HELENA — As the No. 16 Carroll College women's basketball team gears up for back-to-back road games this weekend against Frontier Conference rivals Montana Western and Montana Tech, MTN Sports' Jonny Walker sat down with Fighting Saints coach Rachelle Sayers.
A full transcript from the video interview with Sayers is available below:
MTN Sports: Through seven games so far this season, you're sitting at 4-3. How would you evaluate how this team has played, how the team is coming along through the early part of the season?
Rachelle Sayers: Well, I think we're about where I thought we would be. This early conference slate has been tough on us, especially being a pretty new team. We have a lot of new players, a lot of new faces, and so we're still growing. We're still learning about each other. We're still learning how to play with each other. They're still trying to figure me out. I mean, there's just a lot that goes into it. And so, I think the kids are responding well. They're working extremely hard, and they're getting better every week, and that's all we can ask.
MTN Sports: Talk to me about the makeup of this group. Obviously you lose some valuable minutes from last year. You return some valuable minutes, as well, have a few newcomers. Just talk to me about the makeup of this year’s team.
Rachelle Sayers: Well, it’s a lot different. I think as coaches, we've really had to adjust our coaching style. We've been doing a lot of teaching. But, it's an athletic group. It's a group that loves to play defense, which I love. They can get out and run. I think we're a little more athletic and a little faster than we've been in the past, and I think we have a lot more depth.
MTN Sports: Talking about athletic players who like to defend: Willa Albrecht. I was here for the win over No. 10 Lewis-Clark State, and down the stretch, she was hitting big 3s — I think she was 6 for 7 from deep. Talk to me about Willa and her impact on this team.
Rachelle Sayers: Well, Willa, to me, she's the best player in the conference. She's one of the top players in the nation. And, you know, this is the year that she really had to come out and be that player for us. She's never loved the spotlight. She doesn't necessarily love being in that role, but her talent tells us that that's the role she needs to be in.
And so when she gets kind of in that zone and understands that she needs to make plays, she needs to be that player, she can do it, and you saw it in the L-C State game. She missed her first 3 in the first quarter and then went six straight.
