The women’s basketball team begins the 2007-08 season with much anticipation as the Crimson Eagles return a solid core of players from last season. Nonetheless, the loss of two-time NEAC first team member Beth Smith along with the always-steady play of point guard Kelly Schlegel will be an obstacle the Crimson Eagles will need to figure out how to overcome.

Despite the losses of the two key seniors from a year ago, the Crimson Eagles seem to have the tools and potential necessary to improve upon last season’s 17-12 record and 4th place finish in the NCCAA Tournament. With only one senior on the roster, PBU will have to bank on a young group of talented players to carry the load. Although the Crimson Eagles only have four total upperclassmen, the group returns five players who each have a year or more of collegiate experience under their belts as all five returners saw significant playing time and were active contributors last season.

The lone senior on the squad, Natalie Nolt, returns to the team after taking a two year break from basketball. Nolt played on the team her freshman year in which she saw limited action, but decided to focus her efforts on volleyball for the past three seasons. Nolt will compete for playing time at the forward position.

The junior class is comprised of three athletes, including Amanda Dodridge, Summer Mullen, and Allison Montgomery. Dodridge joins the team for her first year of collegiate basketball and will try to crack the playing rotation as a guard. Mullen returns as the team’s third leading scorer from a year ago at 8.3 points per game. The third year guard also registered 50 steals last season to put her only behind standout Beth Smith in that category. Montgomery, a 5’10 forward/center, made an appearance in all 29 of the team’s games last year, averaging 14.1 minutes a game while chipping in 4.4 rebounds/game.

Sophomore Dani Norton, who was second on the team in scoring with 12 points per game a year ago, will help lead an offensive charge that averaged just over 61 points a game last season. Norton remains one of the Crimson Eagles’ main perimeter threats as she managed to account for 67% of the team’s made three pointers last year, connecting on 70 of her attempts. Sarah Oessenich joins Norton in the backcourt after a stellar freshman campaign in which she saw action in 25 games while starting 11. Oessenich managed to do a little bit of everything in her first year as she registered 6.3 points a game, dished out 72 assists for the season, and picked up 33 steals, all while notching a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio. Fellow sophomore Lindsey Fornwalt, who played in 28 games a year ago, will be looked to get involved more offensively this season after a solid freshman year in which she averaged 3.1 points per game while shooting a team leading 45% from the field. The final sophomore on the squad, Ashley Fisk, joins the team for the first time and will compete for playing time at the guard position.

The incoming freshmen class has three new faces that will look to contribute right away. Dani Hooper, a 5’6 first year student out of Medford, Oregon, will try and break into the guard rotation. Caitlin and Cristen Hess will provide much needed help on the inside as the 6’1 twin sisters experienced tremendous success as high school players at Calvary Academy in Newark, Delaware.  

The Crimson Eagles will try and build on last season’s third place finish in the Southern Division of the North Eastern Athletic Conference. The leadership and consistent play of the upperclassmen along with the continued development of the first year players and underclassmen will be important in determining how far the Crimson Eagles will go this year.

The women’s basketball team will open the season the weekend of November 16 when they travel to Massachusetts to compete in Gordon College’s opening tip-off tournament.