Young women's hoops squad looking for upsets

The bad news? The women's basketball team is young this season. The good news? The women's basketball team is young this season.

Featuring two seniors, one junior and 10 underclassmen, Princeton has little experience. But what the team lacks in experience it makes up for in enthusiasm, says head coach Richard Barron.

"We've had an influx of energy with the freshman class in terms of love for the game," Barron said. "It's contagious. It's a breath of fresh air for everybody."

That energy isn't the only thing the Tigers have going for them. The team returns sophomore post Becky Brown, last season's goto player who led Princeton with 14.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in a standout rookie season. Brown represented the Tigers on the Ivy League All-Rookie Team.

Princeton will count on Brown and others to fill in after a few key losses. The Tigers lost two starters to graduation in 2003, wing Maureen Lane and guard Allison Cahill. These two combined for an average of 20.0 ppg last season in offensive efforts that will be sorely missed.

Princeton begins the season with a shorter roster for another reason as well. A handful of players from last year's team decided not to return, most notably senior Kelly Schaeffer, the Tigers' second-leading scorer last year with 11.1 ppg.

Despite what Princeton has lost, however, the team has gained ground with its enthusiastic freshman class. With such a young team, the freshmen — Katy Digovich, Kelli Hughes, Casey Lockwood, Lillie Romeiser, Shelly Slemp and Elyse Umeda — could all see some court time.

Digovich, Slemp and Lockwood are the three freshmen likely to see the most minutes. All are versatile players for whom Barron has the highest hopes. Digovich offers to the team her athleticism and ability to create her own shots. Slemp, a guard, can put points on the board as well. Lockwood's assets include agility and solid ball-handling skills.

The team's sophomores — Brown, Lauren Nestor, Katy O'Brien and Ali Smith — all saw action in over 15 games last season, and the Tigers will feel the their presence even more this year.

"O'Brien is a headstrong player; she was our leading scorer in the Rider scrimmage," Barron said. "Smith is shooting well, and Nestor looks like a different player."

Guard Karen Bolster, the team's lone junior and biggest threat from three-point land, hopes to improve on her 6.9 ppg last year.

Senior Maureen McCracken will share time at post with Brown. Senior Mary Cate Opila, a guard who put up 50 assists last year, will take a more active leadership role as captain.

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With less than a week to go before the Tigers' season opens against Nebraska, there is still some question about who the starting five will be. That uncertainty is a good thing, according to Barron.

"I'm not sure [who's going to start] because everyone's been playing well in practice," Barron said.

Brown is the most obvious lineup choice, but she's not there to carry the team by herself. Look for a more well-rounded offense this season. Last year, the team often depended on Brown to be camped out under the basket, for her offensive efforts. This year, the team will run an offense featuring a post not afraid to move outside the paint to clear the lane for cut-ins.

Once again, Brown promises to provide the core of the Princeton offense. This year, however, she has better support from a deeper team that needs only to see some court time for more experience.

"Becky's going to have more talented players around her," Barron said. "It's a different challenge — she's learning how to share."

As for goals, "we want to play for improvement," Barron said. More concretely, "We want to try to be in the top half of the league this year."

With the Tigers' inexperience, this won't be the season for Princeton to claim the Ivy title. But Barron seems to be building a program that might soon be a real threat to win that honor.