Gibson Berns | Staff Writer
After a season finale loss at Coe on Saturday 79-62, the Buena Vista University (BVU) Beaver women dropped to 3-11 in the Iowa Conference and 8-17 overall on the year. After going 12-15 last year and 5-9 in the conference, this year was a down year for the Beavers. It was a tough end for them, especially for the two graduating seniors on the team, Shelby Wiederhoeft and Erica Ollendieck.
The Beavers ended the year on a bit of a downhill slope, losing their last three games and five of the last six. Wiederhoeft said that consistency was a key problem this year.
“There were games when we were amazing on offense and defense, but there were also others that we struggled with one of them,” Wiederhoeft said.
Compared to last year, the Beavers were worse in almost every category. Points per game were down almost seven whole points from a year ago, from 79.1 to 72.2. The three point shot is a huge part of the Beaver women’s game, but they also declined in that category shooting 28.8% compared to 31.4% a year ago.
Coach Janet Berry, who just finished her 23rd season at the head of the Buena Vista women’s basketball program, said that consistency on the offensive end really hurt them.
“Overall, when we didn’t shoot the ball well or didn’t shoot a high percentage, we struggled. We’ve always been an offensive team, and when we didn’t shoot it well, we didn’t come out on top,” Berry said.
The team has to say goodbye to a couple of seniors. This year Wiederhoeft and Ollendieck played their final games in Beaver blue and gold. Wiederhoeft started all 25 games her senior year and averaged 10.2 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. She also scored her 1,000th career point this season, which is a great accomplishment for her.
“I never thought it would have been possible for me to accomplish this goal. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates,” Wiederhoeft said.
Coach Berry will miss her senior center.
“She was one of the most consistent players I’ve ever coached. She went out every night and did her thing. We’ll miss her as a great and positive teammate and who is really fun to be around,” Berry said.
Erica Ollendieck played in all 25 games this season and even started 14 of them. She averaged 11.6 minutes per game and shot a little above 38% from the field.
“Erica was all about the team. She always brought energy and excitement to the game and always cheered when something good would happen,” Junior guard Lexi Fisher said.
Coach Berry also had high remarks regarding Ollendieck.
“She always had a smile on her face when she came to practice. She made everybody else better and was very unselfish. She might not have been the one on the top of the stat sheet, but she did her job and was a beloved teammate,” Berry said.
On a positive note, the Beaver women swept the Dutch women of Central in both of their match-ups this year and had a big victory over Wartburg in Siebens Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Also, they will return almost 85% of their scoring from this year.
“There will be a lot of returners that will bring a lot of experience to the team, but there will be good recruits coming in. I look forward to seeing all of the great things they will accomplish next year,” Wiederhoeft said.
Next year they will be led by Lexi Fisher and Jasmyn Flynn-Graves, both who averaged double digits in points per game this season.
“Every season our goal is to win the conference championship. That’s what it is all about. We are going to continue to work and fight,” Berry said.
Fisher is also already looking forward to next year.
“Our goal is to make the conference tournament, but I also know we all want that conference championship,” Fisher said.
Photo by Krystal Schulte
