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WildCats return three starters from a season ago
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Lynchburg, VA -- The Randolph College women’s basketball team enters the 2009-2010 season with three returning starters on a squad that went 7-18 overall last season and 5-15 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Head Coach Melissa Wiggins, now in her 12th year, believes the experience back from a season ago along with the addition of several key newcomers will help in their improvement at both ends of the floor in 2010. “We will be relying on the leadership and experience of our four seniors and the addition of three talented first years,” stated Wiggins. The team is poised to compete for an ODAC playoff berth this season. To view an interview with Coach Wiggins conducted by ODAC Sports Information Director, J.J. Nekoloff click here.
Leading the cast of experience for the WildCats is senior guard Katie Rechnitzer (Burke, VA/James W. Robinson) who averaged a team-high 11.9 points per game last season with 44 three-pointers. Rechnitzer earned All-ODAC Honorable Mention recognition for the second straight season in 2008-09. She is just 54 points away from becoming the ninth WildCat to reach the 1,000 point plateau in school history. Rechnitzer has an uncanny ability to create her own shot, both coming off of screens, and off the dribble and will be looked upon to provide a bulk of the scoring again this season. Senior forward Lindsay Cross (Asheboro, NC/Asheboro) returns after averaging 10.8 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-best 51.8 percent from the field. Cross is a tough matchup for opposing defenses because of her size and athletic ability and can score from a variety of ways on the floor. Rounding out the returning starters is sophomore guard Megan Carney (Chesterfield, VA/Amelia Academy) who averaged 4.9 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game in her first collegiate season. Carney has the inside/outside offensive game that can cause opposing defenses fits and will be looked upon this season for her scoring ability.
Other returning players who will see time at the guard positions are senior Jamie Steigerwald (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place), senior Shar Plows (Unadilla, NY/Unatego), sophomore Rebecca-Ann Folden (Peshastin, WA/Cascade), and sophomore Lauren French (Blairs, VA/Chatham).
Joining the WildCats this season will be a talented group of first-years, including guard Olivia Johnson (Monroe, NC/Union Academy), forward Tavelyn Brown (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown), and forward Sam Sublett (Bedford, VA/Staunton River). The newcomers will look to make an immediate impact on a squad that has four senior players on the roster.
“We are looking forward to another very competitive season in the ODAC this year,” said Wiggins. “We finished the 2009 season just shy of making the tournament, and our goal will be among the top eight this year.” The WildCats will open their season on November 20th against Gwynedd-Mercy College at the Marymount University Tip-Off Classic in Arlington, Virginia. The team’s conference slate begins on November 30th against Eastern Mennonite University in Lynchburg.
CONTACT: Vince Scalzo, Sports Information Director
