Coach says Flying Queens are 'smart, coachable & fundamentally-sound'

Alesha Ellis is still trying to figure out certain things about the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens, but there's three things the coach knows for sure. Her players are smart, coachable, and very fundamentally sound, and that's a good place from which to start.
 
"I've been impressed so far with how these kids play and how smart they are. We will be able to compete and win some games just because of that," Ellis said of her fifth Flying Queens team.
 
The previous four have all qualified for the NAIA National Championships, and this year's squad should, too, if it comes together like Ellis believes it will.
 
"We lost some key parts last year, we know that, but certain players have stepped up and filled those spots, which I'm really excited about," said the coach, whose team opens the season at 6 p.m. Friday at home against University of the Southwest. The Flying Queens then play an exhibition against West Texas A&M, ranked ninth in NCAA Division II, at 2 p.m. Friday in Canyon.
 
Wayland finished last season ranked 15^th in the NAIA with a 25-7 record. The 25 victories matched the prior year's total, which was the most for the program since 1998-99.
 
Gone off that team are three of the top five leading scorers in Jade Jones and the Monreal twins, Shayla and Shawna. In addition to her team-best 13.8 points per game, Jones – who played volleyball this season at WBU – also led the team in rebounds at 8.5. She and Shawna Monreal were NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans.
 
Ellis said this year's squad has good leadership throughout the roster, with seniors Nina Sato, Jada Riley and Gabby Gonzales "leaders by example." Sato averaged 5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds as a junior when she earned the SAC's Sportsmanship Award.
 
Ellis said Gonzales added to her game over the off-season.
 
"Gabby has always shot the ball well, but she's not just a shooter this year. She's more versatile on the offensive end, so we'll be able to use her more."
 
Others have taken on the role of being the Flying Queens' vocal leaders, including sophomores Morgan Bennett and Deborah VanDijk.
 
Bennett, a point-guard from Shallowater, averaged 5.5 points a year ago and dished out a 146 assists plus got 60 steals, both team highs.
 
"Morgan came back with a great mindset," Ellis said. "She's always been a good leader, even as a freshman. I'm excited to see her go this year."
 
VanDijk is the 6-foot center from Nazareth who in 2016-17 averaged 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds to earn All-SAC Honorable Mention accolades.
 
"Deb is another good leader who is very positive," Ellis said. "She's strong and a tough player on the inside."
 
The team's top returning scorer at 10.4 ppg is junior guard Maci Merket, who last season came off the bench and drained a team-high 70 3-pointers. Merket will be stepping into a starting position.
 
"Maci is taking on a bigger role. We expect her to be one of the leading scorers. She can shoot really well and is a great offensive player," Ellis said.
 
Other veterans are sophomores Kendrick Clark, a guard from Georgetown, and Kelea Pool, a 6-foot-2 center from Seminole. Ellis looks for Clark, who recently got medically released after suffering a knee injury late last season, to challenge for a starting position in the near future, and the coach said Pool is driven after returning to the team "with a lot of energy."
 
"Just like any other year, we're going to have to work hard every day and get better," Ellis said.
 
The Flying Queens, who are picked to finish third in the Sooner Athletic Conference behind defending national champion and top-ranked Oklahoma City and 12^th-ranked John Brown, will want to push the pace again this season, Ellis confirmed.
 
Newcomers to the team include sophomore Kambrey Blakey, a 6-foot forward from Portales, N.M., by way of Lubbock Christian University. Ellis said Blakey, while "still trying to learn the Flying Queens' system and get in the swing of things," was the team's "most efficient" player during a pair of scrimmages. "We need to get her some more confidence, but I look for her to do some big things for us," Ellis said.
 
Other new faces are freshmen guards Margaret Gaydon of Frenship High School and Jade Nails of Plainview. Freshman guard Jolie Donaldson of Whitewright will redshirt after recently suffering an injury.
 
Ellis said both Gaydon and Nails are quick. "That's what we're looking for because we play fast. I look for Margaret to get a lot of minutes, and Jade will push some players."
 
As for her team's expected style of play, Ellis said, "We still want to get the ball out and go. We'll push the ball and make sure we're running the floor. But we also want to be smart, and because our players are smart they'll be able to realize when to pull it out and when to go score."
 
The coach said she was impressed with how the Flying Queens executed in their scrimmages, which will be important in the Sooner Athletic Conference which Ellis said is stronger than last season.
 
"It's going to be a big challenge for us this year, but if we go in with the right mind-set, there's no reason for our players not to believe we can beat these teams because we've been doing it. They know what it takes to win and to get to nationals."
 
As part of what Ellis called the toughest preseason schedule in her five years at Wayland, the Flying Queens face three Top 25 teams – No. 6 Campbellsville, Ky., during a mid-December tournament in Hawaii, No. 13 Our Lady of the Lake, and No. 19 MidAmerica Nazarene, Kan. – to help get them ready for conference play.
 
"Those are all really good teams. Those are the types of teams we will see at nationals, so if we can compete with those guys we should be able to do pretty well in the conference."