Marker in hand, Brianna Mastey mixed by posters as fans filed through the autograph session scheduled. Two practices in her basketball career at the University of Minnesota, Mastey has been swiping the marker in her photo, when reporters wanted to ask some questions.
If Mastey joked that they do not know whether they could to sign and speak at the same time, coach Pam Borton recalled the 18-year-olds that she and her three fellow newcomers must multi-task on the court all season long.
The Gophers women's basketball team started its season Saturday at Williams Arena with lighthearted introductions and a 10-minute attack line with a team stocked with Borton most valuable weapons for this season: their four true newcomers - all from Minnesota, all expected to impact Players immediately.
The team has more experience this season than it had in the last two, but Borton and their veterans have made it clear that the success will depend on in-state newcomers - forwards twin sister Brianna and Nicole Mastey of Becker, guard Kiara Buford St. Paul Central and forward Jackie Voigt of Park (Cottage Grove).
"We must be ready to play tomorrow. It's a little sense of urgency," said Borton. "Of course, we have to be patient with them and let them grow into the college game. They are a very, very talented group. Three of the four of them have won state championships before, so I think they know how to win. "
Attack line, the team was tired, and the newcomers, Borton said, almost certainly were overwhelmed. After a full practice that morning and a day before, they had learned that college practices are faster-paced.
"There is so much coming at you," said Nicole Mastey. "There is a lot to take in. You have a lot to learn, but you just have to stay focused and in everything you can."
Borton does not show concern that their young players take too long to develop. Instead, she said, they can learn quickly and as newcomers for the first time through the drill and juniors the next. Not much was worth to the team the line of scrimmage, but the senior guard Rookies plus Fox has the veteran team scoreless for the first five minutes, and Borton said the team is defense, particularly where they thought it might.
Borton said the team will focus on rebounding, execution, the removal and the improvement of the revenue from the three-point line, while the coaches and veteran players looking to the newcomers the learning curve.
"I tried to help them as individuals, they say, just do not get frustrated," junior forward Ashley Ellis-Milan said. "You must understand that you have veterans on your team, and we have a sense of urgency. The older girls, as we are, OK, we are ready to go, ready to go to the next thing. Then we must not forget that we have them, too. So you can not get frustrated, you have to make your cool. It's a hard adjustment. "
In short: Fox said the broken foot suffered at the end of last season is healed, but the Gophers will be without Tanisha Smith all season after the student broke her Achilles' tendon during preseason conditioning drills. Freshman forward Kristen Dockery, the red-shirted last season because of a knee injury, will miss about two weeks while recovering from mononucleosis, Borton said.
# Team members are supporters on Saturday, using a fan to participate in a Gophers version of the TV show "Deal or No Deal." The fan can win five years of free tickets, and although they lost on that chance, the team gave her free tickets to the Big Ten Conference tournament and a seat on the plane with the team.
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