BETHANY BISON (22-7 Overall, 6-2 PAC in 2001-02)
Things couldn’t be much brighter for the Bethany women’s basketball team. The Bison are coming off a 22-7 season in which they won their fourth consecutive PAC title and their first-ever NCAA Tournament win before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

As good as last season was, the 2002-03 campaign looks even brighter for the Green and White. Head Coach Jina DeRubbo, who has a 92-42 record after five seasons at Bethany, sees her team return three starters and eight letterwinners from last season, which is a large reason why the Bison earned a preseason of 24th by D3Hoops.com.

Leading the Bison attack are three All-Pac performers. Forward Katie Hardie was the Conference MVP last year after averaging 16.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last year. Also back is First Team pick Kelley Richardson (19.2 ppg., 10.5 rpg.) and Second Team honoree and the lone senior on the Bison,  Kiki Cohen (10.9 ppg., 3.1 apg.).

DeRubbo will enjoy the deepest squad she’s had at Bethany during her tenure, as guard Nikki Babik (10.2 ppg.) (left) is back, along with center Shannon Boyle (2.0), forward Katie Resanovich (2.2), guard Katie Tetzlaw (3.5 ppg) and guard Stefanie Panas (0.7). Mix in a successful new class of two transfers and four freshmen and the Bison have the look of a team that could take its season well into March.
 
 

GROVE CITY LADY WOLVERINES (14-12 Overall, 5-3 PAC in 2001-02)
No starters back? No problem.

The Grove City College women's basketball team may have lost all five starters from last season's 14-12 squad. But it would be an incorrect assumption to think that the Lady Wolverines will be inexperienced in 2002-03 as they pursue the Presidents' Athletic Conference championship. Grove City finished second in the conference last season, their fourth runner-up finish in six seasons.

Numerous veterans return this year, including 5-foot-4 senior forward Sarah Bailey, 5-8 senior guard Cara Denniston, 5-9 senior forward Christy Faller (right), and PAC Freshman of the Year Abby Moose, a 5-6 sophomore. Denniston and Faller are both three-year letterwinners who have been part-time starters in their careers while Bailey will figure into the mix on the perimeter. Faller finished second on the team in rebounds while Denniston could become GCC's all-time leader in games played this season. Moose, meanwhile, led Grove City in both field goals made and attempted last year on her way to averaging 8.5 points per game. Her 33 three-pointers were second on the team to the graduated Stephanie Murphy, who made 36.

Also looking to join Bailey, Denniston and Moose on the perimeter are sophomores Joceyln Kempema and Rachel Romance. Grove City is also deep in the frontcourt as juniors Leigh LeGare and Misty Wadowsky are joined by 6-2 sophomore Sandy O'Keefe. LeGare made 11 starts and appeared in all 26 games last season. She finished second on the squad in field-goal percentage and third in rebounding. Wadowsky is also a two-year letterwinner while O'Keefe appeared in 10 games last year.

Freshmen Tammy Hess, Kellie Kepple and Kristen Over are also in the mix for playing time this winter.

Grove City opens its season Nov. 22 against Walsh in the Grove City Tip-Off Classic.
 
 

THIEL TOMCATS (14-13 Overall, 4-4 PAC in 2001-02)
Thiel College Head Coach Gloria Pacsi has very high expectations regarding the upcoming 2002-03 season.  The Tomcats, coming off of a third place finish in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, return four starters and ten letterwinners from last year’s squad that finished 14-13.

Expectations surround the four returning starters, led by junior guard Amanda Swanson (left).  Swanson, named to the 2002 All-PAC First Team, averaged 13.0 points per game last season while leading the team in rebounding (7.3). Senior Mayumi Sasaki returns to handle the point guard duties this season after averaging 3.6 assists per game last year. Junior guard Kerry Gutherie can be used at both the one and two guard spots.  Gutherie averaged 5.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last season. Junior forward Danielle Mezzulo, named an All-PAC Honorable Mention last season, averaged 7.0 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Inside, the Tomcats will look to a pair of seniors in Stacy Shook and Liz Payne.  Shook averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 points per game last season while Payne averaged 1.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

The Tomcat’s bench is young, with nine freshmen and three sophomores.  Sophomore guard Laura Simonetti returns with the most experience, having played in 24 games last season and started 10. Returnees hoping to provide depth inside will be sophomore center Adrienne Mowry, sophomore forward Laura Fahey.  Freshmen center Elizabeth Sensenstein and freshmen forward Kristin Pollack also hope to vie for minutes.

In the backcourt, two freshmen look to provide a look at the future of the program. Guards Morgan Dibble and Heather Abate should provide Pacsi with solid minutes over the course of the season.
 
 

WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON PRESIDENTS (11-14 Overall, 5-3 PAC in 2001-02)
The motto for the 2002-2003 Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team will be “strength in numbers.”  For the first time in her three-year tenure, Head Coach Carrie Zickefoose returns five talented All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference performers as well as an army of freshmen ready to take aim at the Presidents’ first conference championship since 1998.

Leading the way once again for the Presidents will be senior forwards Lauren Hull and Amy Strosnider.  Hull averaged 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season in 14 games.  She shot just under 47 percent from the field and has scored 488 points in her career, an average of 8.0 points per contest.  Strosnider finished second in the PAC in rebounding last season (9.4 rpg) and averaged 11.0 points per game, starting all 25 games.  She shot a team-best 51.9 percent from the floor, placing second in the PAC in field-goal percentage.

Junior point guard Shawndra McDonald (right) returns to lead the Presidents offense.  She finished last year as the 50th leading scorer in Division III at 17.8 points per contest and also averaged 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game. Junior guard Rachel Armitage will also look to start her third season as the off guard.  She was the sixth-leading scorer in the conference a year ago (13.1 ppg) and canned 31 three pointers.  Armitage also picked up 4.3 boards, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

The added feature to 2002-2003 Presidents is the luxury of 14 talented freshmen who have made a difference in the program before the first ball has even been tipped.  Some of the top high school seniors from last year in Pennsylvania and Ohio have banded together to form the largest freshman class in W&J history.
 
 

WAYNESBURG YELLOW JACKETS (9-16 Overall, 0-8 PAC in 2001-02)
The turnaround for the Waynesburg College women’s basketball team began last season and will continue in the 2002-2003 season. The Yellow Jackets are setting out to improve on last year’s 9-16 record—the team’s best record in seven years.
Fourth-year head coach Terry Acker has been instrumental in rebuilding the program, which, prior to last season, won just five games in two seasons.

Senior forward Kyana Bradley (left) returns for the Jackets after leading Waynesburg with 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last year. Bradley was named Second Team All-PAC last year and ranked ninth in the PAC in scoring. Junior guard Tiffany Newman will be joined in the backcourt by sophomore Ashley Urban, who averaged four points per game last year. Urban’s 34 assists last year was second to point guard Trisha Pollock, who graduated after four years, while averaging 8.3 points last year. Lila St. Denis and Michelle Collins will accompany Bradley in the frontcourt. St. Denis averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season. Collins sported a 41 field goal percentage last season, while scoring 3.4 points and grabbing 3.9 boards per game last year.

The Jackets finished last in the PAC in 2002 with a record of 0-8. Waynesburg bowed to Thiel in the preliminary round of the PAC tournament. The Jackets’ 9-8 non-conference record last year included a pair of three-game winning streaks. The highlight of the team’s string of victories included a tournament championship at the Legg Mason Classic at Villa Julie College—a tournament the Jackets will enter again this season.
 
 

WESTMINSTER LADY TITANS (14-11 Overall, 8-2 vs. PAC teams in 2001-02)
The Westminster College women’s basketball team enters the 2002-03 season with a sense of anticipation unmatched in recent years. After posting a combined 30 wins over the past two seasons, including a combined 18-2 record against Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) teams, Westminster begins its first season as a full member of NCAA Division III and the PAC this winter. All Westminster varsity teams, including women’s basketball, are now eligible for titles and honors at the conference and national level.

To add to the anticipation, the upcoming season marks the first for the Lady Titan program under first-year Head Coach Rosanne Scott. A former two-time PAC Player of the Year at Bethany, Scott has been instrumental in the program’s success as an assistant coach over the past two years. Her promotion to head coach makes the 24-year old one of the youngest head coaches in the country.

Westminster returns 10 of 12 letterwinners from last year’s squad, including four of five starters. The toughest task will be replacing the graduated Robin Thayer, who closed her Lady Titan career as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,287 points.

Leading the way for the Lady Titans will be a five-player senior class, filled with both talent and experience. Point guard Jennifer Petures and forward Samor Himes, both multi-year starters, return for their final campaigns. Petures averaged 7.4 points and dished out a team-best 86 assists last year, while Himes, who averaged 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds a year ago, led the PAC in rebounding in 2000-01. Guards Jaime Lynn and Ashley Kenney (right) have both seen time as starters, with Lynn being one of the team’s top defenders and Kenney providing a solid outside shooting touch. Kristen Karatinos supplies an offensive spark off the bench.

A pair of junior contributors return in forward Alicia Anderson and guard Sarah Scott. Like Himes, Anderson is an aggressive rebounder despite having a height disadvantage in the low post, while Scott provides depth at the guard position.

A pair of players who saw significant playing time as freshmen as year ago return in center Erica Tallo and point guard Alyson Gasper. Tallo finished her first collegiate campaign by averaging 8.2 points and posting team-best totals of 7.6 rebounds per game and 17 blocked shots. Gasper became the backup point guard, averaging 2.9 points per game with 38 assists. Rounding out the sophomore returnees are three players – guards Erin Morrow and Michelle Ripper and forward Mary Jane Eaton – who saw limited time as freshmen.

Rounding out the roster are three newcomers who will vie for playing time. Junior guard Rena Paroz will play basketball for the first time this season. Sophomore forward Sarah McKain, a transfer from Pitt-Greensburg, will battle for playing time in the low post. Forward Sonya Cole is the team’s lone freshman.