Her last
hurrah
PITTSBURGH — Time has changed things rather swiftly for Olivia Bresnahan at
Duquesne University.
Upon transferring from Florida State, the Butler graduate had to
wait nearly a year before being eligible to suit up for a Dukes’ women’s
basketball game.
Now, finally, the 5-foot-11 senior point guard will be able to
play a full season at Duquesne.
Only she’s not expected to just run the show.
She’s expected to be a big part of it.
“My game has always been to penetrate and dish off to the open
player,” Bresnahan admitted. “This year, I know I’ll have to be a little more
selfish and contribute more to the scoring.
“I won’t be hesitant to shoot the outside shot. I’ve been
developing that over the summer. I’ll be more than willing to let it fly.”
Bresnahan scored a collegiate career-high 19 points against West
Virginia last year in her debut game with Duquesne. She never scored more than
12 points in a game the rest of the season.
She did average 4.2 rebounds and nearly three assists per game,
producing 33 steals while starting 20 of the 22 games she appeared in last
year.
But the Dukes’ top two scorers from that 20-13 season — Wumi
Agunbiade (15.5 ppg.) and Raegan Moore (13.8) — have graduated. Fellow starting
guard April Robinson (10.8 ppg.) and Bresnahan (8.1 ppg.) are the team’s top
returning scorers.
“We’ve got ability on this team, but a lot of it is
inexperienced,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt said. “In Olivia and April, we’ll have
two starting point guards on the floor.
“In fact, going into camp, those are the only two players who are
ensured of starting positions.
“We will go as far as Olivia and April take us. It boils down to
that,” Burt added.
Bresnahan welcomes such a challenge.
“My role has definitely changed,” she said. “I’m expected to do
more things, particularly on the scoring side. I have to get my points and set
up other players to get their points.”
And those other points will come from a variety of sources.
“We have no go-to type of scorer this year,” Bresnahan admitted.
“We have a lot of new faces on the court and we’ve got a deep bench.
“It’s up to April and I to develop this group into a cohesive,
productive unit. We need to make that happen and I’m confident we will.
“Everybody on our team has the ability to score and make plays,
It’s going to be fun,” she added.
Duquesne opens the 2014-15 regular season Sunday, hosting Princeton
at 2 p.m. at the Palumbo Center.
Burt is entering his second year as head coach, succeeding Suzie
McConnell-Serio prior to last season.
“Only 21 teams in women’s basketball have consistently won 20 or
more games a season for the past six or seven years,” he said. “We’re one of
those teams.
“I like our chances of winning more than 20 games and contending
for an NCAA Tournament berth. Our toughness and competitiveness need to win out
and Olivia will be at the forefront of all that. In that sense, this is her
team.”
Bresnahan’s biggest individual goal is to be an effective leader
on the team.
“I want to provide direction on the floor,” she said. “I want us
to win an Atlantic 10 championship and get to the NCAA Tournament. This is it
for me.
“I’m hoping to get a chance to play overseas after college. I
know the time is going to fly by this season.
“It’s going to be exciting. But I’ll be upset when it’s over,”
Bresnahan added