Gettysburg 2011-12 women's basketball preview

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – After combining for 43 wins over the last two seasons, the Gettysburg College women's basketball team has designs on maintaining its status as one of the top teams in the Centennial Conference in 2011-12.

Gettysburg won a school-record 24 games, tied for first in the conference regular season, and advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament in 2009-10. Last season, the Bullets fell shy of another visit to the national playoffs despite a 19-7 overall record, including 14-6 in Centennial play.

Nine veteran players, including six that saw time in the starting lineup, return for Head Coach Mike Kirkpatrick's 23rd season at the helm. Four talented and well-rounded newcomers have also joined the roster.

"I think we're going to have a really solid team," said Kirkpatrick. "Our chemistry and our work ethic have been very good. I'm very pleased with those two areas.

While the Bullets return the core of their team from last season, one glaring hole has been left by the graduation of Caitlin Moser. Moser was a four-time All-Centennial Conference selection, twice earning first-team accolades, and she finished her career second on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,556 points. In 2010, she was named a first-team All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

"We're going to miss her scoring, her rebounding, her athleticism, and her tremendous competitiveness," said Kirkpatrick. "It'll be very hard to replace all of that."

Gettysburg's success will start at the top with its senior tri-captains. Lauren Dadigan (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg), Sara Kinsley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), and Brittany Jones (Gettysburg, Pa./Hugh C. Williams (N.Y.)) have helped Gettysburg average 19 wins over the last three seasons.

"It's easy for the younger players to look up to them," noted Kirkpatrick. "They are the hardest working players on our team. They are the players that are going to jump on the loose ball, play hard defensively, and get after the rebound. They are leaders by example."

Kinsley is the team's top returning scorer and rebounder after posting career highs with 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season. She also led the conference in blocked shots with 50 and she enters her final campaign just 27 shy of Gettysburg's career mark.

Dadigan and Jones provide the team with those intangibles Kirkpatrick mentioned. They are both aggressive defenders and are willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of the team. Dadigan has been a three-year starter at forward and owns career averages of 4.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, whiles Jones has been a contributor off the bench as a guard.

The bulk of Gettysburg's strength lies in its crop of second-year players. At the head of that list is junior Alyssa Oursler (Middletown, Md./Middletown), who enters her third season as a collegiate player, but her second as a Bullet. After earning All-Presidents' Athletic Conference accolades at Washington & Jefferson College, Oursler posted 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a swing player for Gettysburg last season.

The sophomore class provides depth in the backcourt with the likes of Rianna Doane (Glen Mills, Pa./Bayard Rustin), Katie Earley (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity), Alyssa Isler (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury), and Cori Younghans (Sucasunna, N.J./Roxbury). Doane and Earley started throughout their debut seasons, the former finishing fourth on the team in scoring at 6.9 points per game and leading the team with 25 three-pointers.

Younghans has stepped up her game to fill the void at point guard and has the speed and ball handling to make Gettysburg a dangerous team in the open court. Isler missed nearly all of her freshman year with an injury, but she has fully recovered and is expected to be the team's top threat from outside.

Sophomore Caroline Murphy (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Chatham) is in the running for one of the spots in the frontcourt. The 6-1 forward was the only freshman to appear in all 26 games last season and averaged 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Added depth in the frontcourt will come from Gettysburg's quartet of newcomers. Taylor Flatau (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion), Danielle Bernini (Kulpmont, Pa./Mt. Carmel), Sam Pagel (Harleysville, Pa./Perkiomen), and Jenna Swope (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) could all see time on the court his season.

Gettysburg has over 30 points per game of offense to make up for this season, but Kirkpatrick is confident in his players' abilities to rise to the occasion.

"We're losing a lot of points, however, we feel like we have a lot of people that have the ability to score in double-figures on any given night. We think some of the people that had lower point averages will get more opportunities to score and make an impact."

Gettysburg finished third in the conference last season and lost to eventual champion Muhlenberg College in the tournament semifinals. Muhlenberg, ranked 20th in the nation by D3hoops, remains the team to beat according to Kirkpatrick. All-in-all, the conference looks as challenging as ever following a year in which seven squads finished .500 or better in league play.

With 20 games dedicated to the Centennial schedule, Kirkpatrick has chosen a challenging set of non-conference teams to play. Out of seven potential non-league opponents, six finished third or better in their respective conferences. The most challenging opponents might come at Gettysburg's own Days Inn Tournament on Jan. 2-3 when the University of Scranton, No. 23 Messiah College, and Neumann College enter Bream Gym. Those three teams combined for 58 wins and two conference titles last season.

"I think we're fairly deep and we have enough ability to be in the running with everyone else," said Kirkpatrick. "I think the big thing is our chemistry and working together. Everyone has to know and fulfill their roles out there."

Gettysburg opens the year at the Marymount University Marine Corps Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 18-19. The Bullets play Manhattanville College on Friday at 2 p.m. The Bullets' first home game will take place on Nov. 22 when defending conference champ Muhlenberg strides into Bream Gym for a 6 p.m. showdown.