Ashley Feldhaus says she likes a challenge.
As the Cowgirls' new head coach, she'll have a unique challenge in her first season.
Most coaches take over struggling programs, or, if they take over a winning one, they are likely following in the footsteps of a legend.
At 30, Feldhaus joined a program that caught lightning in a bottle last season after years of being struck down by that very force. Now Feldhaus has the challenge of making sure McNeese women’s basketball isn’t a one-hit wonder last year.
“Winners think differently,” Feldhaus said, choosing McNeese over a couple of other offers. “Why not come to a place whose total identity is winning?”
Feldhaus spent one season at Morehead State turning that program around last year, while the Cowgirls set program records and finished 29-6 in Ayla Guzzardo’s only season on campus.
Guzzardo took the job at Georgia, opening up the seat on McNeese’s bench. However, before Guzzardo, the Cowgirls had suffered through eight straight losing seasons.
“Is there pressure? Sure,” Feldhaus said. “We are set up to win here. It’s what you want; you want to get to a place that is set up for success. McNeese is set up to win.”
The Cowgirls will look different this season, with just two players returning: guards Avari Berry and Carley Hamilton. Two players moved from Morehead to McNeese with the coach, Josefine Enander and Anja Ekstrom.
That means the coaching staff hit the transfer portal hard.
“We knew what we needed, but when you have a brand new team, you are not sure what you are going to get,” said Feldhaus. “We filled the holes we needed. We are further along than I thought we would be.”
Last year the Cowgirls won with one of the best defenses in the country. This year, look for the offense to lead the way.
“We have so many tools offensively,” said Feldhaus. “We can score in so many ways. We are going to shoot a ton of threes, but we can also get downhill really, really well, which kind of opens the floor up.”
Feldhaus wants her team to shoot between 30 and 35 three-point shots a game, aiming for at least 33 percent.
Cowgirl fans don’t care how it’s done as long as they keep winning.
