|
Senior Duck returns to action for Lady Toppers
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers got an extra boost this week with the return to action of its lone senior, Dominique Duck.
The preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year announced Tuesday during WKU Basketball Media Day that she is cleared to
return to practice and feels good after suffering an ACL injury in late April.
“It’s been kind of hard, kind of challenging,” Duck said. “As far as my rehab, I breezed right through it. Then I had some minor setbacks about a month ago, but as of right now I’m excited about getting back out on the court and getting in the flow of things.”
Duck said she scrimmaged briefly Monday, but was ready to go full speed in Tuesday’s practice following the media day session.
“She’s extremely eager to get on the floor,” WKU coach Mary Taylor Cowles said. “She really busted her tail this summer and this fall with what she had to get done medically. It’s no surprise though, because that is what Dominique is made of.”
Duck said she doesn’t expect the return from injury to limit her playing time.
“I expect to play 30-plus minutes when we play Murray State (in the season opener Nov. 14) and I expect to start,” Duck said. “I’ve discussed those expectations with coach Cowles and we are totally on the same page.”
Duck is WKU’s leading scorer among returning players, averaging 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds. The 5-foot-11 forward was named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament MVP and enters the season 42 points shy of the 1,000-point mark for her career.
With the departure of Crystal Kelly, Duck has been thrust into the spotlight, but she said she doesn’t feel extra pressure.
“We have all of our starters returning, except for Crystal,” Duck said. “I feel that me, Kenzie (Rich), Arnika (Brown), Amy (McNear) and throw Hope (Brown) in there. We understand that there is a lot of scoring to be made up, but we know we can divide that up between all of us.”
That point distribution will be made easier by a roster that Cowles and the players said is perhaps among the most versatile in recent WKU history.
Cowles said she used the first nine days of practice to piece together different combinations.
“Our red/white teams change every day in practice,” Cowles said. “That has been kind of fun from a coaching stand point - to be able to see those combinations and see what jells.”
Cowles said she hopes the mixture and diversity will allow her team to match up with any opponent - whether it be a team with size and strength or a team with athleticism and quickness.
“This is a real fun team,” Cowles said. “It’s kind of a funny combination with really good experience of returning players and a whole lot of innocence with some new faces. I like this team. They are a lot of fun to be around and a very talented basketball team.”
| edit |
|
