Breaking down the WSU women’s basketball team

What will life after Alex Harden be like for the Wichita State women’s basketball team?

Harden is playing for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA and Wichita State is left with an average of just 5.3 points returning from the team that paired its third straight Missouri Valley championship with its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

It’s just the latest challenge for coach Jody Adams, who has taken on – and conquered – a myriad of them to build Wichita State to its current status atop the MVC.

She elevated WSU to a contender by instilling a tenacity within the program, but it wasn’t until Harden arrived and blossomed into a full-fledged star that the Shockers began winning championships.

So is it realistic to expect Adams to lead WSU to a four-peat? Common sense would say no.

Not when offseason departures – graduations and transfers – pared the roster to 10 players, seven of whom have never played for WSU. Not when the team must replace its entire starting lineup and returns a combined three career starts. And especially not when the team’s returning leading scorer averaged 3.0 points last season.

But Adams has defied common sense before and believes she can do so once again this season, as the Shockers enter the season judged by their peers as a middle-of-the-pack team in the Missouri Valley.

No longer will the offense be reliant on a player, usually Harden last season, creating shots late in the shot clock. The offense will be initiated by a pair of point guards, Diamond Lockhart and Aundra Stovall, who Adams raves about.

Lockhart, a transfer from Texas Tech, is already considered the team’s best player and has the motor that will make her a standout two-way player. While she has enough of an offensive punch to play off-ball, Stovall is a pass-first point guard and has taken the biggest leap this summer, according to Adams.

Another key offensive figure, at least when she becomes eligible after the first semester, is Rangie Bessard, a 6-foot freshman forward who transferred from Minnesota. She is a natural fit to replace Michaela Dapprich as a stretch-forward, capable of defending post players and then extending them to the three-point line at the other end.

There is also a clear replacement for Alie Decker, as junior-college transfer TaQuandra Mike has lived up to her reputation as a sharpshooter this summer and adds the athleticism to make a difference on the defensive end.

WSU has never had a dominant force in the middle, but that might change this season with the rapid improvement of junior Brittany Martin, a 6-3 center, over the summer. If she can become a threat on the blocks with the ball, Martin could be a difference-maker.

Jaleesa Chapel is the team’s most experienced player, as she gained Adams’ trust last season in big games. She’s a defensive hound capable of causing havoc, but must improve her jump shooting to be a threat.

Adams has compiled a versatile and diverse group of forwards in Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage, Jyar Francis, Ellie Lehne, and Marija Pacar, but it is unclear what and how much they can contribute right away.

Lockhart, Bessard and Mike figure to handle the scoring load, while the team is expected to once again be one of the top defensive teams in the Valley.

Even with all of the graduations and defections, it’s hard to imagine Wichita State falling all the way to becoming an average team. Although the Shockers may struggle in November and December, it’s likely this team will be in the mix for their fourth straight Missouri Valley championship.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 5:37 AM with the headline "Breaking down the WSU women’s basketball team."