Stefanie Lang has found a home in Division III, both on the basketball and volleyball court. Olivet athletics photos

Stefanie Lang didn't have much time to get ready for basketball season. Just three days after Olivet’s volleyball season ended, Lang was in the gym preparing for her second hoops campaign with the Comets.

It isn't easy making a jump from one sport to another, especially at the college level, and yet, Lang seems to have adjusted just fine.

In 12 games this year, the junior forward has punctuated her stat line with a double-double, her latest coming on Sunday as she scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Comets to an 84-69 non-conference win over Rochester.

When she was asked about the key to her success this season – and success might be an understatement as Lang is ninth in the nation in scoring and second in rebounding – she mentioned her health as a major factor.

A year ago, Lang tore cartilage in her knee during volleyball and had surgery in December. She went through a short rehab process and still played in 18 of the Comets' 26 games.

"I was able to come back from the injury but I never really felt healthy last season," Lang said. "This year, I feel good and I think being able to be healthy has been a huge part of my success. It's great that we are having success as a team, too."

The Comets are 12-2 after 14 games and Lang has been instrumental in that success. But the story could have been much different for Lang had she remained at Division I Valparaiso.

That is where her career began and she played in all 31 games for the Crusaders, averaging 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Lang led or tied for the team lead in scoring three times during the 2011-12 season and led or tied for the team lead in rebounds three times as well.

But Lang admits she is a family person, and with her sister living in Michigan, Lang opted to find another school to play at. Olivet turned out to be her choice.

Volleyball wasn't in her plans when she initially transferred.

"I wasn't thinking about playing it at first," Lang said. "The coach actually called me right before the season and I tried out. I had stopped playing volleyball after my junior year of high school to focus on basketball. But I love the sport and decided to do it."

It's not as if she is a benchwarmer either in volleyball. This past season, Lang finished third on the team in kills with 209 and also racked up 34 digs and 84 blocks.

Lang, who is averaging 23.4 points and 14.6 rebounds per game, said her coaches have been very understanding of her commitment to two sports. Still, it is quite a challenge to make the transition from one season to another.

"It is extremely difficult," Lang said. "Volleyball isn't as much of a cardio sport as basketball is, so I feel out of shape when I get started with basketball because of all of the running. It's hard missing all of the preseason conditioning for basketball, but I worked a lot in the weight room over the summer and spent time in the gym working on my shot, too, even during volleyball season."

Lang's focus is only on basketball at the moment, though, as she is hoping to keep the Comets in contention for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship.

On a personal level, she is constantly striving to improve her shot to do what she can to keep the Comets on track for a title. Olivet entered this week tied for second in the standings with Kalamazoo at 4-1 in the MIAA. Fifth-ranked Hope is atop the conference at 6-0.

"I've worked on my consistency with my shot," Lang said. "My shot has been here and there, but I'm working at becoming a better shooter."

The Comets already lost 82-57 to Hope on Nov. 26 at home but will get another shot at the Flying Dutch on Jan. 29. Lang scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the first meeting.

"It's tough when you play in a conference with a very good team like that, but we are always working to get better and we just want to stay in the hunt," Lang said. "I would love to win a conference championship."

The good thing for Lang is she doesn't have to carry the team. Olivet is averaging 76.6 points per game and Chelsea Ciba is second on the team in scoring at 14.3 points per outing.

Carli Reid is averaging 11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and Kelsey Campbell is clicking for 10.7 points per outing. She has knocked down 16 treys on the year. 

The Comets are shooting 44.1 percent as a team and allow 67.3 points per game.

"I get double-teamed a lot, and that can be frustrating, but I know we have good outside shooters on our team to pass the ball to," Lang said. "We have smart players and we work well as a team. It's nice that we don't have to rely on just one person."

As the Comets, who were 15-11 last season, move forward and make a push for their best season in program history, Lang said the key to keeping things on track is constant improvement.

"We have to keep working to get better and take advantage of every practice we have," Lang said. "We have the talent to be successful, and as long as we keep improving, we'll win games and then just see what happens when we get to the (conference) tournament."

American Southwest Conference

Men: Rayner Fredrick recorded his second double-double of the season and helped Mississippi College knock off Howard Payne 86-75 on Saturday. Frederick scored 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for the Choctaws, who won their second consecutive game and improved to 5-6 overall and to 3-5 in the ASC.

Lakin Ford also came through a double-double as he dropped in 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Emmanuel Ezejiofo clicked for 15 points, Jaron Edwards finished with 13 points and Deaundrea Lyons finished with 12 points.

Women: Taylor Tucker was one of four players in double figures for Mary Hardin-Baylor as the Crusaders knocked off Ozarks 79-66 on Saturday and stretched their win streak to five games. Tucker finished with 21 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds. Alyssa Dean and Jovana Miles scored 11 points apiece, and Macy Moore clicked for 10 points.

The Crusaders shot 41 percent from the field and dominated the boards as they racked up 63 rebounds while limiting the Eagles to 37 rebounds.  Mary Hardin-Baylor held Ozarks to 32.8 percent shooting and forced 12 turnovers in the win.

Great South Athletic Conference

Natasia Franklin dropped in 24 points and led Pine Manor to a 100-88 win over New Rochelle on Saturday. The Gators have won four consecutive games and are 10-1 on the season.

Ari DeJesus finished the day with a double-double as she scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. She also dished out seven assists and tallied five steals.

Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Men: Calvin and Hope met for the 186th time in their storied rivalry on Saturday and the Flying Dutchmen prevailed with a 71-63 win.

Alex Edison drilled six 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to pace Hope, which improved to 8-5 overall and to 2-0 in the MIAA. Nate VanArendonk scored 14 points, Ben Gardner dropped in 11 points and Cody Stuive scored 10 on a day when Hope shot 40.4 percent from the field.

Jordan Brink scored 22 points to lead the Knights, who fell to 9-4 overall and to 1-1 in the league. Tyler Kruis added 15 points for Calvin, which shot only 33 percent from the field.

Women: Nicole Antoine scored 21 points and Kalamazoo won for the eighth time in nine games as it edged Saint Mary's 70-67 on Saturday in MIAA action. Antoine also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists as she helped the Hornets improve to 8-5 overall and to 4-1 in the conference.

Emily Lindsay finished with 15 points, three rebounds and three blocked shots while Perri Nicholson scored 10 points. Nicholson also tallied two steals. The Hornets shot 45.8 percent from the field and held Saint Mary's to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor.

North Coast Athletic Conference

Men: Denison continued its run of success at Wabash, knocking off the Little Giants 71-54 on Saturday. The Big Red has won three of its last four on the road against Wabash and is now 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the NCAC.

Alex Longi paved the way with 19 points and also grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. Brad Woolard scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Robby Weingart finished with 10 points. Denison, which has won its last two games, shot 44.4 percent from the field and held Wabash to 34.5 percent shooting.

Women: Amber Rice broke a 33-year-old scoring record on Saturday as she helped Wittenberg take down Wooster 90-45. Rice scored 36 points in the win as she took control of one of the oldest records in program history. The old record of 35 points was set during the 1979-80 season.

Rice, averaging 18.1 points per game, scored more than 30 for the second time in her career. She scored 17 of her points in the first half and made five 3-pointers in the win. She also grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out four assists.

Ohio Athletic Conference

Men: Jarrett Ruffin scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds and three blocks as he led Mount Union to its eighth consecutive win on Saturday. The Purple Raiders topped Ohio Northern 71-67 and remain alone in first place in the OAC.

Nate Jacubec, Cody Dillon and Kyle Sczela scored 11 points apiece for Mount Union, which is 10-2 overall and 5-0 in the conference after the road win. The Purple Raiders were in front 39-24 at halftime and shot 47.9 percent from the field. Mount Union held Ada to 39.4 percent shooting from the floor.

Women: John Carroll is off to its first 11-0 start in program history. Not bad for a team that won only 23 games in the previous two seasons.

The Blue Streaks, under the direction of first-year coach Kelly Morrone, picked up their latest win Saturday as they knocked off Wilmington 72-59. It's the first time John Carroll has ever beaten Wilmington by double digits.

Beth Switzler scored 15 points to pace John Carroll, which is 6-0 in OAC play for the first time since joining the league during the 1989-90 season.

Old Dominion Athletic Conference

Men: Avery Green became the 17th player in Shenandoah history to score 1,000 career points as he led the Hornets to an 82-67 win over Roanoke on Saturday. Green needed 16 points to reach the milestone and finished with 24 points, scoring his 1,000th point on a free throw in the second half.

Green's effort helped propel the Hornets to their sixth consecutive win. Shenandoah shot 46.9 percent from the floor and Jared Carithers paved the way with 32 points.

He scored 18 of his points in the first half but Shenandoah trailed 36-34 at halftime. Carithers made five treys in the win. The Hornets outscored Roanoke 48-31 in the second half and held a 44-37 edge on the boards. Shenandoah improved to 9-3 overall and to 2-2 in the conference.

Women: Four starters scored in double figures as Bridgewater won its second consecutive game, topping Randolph 76-67 on Saturday. Holly Morgan paved the way with 18 points while Jessi Strom and Heather Cantrell clicked for 16 points apiece. Cassidy Burkholder finished with 14 points as the Eagles improved to 4-8 overall and to 2-2 in the conference.

Cantrell ended her day with a double-double as she also pulled down 12 rebounds.

Presidents' Athletic Conference

Men: Thomas More stretched its win streak to three games on Saturday with a 65-58 win over Thiel. The Saints are now 5-9, 4-1 in the PAC. Drew Mumford came through with 16 points to pave the way and Spencer Berlekamp clicked for nine points while pulling down eight rebounds. Berlekamp also dished out four assists.

Thomas More shot 44.8 percent from the field and won despite being out-rebounded 41-26. The Saints made up for it with their defense, though, forcing 20 turnovers and scoring 21 points off those miscues.

Women: Washington & Jefferson ended its two-game losing streak with a 70-51 win over Chatham on Saturday.

The Presidents led 49-29 at halftime and never looked back as they improved to 8-5 overall and to 3-3 in the PAC.

Valerie Dunlap dropped in 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Beka Bellhy finished with 13 points. Kara Seamon added 11 points and Tori Bishop pulled down 11 rebounds.

Southern Athletic Association

Men: Oglethorpe continued its best start in program history as it edged Hendrix 70-69 in a double overtime battle on Friday.

The Stormy Petrels improved to 12-1 on the year as Alex Davis split two free throws in a second remaining to lift his team to the win. Davis finished his day with 19 points and also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out six assists. Davis blocked two shots as well.

Victor Rohlfs came through with a double-double as he scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also tallied two steals and three blocks.

The Stormy Petrels pushed their record to 13-1 on Sunday as they knocked off Rhodes 73-72 in double overtime. Patrick's layup with 15 seconds remaining turned out to be the game-winner. He scored 13 points while Jordan Kinney dropped in 16 points to pace Oglethorpe, which is now 3-0 in the SAA.

Women: Centre continued its surge forward as it knocked off Birmingham-Southern 89-81 on Sunday in SAA play. The win is the third consecutive for the Colonels, who had lost three in a row before getting on a roll.

Six players scored in double figures for Centre, which is 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

Paige Baechle lit up the scoreboard for 24 points and also grabbed 16 rebounds while Mary Gordon Stough finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

Men: Southwestern earned its first SCAC win in thrilling fashion on Saturday as Blake Scott drilled a jumper with a second remaining to lift the Pirates to a 70-68 win over Texas Lutheran. Scott scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds for Southwestern, which is now 4-9 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Scott hit his game-winner from about 12 feet out.

The win ended a seven-game losing streak and marked the Pirates’ first win in 2014. Their last win prior to Saturday was a 62-58 win over 2013 national runner-up Mary Hardin-Baylor on Nov. 26.

Women: Christina Kime lit up the scoreboard for 26 points and dished out five assists as well as she led Austin to a 68-56 win over Dallas on Sunday. The 'Roos improved to 7-5 overall and to 2-0 in the SCAC. Kime nailed four 3-pointers and also pulled down five rebounds. She was 7-of-12 from the field.

Brittany Stepanski clicked for 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. She also blocked two shots. Brooke Melton finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Austin shot 40 percent from the field and held a 50-34 advantage on the boards.

USA South Athletic Conference

Men: Brandon Brown came off the bench and scored 20 points as he led North Carolina Wesleyan to an 86-63 win over Piedmont in its conference opener on Sunday.

Josh Morrison led the Bishops with 21 points as he knocked eight of his 11 attempts from the field. His fourth 3-pointer of the game gave the Bishops the lead for good at 84-81.

Devontae Williams scored 17 points and Jesse Simpson clicked for 13 points. Like Brown, Marcus Williams also played well off the bench as he scored 10 points.

Women: Kylene Culler torched Averett for 21 points as she led Ferrum to a 92-56 win on Sunday in conference action. Culler also grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked a shot as the Panthers stretched their record to 8-0 overall and to 3-0 in the conference. Shea Smith scored nine points and dished out 12 assists for Ferrum, which shot 56 percent from the field and limited Averett to just under 27 percent shooting from the field.

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