December 29, 2003

     EDITOR'S NOTE: Kathleen Burdelski is a senior fourth-year letterwinner and starter and two-year captain on the women's basketball team In each of her first three years, the Warriors have won at least 20 games and qualified for NCAA tournament play.At 5-foot-6 inches tall, she is the shortest player on the varsity team but is the team's best career free throw shooter and has been selected as the team's Best Defensive Player in each of her three full seasons. This year's team was the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in the pre-season and also through the first two weeks of the season. Kathleen is a math major and an ECSU/E-Club Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.

     1. Your four years have turned out to be one of the most successful four-year periods in the program's 33-year history. As a four-year starter and two-time captain, how does that make you feel?
     "It makes me feel proud to know that I have been part of such a successful period, but it makes me realize how lucky I am also. I've been blessed to be a member of four very talented, hard-working and dedicated teams. I really have played with some of the best females to ever play the game."

     2. The college basketball season can last as long as 5 months. What things must you do in order to maintain yourself physically and emotionally?
     "Physically, the best preparation I can do occurs in the off-season. We get a (weight) lifting program, which I do about four times a week during the summer, and I also do conditioning on my own. In addition, I also do skill work -- with dribbling and shooting -- on my own. During the season, I do everything I can to just take care of my body. I try to get a good amount of sleep, eat the right foods, and do everything I can to stay healthy. As a team, we really rely on each other to emotionally maintain ourselves. There are so many ups-and-downs throughout the season, and no one understands this better than everyone else who is going through the same thing."

     3. The unique thing about the college basketball season is that it impacts, academically, both the fall and spring semesters. As a high honors student, how have you managed to handle this demand?
     "It is very difficult to manage my time once the season starts. I will leave my room at 8 in the morning and not get back until after 9 p.m. on most days. I try to make use of any bits of free time that I have to do homework or study. I actually feel that I am much more organized during the season -- because I have to be."

     4. The team was coming off successful 17-9 season prior to your freshman year. Did you think that you would be able to come in right away and start?
     "When I came in as a freshman, I actually had no idea whatsoever what the record of the previous team was. However, I never thought that I could come in and start. In fact, I didn't even expect to get much playing time at all. I figured I would have to put in my time and learn the ropes, and maybe in a few years I would see some minutes. I was actually terrified that I would not even make the team. I had no idea that I would start that year, until coach (Bierly) called me into her office and said so. I was very surprised!"

     5. What are the qualities that you possess or that you developed that have allowed you to maintain your position in the starting lineup on one of the best teams in Division III?
     "My previous coaches have always stressed fundamentals. I really feel that this one of the major reasons I have been able to hold my position. Even if I am not hitting my shot, or converting offensively, I will still always have the fundamentals on defense and rebounding, and I won't turn the ball over as much. Because my game is not based on always shooting, my game is fairly consistent. I also know that coming into the season, that I have worked so hard in the off-season."

     6. At 5-foot-6 inches tall, you have averaged over five rebounds a game in your career and, amazingly, have had as many as 16 in a single game. What has allowed you to become such an effective rebounder?
     "Ever since I started playing basketball in elementary school, I have had excellent coaches who stressed fundamentals. Boxing out and rebounding was always one of the most stressed of the fundamentals. Because I am so little, opponents never really worry about me getting rebounds, so then I can surprise them and grab them. Also, because I am so little, I had to work very hard to get any boards, so now it is just ingrained in me to box out and work hard to get them."

     7. Sometimes, having a player of All-America Allison Coleman's caliber can ruin team chemistry and the overall 'team' concept. The players on this team have always seemed comfortable with their roles, which appears to have allowed the team to be successful the past four years. What are your feelings?
     "Allison is a great player. She is very unselfish and completely concerned with the team as a whole, not her own individual accomplishments. Because of this, she plays as part of the team, and there really are no problems with her status. Allison is actually a role model to all of us. She helps us get better. Playing with and against her in practice helps us by competing against the best possible competition."

     8. Something seemed to 'connect' in NCAA post-season play last year for this team, which reached the national championship game. Describe the mind-set of the team as the tournament progressed.
     "As soon as the tournament started, we felt like we had something to prove. We were just coming off a terrible (overtime) loss in the conference tournament (semifinals), and we all knew we were better than that. When we got a (at-large) bid to the NCAAs, it was like another chance for us to prove ourselves. We truly believed that we could make it (to the national finals). Although we respected all of the other teams in the tournament and knew they could beat us, we knew that we had the talent and ability to beat every single one of them. We always joke now that our team -- the players and coaches -- were the only ones who really believed that we could reach our goals. That was all we needed, though. Once we started playing, we played each game as it was our last."

     9. In 10 years from now, what will you remember about playing college basketball, and in particular, what will be remember about playing in this program?
     "Ten years from now, I am not going to remember the records of the teams, or even if we win the conference tournament. The main thing I will remember is the friendships that I have formed, and the experiences that I've had. I have no doubt that I will still be friends with many of the girls on the team. They really have been like sisters, we are so close. I am going to remember how we each gave a part of ourselves, sacrificed, and put in so much hard work to work toward one common goal. I will never forget the feeling of defeat, after losing in the national championship last year, but I will also never forget realizing how much we had accomplished, and the odds that we overcame together."