Scots Set to Kickoff Season With Annual Nan Nichols Classic

Carly Loehrke

The College of Wooster women’s basketball team will open up its 2006-07 season this week when it hosts the annual Nan Nichols Classic. The 11th edition of this event should feature some very competitive games, as all four teams posted similar records last year. Joining the Fighting Scots (7-19 in 2005-06) are fellow NCAA Div. III members Lake Erie College (6-17), Olivet College (13-14), and Thiel College (7-19). Also of note, the squads are representing four different conferences. The first contest is set for Saturday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m., and will pit Olivet against Thiel. The Scots will then host Lake Erie at approximately 3 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 19, the consolation game is slated for 1 p.m., followed by the winners from the previous day in the finals at 3 p.m.

Wooster is aiming for its third Nan Nichols Classic championship, having previously won its own event in 1996 and 2003. Noteworthy, Olivet is looking to become the third consecutive team out of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association to win the Scots’ tourney, as Alma College earned the 2005 crown and Albion College did so in 2004.

Lake Erie is the only team, in which Wooster met up with during the 2005-06 season, and the Scots earned an easy 77-52 victory over the Storm. Thiel last tangled with Wooster at the 2003 Nan Nichols Classic, a game which saw the Scots prevail by a 66-49 margin. Olivet and Wooster have never faced off on the hardwood.

2006-07 Season Preview: After a disappointing 2005-06 season which saw Wooster muscle through its fourth consecutive injury-plagued campaign, winning seven games along the way (7-19) and finishing sixth in North Coast Athletic Conference action (4-12), 10th-year head coach Lisa Campanell Komara’s Fighting Scots are poised to fight off the bad luck, turn the tables, and make a name for themselves in 2006-07. The Scots return 12 players, including four starters, three of which are seniors, and also have a solid incoming class, all of which they hope translates into bringing an NCAC title home to Wooster.

Keying the squad is one of the best forwards in the conference, if not the best, in senior Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan), a first-team All-NCAC honoree a season ago. Loehrke led the Scots in all five major statistical categories (scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals) during 2005-06 and has career averages of 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds.

She'll be flanked in the frontcourt by classmate Kassandra Dobson (Bellflower, Calif. / Millikan), coming off a breakout year of 7.0 points and 5.1 boards, and junior Jackie Lucas (Euclid, Ohio / Villa Angela –St. Joseph), who was a force at the end of 2005-06, among others.

Despite Loehrke's post presence, the Scots will likely look to push the tempo with a several talented perimeter players. Senior Maria Gonzalez (Millersburg, Ohio / West Holmes) averaged 7.8 points and 1.8 steals last season, while junior defensive ace Angela Evans (Worthington, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) also returns as a starter. Point guard is an open position, with junior Jessica Hope (Swartz Creek, Mich. / Swartz Creek) possessing the most experience, however, she could be pushed for time by newcomers.

Additionally, the return of sharpshooter Beth Besancon Sidle (Wooster, Ohio / Smithville), who was the squad's second-leading scorer as a sophomore (10.4 ppg) but played just nine games last year, will give Wooster a boost, as will sophomore wing Meredith Wilson (Washington Ct. House, Ohio / Miami Trace), who began progressing towards the end of her first collegiate season to average 4.1 points and 1.5 rebounds, and junior guard Jennifer Copeland (Stow, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit).