WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW

2008-09 Season Preview

The Olivet College women’s basketball team returns to the hardwood this season relying on the experience of eight letterwinners returning from last season. The Comets will look to their six seniors for leadership as they aim for a higher finish in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings.

Heather Bateman begins her second season as head coach following a six year stint as an assistant coach for the program. In her first season, Bateman led the Comets through a challenging schedule, finishing with a 9-16 overall record and tying for fifth in the league standings with a 7-9 mark.

Team captains, senior Lauren Fishwick (Trenton) and junior Gabrielle Federau (Okemos) are two returning starters from last season. The Comets will look to continued scoring from the outside by Fishwick who averaged 6.7 points per game (ppg) and shot 34 percent from behind the three-point line. Federau is back at the forward position for the Comets after playing in every game for the Comets last year. She led the team in rebounding and ranked fifth in the MIAA in rebounding at 7.6 per game, while also averaging 6.0 ppg.

The Comets will also look to seniors Emily Brown (Muskegon/Mona Shores) and Vallen VanZyll (Lowell) for big play this season. Brown, an inside and outside threat, averaged 7.6 ppg for the Comets, while VanZyll shot 47.7 percent from three-point land, ranking first in the MIAA.

Also expect sophomores Ameina Ross (Lansing/Everett) and Caitlin Thilo (Onondaga/Eaton Rapids) to have an impact this year after solid freshmen seasons at Olivet. Ross gave a spark off the bench for the Comets last season, scoring 8.6 ppg and shooting 49.1 percent (82-for-167) from the floor. Thilo played in all 25 games, providing back up at the point guard position.

Other returning letterwinners include senior guards Sarah Mangold (Sterling Heights/Bishop Foley) and Sheena West (Kalamazoo/Plainwell) and senior guard/forward Shannon Tennant (Saginaw/Arthur Hill).

Freshmen players include forward Brittany Dexter (Clinton Twp./Chippewa Valley), guard Sam Keiffer (Brighton), guard Stacey Szerlag (Brighton/Gabriel Richard) and forward Olivia Yarrell (Lansing/Sexton).

There is also added excitement this season, as Olivet is playing home games in its new $5.1 million multi-purpose facility, The Cutler Event Center. Amenities to be used by the basketball team include an all-maple playing surface, portable baskets, scoreboard and shot clocks, locker room and fitness center.

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