The return of dribbling basketballs, squeaking sneakers and bouncing ponytails has signaled the return of the AU women's basketball team to the court for the 2006-2007 season.
Led by third-year coach Melissa McFarrin, the Eagles look to improve on last season's 7-21 (4-10 PL) record, which saw them finish seventh in the final league standings. Picked to finish fifth in this season's PL preseason poll, the squad returns nine players from last year's team as well as many new faces.
Senior Abby Lipskis is one returning starter who looks to have a big impact on this year's team. She scored in double digits in 11 games last year as well as finishing in the top-10 in blocked shots in the PL.
Sophomore Sahar Nusseibeh, a 2006 PL All-Rookie selection, as well as classmate Talicia Jackson, will also bring much needed experience to a young team.
Juniors Rachel Brazell and Maggie Smith-Davidson as well as sophomore Anna Baran will all suit up for the first time in AU's red, white and blue after previously playing at junior colleges.
Fellow junior Liz Hayes will also see her first action for the Eagles after sitting out a year following a transfer from the University of Delaware. However, she feels this time off allowed her to get used to AU's style of play.
"By sitting out last season, I was able to really learn Coach McFarrin's system. While I was not able to play in the games, I was able to go to every practice and be part of the team," Hayes said.
Coach McFarrin believes that the most important aspect to this year's team is the way these two groups of players come together.
"As coaches, we have to effectively manage our depth. Players need to buy into the belief that our depth is our strength. Lots of players will get playing time, but they need to understand that they will not get 25 to 30 minutes each per game," McFarrin said.
In anticipation of a grueling PL schedule, the Eagles have planned non-league games against some of the best teams in the region, including home dates versus Georgetown and George Mason as well as road tilts against Delaware and Loyola-Marymount. McFarrin believes these games are essential to the Eagles' success.
"We will always play a challenging schedule. If you play games that are cupcakes, it brings about false confidence. We will take a few knocks against better competition because the non-league teams we play are better than the teams we will play in the league," McFarrin said.
Overall, both McFarrin and Hayes believe that the time is right for AU to establish itself among the PL elite.
"While our fifth place preseason selection was right on for the players we have returning, I have aspirations of finishing in the top three in the PL. If we can be in that position with less than two weeks to go in the season, we have a shot at winning the PL tournament," McFarrin said.
"Our goal is to definitely win the PL championship. We have a lot of new players and a lot of returning ones but I feel this is the team to do it," Hayes said.
