Flying Queens have eyes on national title

When Alesha Ellis started coaching the Flying Queens in 2013, she contended that her team couldn't take a day off "because we weren't good enough." Six years later, Ellis is still preaching that philosophy, only for a different reason.

Now, with Wayland Baptist firmly established as one of the best women's basketball teams in the NAIA, the Flying Queens can't take a day off because every opponent they face will do their best to knock them off.

"Everybody is going to throw their best game at us, so there's no time to rest," Ellis said. "I tell my girls, 'You're a great team, probably one of the best that's come through Wayland, but that doesn't mean you can't come to practice and not go hard."

That's just what the sixth-ranked Flying Queens have been doing since Sept. 17 – including in a promising scrimmage against Texas Tech – and on Saturday they'll play their first official game against University of the Southwest in Hobbs, N.M. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. CDT (no live coverage).

It's the first game in what Ellis – whose teams have qualified for the NAIA National Championships each of her five seasons – hopes will be an historic season for the Flying Queens.

"Our main goal is to win a national championship, and I think we have everything it takes to do that this year," she said.

The team's deep roster begins with three starters from last year's 27-7 Fab Four team that enjoyed the program's best season in a quarter-century. They're joined by four other veterans, an NCAA Division II conference freshman of the year, and a quartet of promising freshmen.

"If each one of those kids reaches their potential, I think they have a good shot at winning a national championship," Ellis said. "Our problem is we have a target on our backs. We're not going to sneak up on anybody anymore.

"How we approach each game is going to be huge. We have to be at our best every game. We have to guard against overlooking teams and have to make sure our heads are on straight and that we take care of business every time we hit the floor.

"As a coaching staff we have to push them harder to grow mentally and physically to be their best so we can peak at the right time. It's a matter of going hard at all times in practice and in games and not resting. We can't have letdowns on defense or offense. We have to be relaxed and poised enough to think on both ends of the floor."

Ellis admitted to being a bit "picky" in her team's assessment.

"It's really nice we have a team we can start focusing on some of those smaller things. They get the big picture. They know what it feels like to be the best in the nation, so we have a head-start on that."

The coach said the Flying Queens' roster is filled with smart, determined players who "get it."

"I have stubborn kids, and they're going to find a way to win a game, especially if somebody tells them they're not going to win. We don't have to fire them up," she said.

After averaging 76.4 points a game last year to rank 11^th in the NAIA, Wayland figures to put another high-scoring team on the floor.

"We have a lot of talent on the team, especially offensively. We're still working on our defense. We recruit good offensive players and spend a lot of time on the defensive end."

Another aspect Ellis likes about her talented roster is it contains only one freshman, so not only is she optimistic about the upcoming season but the future is bright, too.

That lone senior is guard Maci Merket of Canadian, an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American who is the Sooner Athletic Conference Emil S. Liston Award winner for her achievements in athletics, academics and community. Last season Merket led the Flying Queens in scoring (14.2 points), rebounds (6.7) and steals (2.41), and was second in assists (3.1). A 3-point threat and deadly free-throw shooter (82 percent), Merket starts this season with 1,007 career points and could move onto the program's top 10 all-time scoring list.

Also back is junior point-guard Morgan Bennett, last season's NAIA leader in assists with 6.1 per game who also led the country in assist/turnover ratio (2.6). In addition, Bennett, who earned All-SAC Third Team honors, averaged 9.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Ellis called her a "great leader" who "directs traffic and gets everybody on the same page. She's an awesome floor general…like a second coach out there."

The third returning starter is junior forward/center Deborah VanDijk, an All-SAC Honorable Mention pick after averaging 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds. VanDijk hit a team-best 56 percent of her shots in 2017-18.

Three other letterwinners return in junior forward Kambrey Blakey, junior forward/center Kelea Pool, and sophomore guard Margaret Gaydon. Ellis expects contributions from all three to rise this season, especially Pool.

"Kelea is a smart post player who can shoot the 3. She's skilled around the basket and stretches the floor a little bit. We have high hopes for her after she 'flipped a switch' late last season."

Anxious to see her first action as a Flying Queens is guard Jolie Donaldson, who was an injury redshirt last season. "Jolie is a go-getter who goes 100 percent all of the time. She has great work ethic. She's going to make plays just because she's going hard," Ellis said.

The lone transfer on the roster is Kaylee Edgemon, a 5-10 forward from Littlefield. Edgemon was named Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds at Eastern New Mexico University.

"Kaylee is solid. She's a great offensive player, maybe one of the best in the nation," Ellis said.

A newcomer expected to be in the starting lineup Saturday is freshman guard Cailyn Breckel from Bennett's hometown of Shallowater.

"Cailyn is probably one of the strongest players on the team," Ellis said. "She's aggressive, a great shooter and likes to get to the rim, and defensively she's one of our strongest new ones. She doesn't play like a freshman."

Joining Pool as the tallest player on the team is 6-2 freshman forward Caycee Holson of Sundown, who will give Wayland inside depth. Giving the Flying Queens depth at point-guard will be freshman Payton Brown, an all-stater from Lubbock Roosevelt.

"Payton is a very smart player whose work ethic is amazing. Her shot off the dribble is probably better than anyone on the team. She's catching on to our defense and still adjusting to the speed of the game, but she's super fast. We'll be seeing a lot of minutes out of her."

After Southwest on Saturday, the Flying Queens participate in the Oklahoma City Classic next weekend, taking on the first of seven teams either ranked or receiving Top 25 preseason votes in No. 15 Our Lady of the Lake. WBU will take on three teams in the top 14 on a pre-Christmas trip to California.

Wayland's home-opener is Nov. 21 against Northern New Mexico, followed eight days later by the start of conference play against Top 25 vote-getters Science & Arts of Oklahoma and Mid-America Christian.