Tuesday, March 21, 2000
Cottrell adds zip, zing to NKU women's team
Overcomes frosh doubts to earn All-American bid
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
Michelle Cottrell remembers the doubt that consumed her in the fall of 1998, in her first couple of days of practice with the Northern Kentucky women's basketball team.
“They had all these seniors,” she said. “I didn't know the drills, and they knew them all. They were, like, "C'mon, get with it.'”
Norse coach Nancy Winstel remembers having to shore up her freshman's flagging confidence.
“I figured she'd help right away,” Winstel said. “I remember we sat down and talked, and she said, "Coach, if I just get a chance to play a little bit and can help the team win, I'll be happy.' I told her, "Don't sell yourself short. I think if you work hard, you can start.'”
Working hard is second nature to Cottrell, and she has proven Winstel more than correct. The 5-foot-11 sophomore not only has started 63 of the 64 games NKU has played since she arrived, but she's recorded 39 double-doubles while leading the Norse to a 59-5 record and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Cottrell and the Norse, ranked No.2 in the nation, open their second appearance Wednesday in Pine Bluff, Ark., against No.1 College of St. Rose (N.Y.).
Winstel, in her 17th season as the Norse's coach, can remember only one other player with such an immediate impact on the program: Julie Wells, who starred at Oak Hills High School as Julie Duerring, became NKU's first Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year after transferring from the University of Cincinnati. Wells led NKU to its first Elite Eight trip in 1987.
Last season, Cottrell led the league in field-goal percentage and NKU in scoring and rebounding to earn the GLVC Freshman of the Year award and a spot on the all-conference team. She also was named outstanding player of the GLVC Tournament last season.
This season, Cottrell already has been named the GLVC Co-Player of the Year and the re gional tournament's outstanding player after scoring 46 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in two games.
Averaging 17.4 points and a GLVC-best 9.3 rebounds, and shooting a league-best .581 from the field, she's an All-American candidate.
“I think I've improved tremendously since I came here,” Cottrell said.
Cottrell, an all-state performer in basketball and volleyball and the state runner-up in shot put as a Boone County senior, was not highly recruited for basketball because she seemed more interested in pursuing a volleyball career.
“That's what everybody was saying when we recruited her, but we didn't write her off, and we're thankful for that,” Winstel said.
“As a freshman, she was the missing link,” Winstel said. “We weren't a great rebounding team. We were more a finesse team. She gave us some power inside.
“I don't know that she allowed us to add or change anything in our game, but she does allow us to do what we do better. Her quickness and tenacity are unmatched.”
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