By Anvil Welch

awelch@joplinglobe.com

Michael Basler, women’s basketball coach at University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, Kan., wasn’t surprised by the successful season turned in by Nevada’s Lacy Leonard.

Basler is confident that Leonard, a 6-foot junior will be even more productive for the Spires next season.

“She made us an immediate threat to win each game,” Basler said Tuesday. “It didn’t surprise me that she made all-conference (first team in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference). She missed newcomer of the year by one vote.

“We have the right pieces around her,” Basler said. “We expect to return four starters and six of our top eight players.”

Basler, completing his fourth season as head coach, believes that Leonard will improve in two areas that will key a run at the first winning season in history for Saint Mary. Saint Mary finished 11-17 overall this season and tied for eighth among 10 teams in the KCAC.

“First, she can make the team better by screening better and becoming more aggressive,” Basler said. “She also needs to learn to dribble the ball more.”

There wasn’t much Leonard didn’t accomplish on the court, Basler said.

Leonard led the league in scoring (17.3-point average) and 3-point field goal percentage (41.2 on 42-of-102).

Leonard shot 44.7 percent overall from the field on 183-of-409 and 75.2 from the foul line on 76-of-101. The free-throw percentage placed her eighth in the league.

Leonard added an average of 7.7 rebounds — sixth in the league — and placed ninth with 26 blocked shots. She also paced the team in steals with 37.

“I was hoping for a better overall field goal percentage,” Leonard said. “Other than that, I had a pretty good season.”

Leonard joined Saint Mary, an NAIA Division II school, after two seasons with Dave Ketterman at NJCAA Division II Cottey College in Nevada. She was an all-Southwest Conference performer for Brent Bartlett at Nevada High School.

Leonard, a member of the Dean’s List at Saint Mary, is majoring in elementary education and plans to eventually teach and coach.