Women's Basketball Preview: Spartans look to continue upward trend
Sonya Narla
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Sports
From the 1980 USA men's hockey team winning the Olympic gold to the New York Giants' Super Bowl win last year, history has proved that sometimes the unexpected can happen. The women's basketball season accomplished the unexpected as well when they ended the 2007-2008 season 13-12. This was a massive improvement from the previous 2006-2007 season. That year, the Spartans were 1-13 in the University Athletic Association conference. Last season, under the direction of new coach Jennifer Reimer, the team ended up 6-8 in the conference. Based on last year's unexpected turnaround and UAA success, Spartans fans can feel free to expect more improvement and exciting conference wins.
Key players this season include junior point guard Ashleigh Tondo and sophomore Beth Andrasik and Caitlin Henry. Tondo played and started every game last season. She stood out especially in last season's win against Kalamazoo when she scored the season and her career high of 35 points. She averages 14.9 points per game and led the UAA in assists and tied for the lead in steals. Now a captain, she was also named to the All-UAA 2008 first team. Tondo is not only known for her high statistics and scoring average, she is a true leader on the court. Reimer says that Tondo and fellow captain Anna Taylor are "instrumental in keeping the team focused on giving great effort in practice every day."
Andrasik started 20 games as a freshman and got significant playing time in all 25 games. Andrasik averaged five points per game and contributed greatly to the attack. Needless to say, Andrasik's sophomore year should be interesting to watch.
Henry scored 216 points last season in her freshman year, averaging 8.6 points per game. Her 2007-2008 season highlight was scoring 21 points against the University of Rochester - a UAA conference rival. Henry earned the honor of UAA Athlete of the Week and has an impressive .443 field goal percentage.
The Spartans lose Ashley Horton and Mary Herendeen, who were the second and third leading scorers behind Tondo last season. Both Horton and Herendeen received All-UAA honors last season as well. Though their leadership and skill will be missed, the Spartans are looking forward to this season and welcome new incoming freshmen. The freshmen, many of whom have all-district and all-conference honors from high school, bring new faces to the team, while returning veterans like Tondo, Andrasik, and Henry maintain the balance with experience. "As far as the direction of the season," said Reimer, "we have lots of new faces combined with a good mix of veterans; everyone is working hard." The Spartans start off their season this upcoming weekend at Carnegie Mellon University, where they play Ohio Athletic Conference teams Muskingum and Capital. "We are excited...it will be a good way for us to see where we are early in the season," said Reimer.
Player to Watch
Ashleigh Tondo
Tondo led the Spartans and finished second in the UAA in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game. She led the UAA in assists with a 4.8 average and finished 15th in rebounding with a 5.8 average. Tondo also finished tied for first in the UAA in steals, averaging 2.4 a game.
"[Tondo] had a great sophomore season for us," said first-year head coach Jennifer Reimer. "She nearly triple-doubled more than once, and that speaks volumes about the type of player she has become."
Key players this season include junior point guard Ashleigh Tondo and sophomore Beth Andrasik and Caitlin Henry. Tondo played and started every game last season. She stood out especially in last season's win against Kalamazoo when she scored the season and her career high of 35 points. She averages 14.9 points per game and led the UAA in assists and tied for the lead in steals. Now a captain, she was also named to the All-UAA 2008 first team. Tondo is not only known for her high statistics and scoring average, she is a true leader on the court. Reimer says that Tondo and fellow captain Anna Taylor are "instrumental in keeping the team focused on giving great effort in practice every day."
Andrasik started 20 games as a freshman and got significant playing time in all 25 games. Andrasik averaged five points per game and contributed greatly to the attack. Needless to say, Andrasik's sophomore year should be interesting to watch.
Henry scored 216 points last season in her freshman year, averaging 8.6 points per game. Her 2007-2008 season highlight was scoring 21 points against the University of Rochester - a UAA conference rival. Henry earned the honor of UAA Athlete of the Week and has an impressive .443 field goal percentage.
The Spartans lose Ashley Horton and Mary Herendeen, who were the second and third leading scorers behind Tondo last season. Both Horton and Herendeen received All-UAA honors last season as well. Though their leadership and skill will be missed, the Spartans are looking forward to this season and welcome new incoming freshmen. The freshmen, many of whom have all-district and all-conference honors from high school, bring new faces to the team, while returning veterans like Tondo, Andrasik, and Henry maintain the balance with experience. "As far as the direction of the season," said Reimer, "we have lots of new faces combined with a good mix of veterans; everyone is working hard." The Spartans start off their season this upcoming weekend at Carnegie Mellon University, where they play Ohio Athletic Conference teams Muskingum and Capital. "We are excited...it will be a good way for us to see where we are early in the season," said Reimer.
Player to Watch
Ashleigh Tondo
Tondo led the Spartans and finished second in the UAA in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game. She led the UAA in assists with a 4.8 average and finished 15th in rebounding with a 5.8 average. Tondo also finished tied for first in the UAA in steals, averaging 2.4 a game.
"[Tondo] had a great sophomore season for us," said first-year head coach Jennifer Reimer. "She nearly triple-doubled more than once, and that speaks volumes about the type of player she has become."
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