Cedarville College
Yellow Jackets
1998-99 Women's Basketball
Season Outlook
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| Head Coach Kathy Freese and Heather French |
Cedarville College women's basketball coach Kathy Freese is poised to get her Lady Jacket program back to playing winning basketball. She begins her eighth season with an optimistic outlook and the belief the pieces are in place to be competitive in the new American Mideast Conference.
"We played some good basketball at the end of last season despite our record," said Freese, whose club finished 9-20. "We want to start where we left off and continually demonstrate improvement. In front of us are some realistic yet challenging goals and we're ready to pursue them."
Senior captains Heather French and Gillian Gombis will be looked to for leadership on and off the floor. French paced the team in minutes played last season while averaging 8.3 points and a team-high 91 assists. Gombis averaged 5.2 points and shot 72 percent from the free throw line. Both players, who are Dean's Honor List students in the classroom, have appeared in all 95 games during their three seasons in the program.
Juniors Charity Cole and Tara Swaney played in every game last season and combined for ten points per game. They will play more significant roles this winter with hopes that they will be able to build upon their two years of experience.
"I think a key to this team is simply that our women have matured, especially the juniors and seniors." Freese noted. "That's something that can easily go unnoticed with any team. That fact alone can make a huge difference in the outcome of a season and I think it will play out to be a positive in this group."
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| Gillian Gombis |
The sophomore class of Julie Nourse, Amanda Porter, Jennifer Jones, and Stephanie Schanher will be asked to take their respective games to another level. Nourse, a six-foot center, was named the Mid-Ohio Conference Freshman of the Year upon averaging team-highs of 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds. Porter joined Nourse to play in every game and supplied 9.8 points as a rookie. Schanher, who battled injury trouble the first half of the season, and Jones provided help in 15 games each coming off the bench.
Freese calls this year's newcomers of Amy Martin, Noel McKinnon, Kirsten Rossotti, and Pattie Schryer "my best recruiting class at Cedarville College." All four put together record-setting careers at their respective high schools and each achieved statewide honors for their efforts.
As usual, Freese's schedule is demanding. It includes NAIA Division I powers Central State, Findlay, and Georgetown to go along with what lies ahead in the AMC. The league schedule features defending NAIA Division II national champion Walsh, nationally-ranked Shawnee State, and newcomer Saint Vincent, who advanced to the NAIA Division I Nationals last year.
Freese summarized her squad by saying, "This team possesses experienced returning players who have matured and an excellent freshmen class. The upperclassmen as well as our young players will have to make a consistent contribution for our team to be successful. I'm certain we have what it takes to get our program back on a solid foundation."
