Flying Queens look to make most of considerable talent

Alesha Robertson-Ellis believes the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens have a chance to live up to their No. 10 NAIA preseason ranking, or beyond, but said there's lots of work to do in order to get there.
 
"We have the talent, we just have to put it all together," the coach said as she prepares to open her third season at the helm of the Flying Queens, who host the University of the Southwest of Hobbs, N.M., in their season debut at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Hutcherson Center.
 
After finishing last year 19-12 and with a No. 22 ranking following a first-round loss in the national tournament for the second straight year, Robertson-Ellis admits she was caught a little off guard by the Flying Queens' lofty ranking in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll.
 
"I thought we would be a top 25 team, I just didn't know where," she said. "I do think we have a better team this year. Judging by our scrimmages and exhibition game (Wayland fell to NCAA Division II No. 9 West Texas A&M, 67-62, in an exhibition last week in Canyon), we're better than we were a year ago at this time.
 
"It's an honor, even if it puts a target on our backs," Robertson-Ellis added of the ranking. "Rankings are tricky. Preseason rankings don't mean much. If you don't back that up, it doesn't matter anyway."
 
The Flying Queens could very well have the firepower to back it up…and more.
 
"One of our main goals this year is not only to get to that national tournament but do something when we get there," Robertson-Ellis said. "We want to make it worth our trip. That's where you're going to prove you're a top 25 team. We want to prove we're able to compete at that level."
 
With three returning starters – Stephanie Afunugo, Laura Castillo and Shawna Monreal – from last season and some much-heralded new talent, the Flying Queens are poised for a great 2015-16 campaign.
 
Seniors Castillo and Afunugo earned NAIA All-American honors last year, Castillo on the third team and Afunugo honorable mention.
 
Castillo, a home-grown Plainview product, is back to run the Queens' offense at the point-guard position after last year averaging 13.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds a game. Castillo has been dealing with an injured foot, but appears to have gotten past that.
 
"She's our leader on the floor. We have to have her out there," Robertson-Ellis said. "Laura is a really smart player, and we look for her to do a lot for us this year."
 
Afunugo was the Sooner Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year but also gets it done on offense, averaging a team-best 13.7 points along with 6.1 rebounds a year ago. Robertson-Ellis said Afunugo continues to work on her consistency.
 
"We want Steph to bring it every day, not just be an all-American one day. Having one of the best players in the nation step up every game is going to make a huge difference in our game this year."
 
Shawna Monreal and her twin sister Shayla who missed last season due to injury, give the Flying Queens a pair of solid shooters. Both are redshirt juniors from Canyon. Shawna averaged 10.6 points, 3.6 boards and 2.8 assists last year.
 
"Shawna is probably the most fundamental player we have. She makes great passes and she's a shooter," the coach said. "She has a great shot but in the past she hasn't had a shooter's mentality. We've seen a lot more confidence with her this season."
 
Robertson-Ellis also called Shayla "a great shooter who is very fundamental. Those two can read each other very well. It will be fun to watch them play."
 
Other lettermen are sophomores Nina Sato, Jada Riley and Regan Hestand.
 
Sato, a 6-1 center from El Paso, averaged 4.2 points and 5.0 rebounds a year ago.
 
"Nina was very raw when we got her, but she is gaining confidence every day and continues to work hard," Robertson-Ellis said. "She's almost turned into a different player."
 
She said Hestand also "continues to get better every day. Regan is very smart and is getting quicker. She can shoot, but her defense is probably her strength.
 
"Jada is the most explosive player we have. We look for her to be running more of a 2 instead of a 1 this year. We want her to get in there and rebound and do some things she didn't last year just because of where we had her playing."
 
Four new faces – three transfers – are on the roster in freshman Maci Market of Canadian, junior Jade Jones, and seniors Brianna Bogard and Krystal Forthan.
 
A 6-4 forward, Forthan could be one of the keys to Wayland's success. The former Louisiana State University standout has been slowed by knee injuries, but is moving toward being at full strength.
 
"She seems to be fired up now, and we look for her to do a lot of good things," Robertson-Ellis said. "We're depending on her. She can be as good as she wants to be."
 
Like Forthan, Bogard, a 5-6 point guard, also comes from Georgetown High School through the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
 
"She's going to help us at the point-guard position and also run the 2," Robertson-Ellis said. "Brianna is very basketball savvy and has a calming effect on the team when she gets the ball in her hands."
 
At 5-11, Jones – another product of Georgetown High – gives the Flying Queens more height.
 
"She's an athlete," Robertson-Ellis said. "She was district champion (in high school) in multiple track events. She's a little raw but is getting better every day. She runs the floor well and can jump out of the gym. We look for her to rebound, run the floor and shoot layups."
 
Merket, of Canadian, Texas, is the lone freshman on the squad, but Robertson-Ellis doesn't expect her to play like one. She didn't in the Queens' exhibition, scoring 16 points in her first taste of the college game.
 
"I've recruited her since I got to Wayland. She's a well-rounded player who can do just about anything we ask her to do. She shoots the ball really well from long range, with which her height (5-foot-10) that's difficult to defend. She will do very well at this level."
 
Looking ahead to the season, Robertson-Ellis said a tough preseason schedule – featuring games against three top-11 teams in No. 6 Montana State-Northern, No. 11 Great Falls University and No. 7 Our Lady of the Lake – will prime her club for another solid Sooner Athletic Conference, in which play gets started Dec. 3.
 
"It's a tough preseason again for us, but I like that because it gets us prepared for our conference," Robertson-Ellis said. "We have some big games coming up. If we can knock off those guys it will help us get to the national tournament."
Although the SAC lost Oklahoma Baptist to NCAA Division II, the league still boasts defending national champion Oklahoma City University, ranked seventh, as well as three teams receiving votes: Texas Wesleyan, Mid-America Christian and John Brown.
 
"There are a lot of new coaches and new players, so it's going to be interesting," the coach said of the SAC. "We won't have a game that we can take off, especially with a target on your back like we have. Everybody's going to be after us."