Women’s basketball looking to make noise in Horizon League

For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team started 4-0 in conference play. This new season the players have a point to prove and are here to stay.  

Head Coach Kate Achter can attest to their hard work and determination. With Achter being the head coach for these past three years, she has seen the team through many ups and downs, and with this new season she has some familiar faces but also 11 new players that have joined the UDM basketball family.  

Needless to say, Achter has seen it all from coaching at Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure and Xavier, and also even played at the college level at Bowling Green.  

“Where we are located is unique in terms of the players we are able to recruit and our academics certainly attracts a broad group of individuals,” Achter said. I think what’s been different compared to my other schools I have coached at is the grittiness of the players I have been able to have in the program which has resulted in us winning basketball games.  

With an overall record of 12-9 (as of Feb. 3) and winning against schools such as Oakland University, Eastern Michigan and more, this team has proved themselves in many ways. The team’s chemistry has made playing the game of basketball much more enjoyable and you can see it throughout the court.  

“They really invest in each other, and anytime whether it’s a group project or in the professional setting, anytime you believe in your teammates, typically the project is more enjoyable, and you achieve greater results, and that’s it for us,” Achter said. Our players just like being around each other just as human beings aside from basketball and that chemistry has helped us win a lot of games. 

Players Kailey Starks (freshman) and Makayla Jackson (sophomore) can certify that their team’s chemistry is also a huge factor in this game.  

“With this being my second year on the team at first I was nervous to see what the staff was going to put together, but I stayed and trusted them, and this roster is honestly the best I have ever played for,” Jackson said. The bonds are genuine, and we are honest with each other, and everyone is so talented and not many teams have that. As we are still learning each other and how to play with each other, we mesh well, and I really enjoy this team and coming in and competing with them almost every day. 

Starks echoed the thoughts on chemistry. 

“There is no toxicity between us, it feels like a family, like a sisterhood,” Starks said. We can always talk to each other and hang out without it being forced.. Although some players are not new to UDMs basketball program, the program has gained 11 new players who are ready to shake some things up this season. Those players are Emaia O’Brien, Aaliyah McQueen, Anna Lassan, Maya Anderson, Alize Tripp, Kailey Starks, Jasmine Edwards, Katie Burton, Chanteese Criag and Addisen Mastriano.  

The biggest challenge with a handful of new players has been the basketball pieces, not that they don’t know basketball, it’s that there are so many things we believe in as a staff and as a program that maybe they’ve never been taught before and so you really have to prioritize what is critical and important to finding immediate success,” Achter said. For us things that have been mainstays in our program have taken longer to get through and that’s been the most challenging piece of it because you want to teach your concepts that are going to be identity staples.  

“Gritty, exciting, and resilient” are all words Achter, Jackson and Starks used to explain their season so far and how those exact words put their team aside from everyone else in the conference.  

“We really lean into that gritty piece of it,” Achter said. We are just a little rough around the edges. We are the ones who are diving on the floor for loose balls, we play really physical and fast and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea playing this way. 

With a lot of season left, UDM women’s basketball is here and ready to play.  

“Our best basketball is ahead of us,” Achter said.