With more players on the team this year, Women’s Basketball Head Coach Katie Levis hopes “to build upon the foundation we started last season.” The team finished last season winning three out of six games, and Levis said the team is “carrying momentum over from last season into this season.”
Last season ended with 11 or 12 players on the roster, but now there are 15. “You can practice harder; you can play harder,” Levis said of having more players.
The team’s accomplishments may not be easy to detect, Levis said, because although the team is improving, they will be playing in a tougher conference. Going into the MAC conference for the first time, Levis said that it is difficult to know what to expect.
“I think that the change up in the league will be difficult for us, but I think the team is very different this year,” junior center Jeriah Garton said. “I think we will make a big statement for Eastern’s women’s basketball in the MAC.”
MAC opponents Misericordia, Alvernia and Cedar Crest are teams that Eastern has played before, but they will also compete against some different schools this season, including DeSales University, Kings College and FDU-Florham.
“The main goal is to take each game individually,” Levis said, hoping the team will play better in each game than the previous one.
“Hannah Tobin was a force last year, and she returns again,” Levis said of the junior forward. “Jeriah (Garton) really put in the off-season time,” Levis said.
Levis considers the team “a very talented group.”
“We are a young team,” she said, with only one senior, Lizzie Wilson.
“We have a lot of potential this year,” Tobin said. “I am anxious to see how our competition will compare.”
Levis hopes the team will develop strong communication on the court, as well as build relationships off the court.
“We’re looking ahead and looking at improving in each game,” Levis said. “I think being dedicated is one the most important things.”