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Winning transitions well to all sports.
Senior guard Katie Wagner made her debut for the SIU women’s basketball team Sunday in an exhibition game against Quincy, where she had 12 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes of play as SIU won the game, 67-59.
Wagner had previously spent four seasons playing softball for SIU.
Head coach Missy Tiber said Wagner’s winning attitude would benefit the young Saluki team.
“The role that she’ll bring to our team is that she’s been a winner, she has been a part of winning programs.” Tiber said. “She’s hard-nosed; she knows the time and dedication it takes to win.”
Tiber said Wagner will do a lot of things other players on the team will not do, namely take a lot of fouls and try to be physical with every play.
In her game against Quincy, Wagner went to the free-throw line eight times — tied with junior guard Eboni Crayton for the team’s most — and scored six of her 12 points from the line.
Tiber said her attitude came from the dedication she brings into practice.
“She works unbelievably hard, and that alone will earn her some minutes on the court,” Tiber said.
Wagner’s teammates are also impressed with the work she puts in at practice.
“She outworks people, she outhustles people, and you don’t see a lot of players do that,” Presswood said. “They may work hard, but Katie is going to outhustle you — period. She doesn’t take no for an answer; she just goes hard.”
Presswood said Wagner’s hard work is not the only thing that is helping the team.
Presswood said Wagner brings enthusiasm to the team as well.
“She just brings so much energy, and she is just fun to play with,” Presswood said. “You can’t miss her on the court.”
Presswood is the only returning senior on the team. The team’s other senior, guard Stephanie Neptune, is a transfer student from Tiber’s old program, Division II Tusculum.
Presswood said Wagner would provide leadership on the team.
“She knows exactly what it takes to be an athlete in the valley,” Presswood said.
Wagner said the hardest thing to adjust to in basketball was the conditioning program.
“You don’t run as much in softball. I had to get my legs under me with rebounding more and running more and jumping more,” Wagner said. “ It was tough for me at first, but exciting.”
Wagner played basketball for Mount Vernon High School and was a letterman for the team. Wagner scored more than 1,400 points for Mount Vernon.
Wagner said part of what appealed to her about Tiber’s program is how similar it was to her high school experience.
“Whoever can run the quickest down the court will have the ball in their hands, that is kind of how I play,” Wagner said. “We play up and down, and I like that. I like the intensity, like it fast. I like how coach Tiber came in with that mentality.”
Wagner said she also had to draw on her softball experience for stepping on the basketball court.
She said she knows how hard it is to compete every game and is ready for a long year of basketball.
“I’ve been in the game four years. Softball or basketball, you have to compete just as hard,” Wagner said. “I want to go out there and win, and I will bring intensity to every game I play because that is how I play.”
Derek Robbins can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 269.
