Samantha McComb knows what opposing coaches expect when she steps out onto the court.
“Teams are going to look at me as a shooter,” McComb said. “So I’m going to have to add something to my game if I’m going to be able to get some threes in there.”
A 20-point performance against the National Team of Holland last week gave off strong vibes that McComb has picked up that extra something.
The junior guard was regarded as one of the top 3-point shooters in the Big Ten last year, ranking eighth in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.340) and seventh in 3-point field goals made (48).
However, McComb went just 1-for-7 from behind the 3-point line against Holland.
She instead drove hard to the basket all night, earning nine opportunities at the free-throw line, seven of which she converted successfully.
“I think we are understanding the offense and knowing where there are opportunities to score, and we tried to take advantage of that,” coach June Olkowski said.
McComb took on a strong leadership role in the overtime loss to Holland, showing up as a multi-offensive threat on a night when junior center Sarah Kwasinski struggled with just 4 points.
“Her struggling really hurts us,” McComb said. “We need to get her the ball a lot more. We’ve really focused on that in the last week of practice. We’ve structured everything around her in the low post.
“Someone needs to step up, and we need to have a scoring threat out there. I was just taking advantage of what I was given.”
Olkowski thinks McComb’s leadership will continue to strengthen throughout the season behind her knowledge of the recently instituted Princeton offense.
“She has added responsibility as one of the captains,” Olkowski said. “She understands the offense and she can help the young players out. She knows the offense, where she can score from and how to get other people the ball.”
McComb showed up on the opposite side of the court as well, snatching a team-leading six defensive rebounds, despite her 5-foot-8 frame.
The junior’s talent on both ends of the court will come in handy on Friday, when the Wildcats open their regular season against Creighton at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Bluejays return three starters this year, with senior Christy Neneman leading one of the most aggressive teams in the country.
“We know that Creighton likes to press, and we need to make sure we’re diligent in doing the fundamental things, not allowing them to score off any of our turnovers,” Olkowski said. “Offensively, we have to execute. The more we execute, I think the more confident we’ll feel. And we have to rebound the ball. They do a very good job of rebounding.”
The Cats are looking to erase the memory of their last game against Creighton, an 88-58 loss to the Jays in 2000.
On Sunday, the Cats travel to Kentucky to take on a young team led by new head coach Mickie DeMoss.
Although Kentucky returns four starters this year, Olkowski is unsure what to expect from the newly hired DeMoss.
“We know they have a new coach, so it’s a little more difficult. We don’t know what their schemes are going to be,” Olkowski said. “The only thing we can do is look at their preseason exhibition game stats and see who are shooters and who are rebounders and who are drivers.”
DeMoss should come up with effective schemes, however, having served for the past 18 years as the top assistant coach for perennial powerhouse Tennessee.
