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Young Flyers women’s team earning respect

By Doug H, Staff Writer Updated 10:20 PM Wednesday, November 25, 2009

DAYTON — Purdue has one of the premier programs in women’s college basketball, having won a national championship in 1999 and claimed more Big Ten titles than any other team.

But the Boilermaker coaches found plenty to admire in what Jim Jabir is putting together at Dayton.

“One of the Purdue assistants said, ‘In watching film of your team, they really believe they can win every game,’ ” said Jabir, in his seventh year as UD’s head coach for women’s basketball. “Hopefully, we’ll continue to be poised and fearless.”

The Flyers have shown positively no timidity while going 4-1 this season, notching wins over nationally ranked Michigan State and Purdue, and beating another BCS school in Georgetown. They had a late lead against powerhouse Louisville before falling by two, meaning they’re just a few seconds from being undefeated despite a treacherous schedule.

The Flyers have the 28th-most votes in the both the Associated Press and coaches polls.

Jabir, though, is careful not to get too caught up in the flashy start.

“I always feel if you stop working and admire what you’ve done, you stop getting better,” he said. “We have a long way to go. But I appreciate (the accomplishments so far). That tells me we’re going in the right direction.”

The scary part for UD opponents is that the Flyers are incredibly young. They start one senior in Kendel Ross and a lone junior in Kristin Daugherty, their leading scorer and the Atlantic 10 player of week. But everyone else in the rotation is either a sophomore or freshman.

They also have ideal balance, which makes them hard to defend. UD has 11 players averaging between 4 and 12 points.

Jabir set high standards before the season, saying anything short of seizing the program’s first NCAA tournament bid would be a disappointment.

If the Flyers maintain their current pace, they’ll not only make the tourney, but also earn a high seed.

Even if they reach those heights, though, Jabir will feel like there’s work to be done.

“What would be really great is to see us in the NCAA tournament every year and 4,000 or 5,000 fans at every game — and do that on a regular basis,” he said.

“People have become fans, and they even come to games like Purdue — families with kids. ... Those kinds of things matter, but we want to do that on a larger scale. And I don’t see why we can’t.”