging 8.3 PPG — best among returning players. 52 rebounds and 17 steals helped show that she is a well-rounded and versatile guard/forward.
"Our message every day is to 'hammer the stone,'" said Lokken. "We are about the process, not the results. We just want to continue every single day to improve, to focus on the details and the results will take care of themselves."
The season tips off with an exhibition matchup against Olivet on October 27th. Following that, the Lakers will spend the month of November on the road before returning home against Saginaw Valley on December 6th.