St. Kate’s basketball team gears up for a new season
By Mia Timlin
The St. Kate’s basketball team has been preparing to enter a new season and has its sights set higher than ever, coming out of last season with a five-game losing streak.
Assistant coach Geno Bullard, who joined on last season, says he feels confident about the team they’ve assembled after a lot of work was put into recruiting incoming freshmen last year.
“We lost two MIAC players last year, but we have some good athletes that came in this year,” Bullard said. “Also, too, some of our sophomores that became juniors really stepped up and took over the captain positions, so the ball has been rolling real well, and the adjustment has been great and the leadership is amazing.”
Bullard says he feels hopeful about the team’s success in making it to the playoffs this year because everyone has “bought in.”
“This group this year is amazing. They step up to every challenge. We broke another record in practice yesterday, actually,” he said, referring to a drill that measures how many goals are made in a measured amount of time. “It shows we’re on the right track. I don’t have to ask players to go in the gym — they’re in the gym ready to go. Everybody’s bought in and wants to achieve this goal that we have to be strong in the MIAC and hopefully we can get to championships.”
A big part of this is placing focus on competing with themselves. Heading into the Nov. 3 game with Concordia — a match that ended with the Wildcats losing 43-78 to the DII school — Bullard felt that focusing on polishing everything done in practice was where the team’s headspace needed to be.
“We don’t have really much to lose playing against them,” he said. “They have everything to lose playing against us, so we know we have to bring it. But we also too want to have fun, stay disciplined, have character and be the best players and team that we can be.”
Part of what allows the players to perform seamlessly on the court is the team building that comes from being with each other “all the time,” according to Bullard.
“Community on the team is really important because most of us are likely to see our team more than we see our family during the school year,” said Maddy Manger ‘25 (Biochemistry, Biology minor). “We are looking to emphasize selfless mentalities where we look to bring each other up at all times!”
Team activities include everything from service projects like Feed My Starving Children and Citizen Katie to outside bonding experiences such as the Deadend Hayride, pumpkin carving contests, sleepovers and campfires.
The basketball team poses together at Deadend Hayride. Credit: @stkateswbb on Instagram
“We have been able to do some great team bonding so far this year, and last year we didn’t get as many opportunities right away to get together as a team outside of basketball,” said Manger. “I think this will be important, as we have really strengthened our connections with one another already!”
Having a team of players that gives it their all — both to each other and to the game — is important, according to Bullard, especially when it comes to the broader role they play in representing St. Kate’s as a school and campus. Recognized last year on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Top 25 Team Honor Roll as a Special Mention, the basketball team at St. Kate’s has set the bar high for academic standards.
“We always talk about education and our sports being our backup plan,” Bullard said. “That’s something that I think basketball has gave awareness to with St. Kate’s, to say, ‘Hey, you can get a great degree and you can also do something special in the MIAC.’”
But representing St. Kate’s goes beyond just balancing grades and athletics. Bullard said it’s about building a program that’s going to last, and a sort of selflessness that the players adopt within the process.
“I’m very proud of them, they’re not just thinking about themselves,” Bullard said. “They never say, ‘Just us.’ It’s always, ‘We want to leave this for the next upcoming Katies who follow.’ That’s something that I like.”
