‘This is a crucial offseason for us,’ Oesterle looks to future as season nears end
Bolingbrook Illinois senior Jahari Smith sets up for a play against Kent State on Wednesday Feb. 9 in McGuirk Arena.
After suffering a 75-69 loss to Ball State, the players of Central Michigan women’s basketball left the floor and embraced their families in the stands of McGuirk Arena.
A hush fell over the crowd as head coach Heather Oesterle took the mic following the game. She thanked the fans for their commitment all season and the ‘sixth-man band’ before preaching hope for the season to come.
"We're gonna be really good next year," Oesterle said.
Oesterle ended her speech by shouting out senior Jahari Smith, who was standing with her family, across the court at the base of the bleachers, holding a rectangular sign, which Oesterle told her to hold up for the crowd to see.
When Smith turned over the white signage, it read, ‘one more season,’ in black lettering. The maroon-and-gold crowd erupted in celebration at the prospect of her returning for a fifth season.
Though Smith will finish her fourth year when the season wraps Saturday, the Bollingbrook, Illinois native still has one year of eligibility remaining thanks to the waiver granted by the NCAA as a result of the COVID pandemic.
“I am working on her returning,” Oesterle said. “I met with her parents a couple of weeks ago, and I told them, ‘that she’s come a long way since her freshmen year here, she’s having a great senior year, give her one more shot here where she can put up some numbers, some rebounds, and she has a chance to go pro and make a lot of money.’ I’m hoping she takes us up on that. I know she’s a fan-favorite here for sure.”
With juniors Molly Davis and Anika Weekes likely to return for another campaign, Oesterle expects the freshmen-laden team to take a step in the right direction, following a full season of Mid-American Conference play together.
“I think we got a lot of people experience this year, and to be honest, this is probably, I’ve been here for 12 years I think now, this is the biggest offseason we’re going to have,” Oesterle said. “This is a crucial offseason for us. Those freshmen that played a lot of minutes this season have to get better this offseason. Our returners have got to get better.”
In addition, Oesterle has already been actively recruiting and plans to strengthen the Chippewas’ roster through multiple avenues.
"We’re bringing in some really good players," Oesterle said. “We have two 2,000-point scorers coming in from high school that can flat out shoot the ball. So I’m excited about the pieces we have, I mean you just look at the experience our underclassmen got, and I’m going to get into the portal and get a couple more experienced players. But I think we have the pieces to be pretty good next year.”
Oesterle has already received commitments for the 2022 season from Sydney Harris, Taylor Anderson and Bridget Utberg. Both finished with over 2,000 points in their high school career.
Hailing from Edwardsville, Illinois, Harris, a 6’0 forward, ended her time at Edwardsville High School as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,001 career points. She is the seventh-ranked player in Illinois.
Anderson, meanwhile, plays at South Lyon East High School. She was on the ballot for Michigan's Miss Basketball award after an outstanding senior season.
Utberg, a 5’6 combo-guard from Woodstock, Georgia, also eclipsed the 2,000 point mark in her career at Woodstock High School as the top-ranked guard in the state. She also received the Region 5-AAAAAAA Player of the Year award.
While most of the Chippewas are ready to turn the page on their season, they have one game left to play on Saturday as they head to Northern Illinois.
Staying above the NCAA minimum
Although Molly Davis and Tiana Timpe made their return on Wednesday for CMU’s final home game, it was the first time some of the players had set foot in McGuirk Arena in the full CMU basketball uniform.
Down to six players due to injuries following a loss to Toledo, Oesterle reached out to CMU volleyball head coach Mike Gawlik before facing Western Michigan. To ensure the Chippewas stayed above the NCAA’s seven-player minimum, eventually adding three players from Gawlik’s squad.
“We got down to six players when (Davis) and (Timpe) were hurt, we were heading into the last three games of the year, and at that point, I was told that we wouldn’t have (Davis) or (Timpe) the rest of the season,” Oesterle said. “So I didn’t want to go into those three games and get anybody else hurt. I thought playing six players, and I did play six players against Western, I just thought I needed a couple of players just as a backup. So I went Mike Gawlik and asked him if he had a couple of players that had played before.”
As a result of the conversation, Austyn DeWeese and Kamryn Olson joined the Chippewas active roster, with Ely Medendorp filling in during practice.
“Honestly, those three kids that have joined our team are incredible young women," Oesterle said. "They have brought a ton of energy. I’m just thankful for them. They make me smile at practice because of their energy. I appreciate (Gawlik) letting them join."
