The Evangel University women’s basketball team won their seventh Heart of America conference regular season championship last year going 21-11 and 17-3 in the conference. Head coach Leon Neal would love to see his team duplicate that success, but would like to have his full roster available this time.

The Lady Crusaders won their title despite losing four key players to injury: Melissa Hogan to a career-ending concussion after just three games, Caitlin Russell and Kelsie Hargus to season-ending knee injuries at mid-season, and senior center Whitney Pollard to torn knee ligaments late in the year.

Evangel will be expected to defend their conference title as Russell and Hargus return and are expected to be back to full strength by December, and first team all-conference selection Ashlee Luko is back to lead the team again.

Luko, a junior from Nixa, averaged 12.3 points and was named an NAIA-I honorable mention All-American.

“She is our rudder,” says Neal, comparing her to the part of a boat that steers the ship. “She can create her own and she is one of the best on-the-ball defenders I’ve ever seen.”

Evangel will also return sophomore Kara Blankenship. The Republic native was an all-conference pick averaging 10.3 points. Blankenship started the year logging a lot of minutes off of the bench and ended up in a starting role.

Russell, a Hillcrest product, averaged 12.3 points at mid-season before her season ended with an injury and Hargis, out of Morrisville, was putting up 10.2 points when she went down. Both will be juniors this season.

“They were both having great seasons,” says Neal. “It is good to bring those two back. The challenge is their mindset in how quickly they can come back and reach that point where they were last year. They are upperclassmen now. It’s their junior year so we look for them to step up.”

Evangel will have voids to fill with their inside game as they lost Pollard and forward Tag Morris to graduation. Morris did a little of everything for the team last year including leading the league in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game.

Neal figures those roles will be filled “by committee.” One contributor will be junior K.J. Waltrip. The 5’11” Sparta product sat out last year transferring from Central Methodist.

“K.J. will definitely help fill that void with rebounding and defending the post,” says Neal.

Jessica Rumfelt, a 6’1” freshman from Bolivar, has also emerged as a player that may factor into the rotation soon.

“She has gotten stronger and she runs the floor really well,” says Neal. “She also understands the concepts of what it takes for her to be successful.”

Evangel will also look for forward Sara Perez (Soph., 6’0”, Newark, California) to continue to improve. Perez appeared in 18 games last year and averaged 1.5 points.

Another signee in this year’s recruiting class that will look to factor in the rotation is Jayme Chapman (Fr., 6’1”, Jefferson City).

“She is coming on at a rapid pace,” says Neal. “She can step away from the basket and score and she is a great athlete with speed.”

A pair of junior college transfers will also help Evangel inside. Forward Lacy Luttrell (Soph., 5’11”, Hurst, Texas) will transition back to basketball after playing volleyball at Missouri State-West Plains and center Laura Castleberry (Jr., 6’4”, Collinsville, Okla.) will look to give Evangel a presence in the paint.

Evangel also signed 6’1” center Chloe Farmer from Edmond, Oklahoma last year. The freshman saw action in Springfield last season playing the in the national home school tournament.

Another area of concern for Evangel will be to fill the hole left by the departure of their top shooter Brianna Mingus, who opted to wrap up playing career at the end of her junior season.

Jessica Pickett, a 5’8” freshman guard out of Kickapoo High School, could help fill that gap.

“Jessica is coming along with her ball handling,” said Neal. “She is good spot-up shooter and is a smart player.

Randall Van Kempen (Soph., 5’8”, Las Vegas, Nev.) will also look to contribute at guard. She appeared in 29 games last season averaging 2.2 points. Leon Neal called her improved play “the surprise of the preseason” adding that “her defense has gotten better and she is a good shooter.”

With all the injuries last year, Evangel added guard Traci Ragan (Soph., 5’4”, Earle, Ark.) late in the season. Ragan played in 8 games down the stretch and hit winning free throws in the closing seconds of a pivotal conference game.

“She is going to help,” says Neal. “She is better and stronger. Also starting with us from the beginning of the season is really helping her.”

While Neal feels he has more depth and experience than last year, he believes this season will be a challenge.

“Last year is last year,” he says. “What we did last year will not be good enough this time. We have got to get better. We need to be tough and learn to compete better. If we do those two things, we will have an exciting season.”