Last year's magical ride to the NJCAA Division II national championship women's basketball game earned Morton College a great deal of respect in this season's preseason poll with a No. 2 ranking.
The lofty preseason ranking and the title-game appearance were both firsts for any sport in Morton College annals. It begs the question – what can the Panthers, who rolled up a school-record 26 straight wins on the way to a 30-3 finish, do for an encore?
"Last year, not a lot of people believed in us except for us," said Morton College women's basketball coach Jason Nichols, starting his third year at the helm. "We finished second. Now everyone believes in us, but that doesn't guarantee you anything. We've got a lot of work to do. But that's what the regular season is all about."
Morton College was a fun bunch to watch last year. The Panthers were eighth nationally in scoring at 80.4 points per game, first defensively at 45.2 points per game and second in made three-pointes with 394. They hit the century mark four times and took out Union County, Johnson County and CCBC Essex at nationals before falling to Kirkwood in the title contest.
The Panthers lost NJCAA All-America players Tadriana Heard (First Team) and Dylan Van Fleet (Second Team), but return five solid contributors from last year's team and welcome three talented newcomers to this season's edition.
"We're definitely a little bit deeper," Nichols said, "but we need to blend it together. I think will take some time."
Nichols beefed up Morton College's preseason schedule with a murderer's row stretch of seven games between Veterans' Day and December 8th where the Panthers face five teams in NJCAA's Division II preseason top 20 – Mesa (No. 8), Muskegon (No. 16), Bryant & Stratton (No. 5), Illinois Central (No. 9) and Lakeland (No. 10).
Morton College also faces Division I Central Arizona, which finished 24-6 overall and second in the rugged Arizona Community College Athletic Conference with a 17-3 mark, and Rock Valley, which is making the transition from winning four national titles at the Division III level to Division II.
"My thought is not to worry about our record, but having us ready to be at our best in March," Nichols explained. "We'll really find out who we are as the season progresses. This will be a really, really tough stretch for us."
Morton College's returning five – Franchesca Metz, Jovanna Martinucci, Jalyssa Carrasco, Mia Simpson and Gianine Boado – all were significant contributors in leading the Panthers to their second straight Region IV title and first lllinois Skyway Collegiate Conference crown in 21 years.
Metz, back for her third season due to the NJCAA ruling granting players an extra season because of COVID, got to showcase her talents on a national stage this summer at the top 40 JUCO Showcase in Atlanta. It's translated into a number of looks from NCAA Division I programs for Metz, who averaged 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game a year ago. However, Metz really took off the final two months of the season, averaging 12 points per game with 23 three-pointers.
"To me, Franny's had a real good off-season," Nichols observed. "We're hoping it translates into a special season."
Mia Simpson splashed on the scene with a big freshman year, averaging 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. She excelled at attacking the basket, shooting a nation's best 64.2 percent and collecting a team-best 105 offensive rebounds.
"Mia had a really big year and was huge at finishing things," Nichols noted. "Hopefully, she can continue to improve and be a stat stuffer, some one who can affect a game in many different ways."
Jovanna Martinucci also is back for a third season. The daughter of a coach (her father Tony is the head boys basketball coach at Morton High School), Martinucci is viewed by Nichols as "our toughest player."
Martinucci was fifth on the team with 38 steals along with averaging 2.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Boado demonstrated signs of being an inside-outside threat, shooting 53.2 percent from the floor while averaging 6.5 points and 2.9 rebounds a game.
"Gianine had some injuries last year, but we're looking for her to have a good sophomore year," Nichols said. "She's very talented."
Carrasco started all 33 games last season and is Morton College's leading returning three-point shooter with 64 trifectas. She averaged 8.0 points per game and shot 85 percent from the free-throw line.
"Jalyssa never came off the floor," Nichols said. "She's very smart and understands what we're doing. We're looking for her to shoot with more consistency. If she does that, she'll be in line for a really good sophomore year."
The newcomer class has the potential to rival what Heard and Van Fleet did during their two seasons at Morton College.
Claire Hyde was the two-time DuKane Conference Player of the Year at Wheaton North and the program's all-time leading scorer, while Kaylen Evans, a reverse transfer from NCAA Division I Loyola, could be Morton College's best three-point threat. Taylor Marquardt was a First Team All-Badger East Conference selection out of Fort Atkinson in Wisconsin.
"Claire is just an enormously talented player," Nichols said. "She was a huge get for us. She's capable of scoring in multiple ways. Kaylen has been our best three-point shooter. She, too, is a fantastic scorer. We're also looking for Taylor to contribute. Again, the key for us comes down to how we blend all this together."
The Panthers kick off the season at Black Hawk College in Moline on Tuesday, November 1st. It's a 5:15 p.m. tip-off.
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