A Quick Look At: Macalester

Had a very nice phone conversation with Macalester Head Coach Kelly Roysland earlier this week as we discussed the upcoming 2017-18 season and what the outlook is for her squad.  The Scots are coming off an 11-14 overall record (5-13 in the MIAC) but Macalester has taken a step forward each year that Roysland has been at the helm of this program and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do the same this season.  They went through a rough stretch in January; losing six out of eight games but finished strong at the end, winning two out of their last three (including the season finale at Hamline) when there was seemingly nothing to play for but pride.  Expect the Scots to make some more strides this time around. 

To be sure, Macalester does have some holes to fill from the loss of four graduated seniors from last season.  Down low, the Scots lost Park Masterson (5.0 ppg but 7.2 rebounds per game); Karen Rathjens, Emilie McGuire and, possibly the biggest loss of all, Lauren Clamage (11.3 ppg and 2.0 rebounds per game) who always gave Roysland quality minutes coming off the bench.  But Roysland still has a solid nucleus of players coming back for this season that include the following:  Regan Fruh (sr, 14.0 ppg and 7.6 rebounds per game), Holly Hull (so, 5.8 ppg and 3.3 rebounds per game), Leah Gray (sr, 5.9 ppg and 2.1 rebounds per game), Tyana Loiselle (so, 3.9 ppg and 2.5 rebounds per game), Vivi Gregorich (sr, 9.8 ppg) and Grace Dickman (sr, 1.5 ppg).  Dickman missed a good chunk of last season due to injuries and although Roysland indicated that she's healthy now, she wouldn't speculate on what lies ahead for her.  But if she is indeed fully healthy and able to contribute, that would be a huge boost for the Scots hopes.  Gregorich is a sparkplug who can make things happen when she gets hot and both Hull and Loiselle showed tons of promise last year. 

The newcomers Roysland has coming in this season is an interesting bunch.  Of the seven freshmen this season, four of them hail from California while the two others are from the metro area.  Two of these freshmen from California (Kayla Togneri out of Ventura and Katherine Podoll from San Geronimo) also bring a lot of length to the table being 5'11" and 5'10", respectively which should help bolster the Scot front line.  How soon they can contribute remains to be seen but with Assistant Coach Courtney Euerle who was a solid post player at SMU, they'll get some very good coaching in practice.  The two freshman from the Twin Cities metro area include Luci Swift of Hopkins and Rose Lutz from Minneapolis South.

I mentioned to Roysland that after her first season there, she's been able to take the Scots upward and I asked her what goals she has in mind this time around.  She's hopeful that this time that they can be one of the top six teams in the conference and to hopefully land a coveted spot in the MIAC playoffs.  It's a doable proposition for this program but they'll need to have some things go their way as well.  For one, they absolutely have to stay healthy.  They can ill-afford to have an injury to a key player or two that keeps them out of action for a considerable period of time.  Second, they have to be able to find some consistency as I don't think they can withstand a January swoon like they had last year and hope to snare that sixth spot.  Looking at the early portion of their upcoming schedule, aside from the opening road trip down to Decorah, Iowa to take on perennial IIAC powerhouse Luther, things look reasonably manageable.  They have a roadie at UMAC opponent Crown on Tuesday (11-21) and a home date on Monday (11-27) against in-town UMAC opponent Northwestern.  A home date three days later against WIAC opponent UW-La Crosse remains before the Scots head into MIAC play.  They have Concordia at home on 12-2 and a trip up to CSB on 12-6.  Two more home games follow - against Carleton on 12-9 and St. Kate's on 12-13 before the Christmas break kicks in.  No holiday trips for Macalester this time around but they will to face two more UMAC teams before the first of they year as they are at Bethany Lutheran on 12-30 and home to Northland on New Year's Eve.  If they stay healthy and can show some consistency, they could be in reasonably decent shape once they dive into the meat of the MIAC season after the first of the year.