On one hand, the 2010-11 Washington College women's basketball team returns just three players from last season. On the other hand, the Shorewomen return their top three scorers who accounted for nearly 54% of the team's points last season.
On one hand, the Washington College women's basketball team has a total of five seasons of collegiate experience on the entire 11-woman roster. On the other hand, the class of 2014 is the Shorewomen's largest and tallest recruiting class in several years, boosting the team's average height to a shade under 5'10."
Clearly, it's hard to predict what's in store for the Shorewomen this season. It's also clear that this team is loaded with talent.
Junior captains Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) and Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) are the team's most experienced players.
Tait, the team's 5'6" starting point guard, led the Centennial Conference in assists per game last season, dishing out 5.36 per contest. Her 1.23 assist-to-turnover ratio was sixth-best in the conference. She also averaged 11.6 points per game (second on the team and 15th in the conference) and 6.0 rebounds per game (third on the team and 18th in the conference). Tait shot 39.2% from three-point range in 51 attempts, including a buzzer-beating, game-winning triple in a win at Ursinus.
O'Donnell, a versatile inside-outside threat at 6'1" with range, averaged a team-best 12.9 points per game last season, 11th in the conference. She drained a team-high 58 three-pointers on the year, giving her an average of 2.64 per game - the second-highest mark in the conference. She shot 34.7% from deep, ninth-best in the conference. She also swatted away 30 shots, averaging 1.36 per game (good for second on the team and sixth in the Centennial), and brought down 5.9 rebounds per game (19th in the conference).
Also back from last year's team is sophomore center Erin Kile (Benton, PA/Benton), who made an immediate impact as a 6'2" post player. Kile averaged 10.8 points per game (21st in the conference), a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game (third in the conference), and 1.56 blocks per game (fourth in the conference). She shot 46.2% from the field (ninth in the conference) and had six double-double performances.
The familiar faces end with Kile. The Shorewomen's eight newcomers are long on talent and, in many cases, just plain long. Six-foot, one-inch forward/center Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, VA/Indian River) adds more down-low power after winning two district championships and earning All-City honors at Indian River High School in Virginia. Another 6'1" freshman, Erin Fitzgerald (Greenbsoro, NC/Bishop McGuiness), can play up front or on the wing. Fitzgerald helped lead her team to three state championships at Bishop McGuiness in North Carolina.
Joining Fitzgerald and O'Donnell as guard/forward hybrids are a pair of 5'11" newcomers - Katie Bay (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) and Michaila Hatty (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti). Bay was her team's Most Valuable Player at Downingtown West in Pennsylvania, while Hatty was tabbed for the ISAA All-City Showcase while playing at Neumann-Goretti in Philadelphia. Five-foot, nine-inch forward Liz Warkala (New York, NY/Marymount School of New York) also joins the frontcourt after playing in a championship program at Marymount School of New York.
Kelly Mitchell (Laurel, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross), Claire Mattox (Arlington, VA/Potomac School), and Kristen Hansen (South River, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) join the Shorewomen's backcourt. The 5'5" Mitchell was an All-Conference honorable mention selection at Washington Catholic Athletic Conference powerhouse Academy of the Holy Cross. Mattox, also 5'5," was a two-time all-league player at The Potomac School in Virginia and will help spell Tait at the point. The 5'9" Hansen was her team's Defensive MVP at Cardinal McCarrick in New Jersey.
Megan Duran returns for her third season as head coach of the Shorewomen after guiding them to seven Centennial Conference wins a year ago, their highest total in nine years. Second-year assistant coach Mercedes Van Wagner also returns to the sideline. Jane O'Donnell, the program's second-leading scorer and a 2010 graduate, moves into an assistant coaching role this season.
The Shorewomen will open the season November 16th with a game at Wesley College, a 2010 ECAC South Tournament participant. The team then heads to the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament that weekend, facing Alvernia - the team that knocked Wesley out of the ECAC South Tournament - in the first round and either Stevens or FDU-Florham the next day. Washington's other two non-conference dates are a road game at Goucher on November 23rd and a home contest against Catholic on December 11th. Centennial Conference play begins November 30th at Johns Hopkins, while the Shorewomen's home opener is set for December 2nd against Haverford.