Women’s Basketball Update
STEPHANIE WRIGHT
Reporter
Tara Lambert (11)
Starting their season off with a win against Meramec
79-51, the LC Women’s Basketball team has seen this repeated a few times
since then. Their record is now 4-1.
“We are tons better this year,” said sophomore Ashley Hilmes. “There a lot
of returning people and they have been there and know what to expect.”
After Meramec, the team beat Mineral Area College on Nov. 9, 74-67. Freshman
point guard Karen Brannan was injured during the second half of the game
with damage to her knee. She will be rehabilitating for four to six weeks
and will return in Jan.
It was not until the third game of the season that LC had their first loss.
LC was defeated by Jefferson College who is ranked nineteenth in the Nation
on Nov. 13 by six points, 72-66.“They had too many offensive rebounds,” said
Head Coach Peg Mitchell. “We needed to stay focused and work hard. One game
doesn’t make a season.”
Moving on from Jeff Co., the team had back-to-back wins on Nov. 19 and 20
against Lindenwood University’s JV 82-66 and Forest Park 72-70 in overtime.
“We have improvements still to make,” said Hilmes. “We need to play the same
every game. Instead of winning by five when it should be 30.”
“We are a fast team. When we execute the fast break we will be hard to
handle,” said freshman ReNisha Martin.
“Hopefully, by the end of the season we will be a team who is really hard to
beat,” said Hilmes. “Even the good teams will have a hard time.”
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Men's Basketball Update
STEPHANIE WRIGHT
Reporter
After suffering two losses to begin their season, the LC
Men’s team captured their first victory at home on Nov. 9 against Missouri
Baptist’s JV team, 101-63. On Nov. 13 they defeated Mineral Area, 64-57 to
even their record to 2-2.
Then on Nov. 16 and Nov. 20, LC suffered two losses to Three Rivers, 87-58
and Forest Park, 96-91. The team’s record falls to 2-4.
“We have to do a lot of work, but we have talent and potential. We can turn
around and be a good team,” said sophomore Aaron Edwards. “If we raise our
intensity everything should fall into place.”
The team also has David Sleight returning. Sleight was out with an injured
right hand since the pre-season.
Although one player is returning from the injured list two have been placed
on the list. Joe Miller is out with a broken index finger on his left hand.
“It started with being jammed, then twisted, then cracked,” said LC Trainer
Aaron Suesson. He is predicted to be back in approximately in a week.
Freshman Brent Wolk is also injured with a fractured metacarpal in his left
hand. It happened four weeks age to practice and is still swollen. It is
unknown when he will be able to play again.
Tyler Wlofe (40)
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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PEG MITCHELL
STEPHANIE WRIGHT
Reporter
LC Women’s Head Coach Peg Mitchell has had a lot of success over the
years of playing basketball and being an athletic coach.
Mitchell attended Southwestern High School, and started three years on
Varsity as the Piasa Bird’s center. She was the first to get 1,000 points in
her high school career at Southwestern. Then she was known as “Peg Johnson.”
After graduating from high school in 1986 Mitchell attended and played
basketball at LC. She then left after that year and transfer to Quincy
University in Quincy, Ill. to do the same. There Mitchell’s positions were
changed to forward and guard. She also broke the standing record at Quincy
for the most three-point shots. Graduating in 1990 Mitchell left Quincy with
a bachelor’s of Science, majoring in Physical Education and minoring in
Math.
From there she began her coaching career. She took a coaching job at South
Harrison in Bethany, Mo. for three years. Not only did she coach basketball
but also track and softball.
She then took a coaching job at Alexis High School in Alexis, Ill. There she
coached volleyball for two years with her five years of coaching basketball
at Alexis. Mitchell’s team at Alexis won back to back Regionals, were also
state ranked and had two All-State players. Along with Andrea Swiler, who
now plays at LC, her other All-State player was Carrie Yerkey, who went on
to play at Parkland and then to Monmouth.
In 1998 Mitchell graduated from Western with her Master’s Science and
Education Administration.
Shortly after, Mitchell returned to the area to coach for her Alma Mater
Southwestern due to her mother having a severe heart attack. She went from
coaching Varsity to a freshmen team because that was the only opening they
had. Her mother survived the heart attack. “She is doing well,” said
Mitchell.
Following one year at Southwestern she became the Head Women’s Basketball at
LC.
Still coaching for LC Mitchell has been married to her husband Bill for
almost ten years. They have no children, but they do have their black lab,
Taz.
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Meet the Coach: Doug Stotler
STEPHANIE WRIGHT
Reporter
Men's Basketball Coach Doug Stotler
For the tenth season at LC, Doug Stotler has been the Head Coach of the
Men’s Basketball team.
Originally from Herculaneum, Mo., Stotler attended Herculaneum High School
where he played basketball and baseball for the entirety of his H.S. career.
He then continued to play both sports for Maryville College in St. Louis.
Having graduated from Maryville with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and
Education in 1985, Stotler began coaching basketball that year. “It was for
an intense love for the game,” said Stotler.
Stotler’s first coaching job was at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo. as
an assistant coach for the 1985-86 season. Preceding that year he then took
an assistant coaching position at McKendree in Lebanon, Ill. for the next
four seasons, 1986-90.
His first head coaching position was at St. Louis Community College (Flo
Valley) in Florissant, Mo. He coached at Flo for three years during the
1990-93 seasons.
Following Flo, Stotler took the job at LC as Men’s Head Basketball Coach. He
has been coaching here ever since. Eight of his nine teams have had records
over 500.
While coaching at LC, Stotler attended SIUE and received his Master’s in
Science and Education in 2000.
He has been married to his wife Cathriel for ten years. They have two
daughters Rachel, 10 and Madi, eight.
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