Women’s Basketball Optimistic for Season
Emily Ryder
The Manchester University’s women’s basketball team started on Oct. 15 and competed in their first scrimmage, winning 69-63 against Ancilla College.
Maddy Minehart, senior, shares what she is looking forward to as the season has officially begun. “I personally am excited to watch how our first-years will contribute,” she said. “They are really talented and bring great energy. I’ve enjoyed being with them off the court and I’m excited to watch them play. It’s going to be important for our program’s future for them to really develop this season, so I’m eager to watch them.”
Minehart continues: “I’m also excited for our chances at the conference tournament. We are not picked to success in the tournament and I know we can really surprise some people. Our core group is very experienced and ready to compete.”
Another senior, Beth Schaefer, shares what she is looking forward to as well. “I am very excited to be back on the court after a season-ending injury last year,” she said. “We have a very close team and I’m super excited to play alongside these girls. I think we will surprise some people.”
Additionally, junior Haley Farris shared: “I’m most excited to get back at it with my best friends and compete for a conference championship! We haven’t made it to the tourney since I’ve been here and I’d really like to not only do it for the seniors but for the entire team.”
Each player was optimistic for the season opener and provided insight into the talent among the team as well as the highlights of the season. “This year’s season looks promising,” Minehart said.
“We graduate no one from last season and return everyone from last season and return everyone from injury and gain seven freshmen.”
Minehart continues: “Everyone is practicing hard and really battling for playing time. It’s exciting to see such competitive practices, and I think that will translate to our games pretty seamlessly.”
On top of that, Schaefer adds: “After all of our injuries last season we were not picked to finish super high in conference rankings, but we did not lose any seniors and I think we have some great senior leadership this year so I think we will have a very good year.
“We are so excited to get the season officially started,” Schaefer continues, “Another highlight of the year is our trip to Dallas over Christmas break. It is always a great opportunity for us to grow closer as a team and have lots of fun while getting to play some ball.”
Farris shares excitement about the talent among the team. “I think we have a lot of talent and I’m just really excited to see how far we can go!” she says. “We have everyone back and healthy and so it’s all about working our butts off in practice so that when game time comes we can compete at the highest level!”
Minehart was pleased with their scrimmage against Ancilla. “We had a great crowd for the scrimmage and hope that we can have a good following this season,” she said. “We are always grateful for the support from the faculty, staff, students and community.”
Manchester University’s women basketball begins the 2018–19 season on Friday, Nov. 16, against Bethany at 7 p.m.