2012-13 Women's Basketball Preview - Polar Bears looking to contend for OAC title
By Andrew Korba
ADA — The 2012-2013 Ohio Northern women's basketball squad is looking to build off of a strong season.
The Polar Bears finished with their third consecutive winning campaign in 2011-12, going 21-6 and finishing second in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 14-4 mark.
Northern also made its first appearance in the OAC Tournament Championship since 1989.
The strong season makes Northern have high expectations for the 2012-2013 campaign.
"The goal every year is for us to win the OAC," said head coach Michele Durand, who enters her 12th season as leader of the program. "We have set the bar high for ourselves this year. Not only do we want to contend in the OAC, we want to compete for the championship. I think our team gives us a great chance to do that."
ONU welcomes back nine letter winners from last year's squad, including four starters.
"We definitely have experience. Last season was good for our girls. They now know what to expect and what a grind a season can be," Durand added.
Here's a breakdown of the 2012-13 women's basketball team:
Centers
Junior Cenzie Yoder returns in the middle for the Polar Bears.
Yoder is coming off a phenomenal season in which she averaged 12.0 ppg and pulled down 6.1 rebounds a game.
She earned a Second Team All-OAC selection for her efforts.
"Cenzie has unlimited potential," Durand noted. "She is a real force down low and can easily take a game over."
Sophomore Jordan Kimes will also see some action at the center position.
Kimes put together a nice freshman campaign and continues to improve.
"She was great for us last season," said Durand. "Jordan runs the floor well and has an outside jumper, which is very beneficial as a center."
Sophomore Lucy Wagala and sophomore Corsica Barber makes the Polar Bears deep at center.
Forwards
ONU welcomes back two all conference forwards this season in seniors Joanna Snyder and Morgan Dumbaugh.
Snyder earned an All-OAC Honorable Mention nod. She ranked in the top five in points, rebounds and assists for the Polar Bears last season.
Dumbaugh led Northern in scoring at 12.4 ppg and currently ranks 16th in career scoring with 896 points. She was a Second Team All-OAC selection.
"These two will be our leaders on the court," Durand remarked. "Both of them are hard workers. We will depend on them to carry us."
Senior Katie Jones will also make contributions off of the bench. She saw action in 26 games last season and provides the energy and spark that every team needs.
ONU will also turn to others to make an impact at the forward position. Sophomores Mary Miller and Cassie Lastivka have outside shooting range and will contend for playing time.
Freshman Precious Ramsey and Karissa Steffas are newcomers to the program and will look to make contributions.
Shooting Guards
The Polar Bears have a slew of shooting guards who will need to step up in bigger roles this season.
Juniors Sara Kocian and Taylor Hermiller both return after playing in 25 and 26 games respectively.
"These two will make contributions for us this season", said Durand. "Taylor does a little bit of everything for us. She hustles and does the dirty work. Sara is one of our most intelligent players. She makes great decisions and is a good passer."
Senior Marissa Clark saw action in 21 games last season and can provide scoring from the outside.
ONU also has others who will look to improve and see some court time this season. Sophomores Kerri Beedy and Lauren Von Stein had solid JV seasons last year.
The Polar Bears also welcome in freshman Brooke Espenschied, Taylor Miller, Sarah Boylan and Carly Thomas, with all four making the shooting guards a young position.
Point Guards
The Polar Bears welcome back senior Katie Mengos, who will start at point guard.
Mengos currently owns the school record in assists and ranks seventh in steals with 134, needing 48 to break the school record.
Durand raved about Mengos. "Katie is a great distributor and defender. She is definitely one of the best, if not the best, point guard in the league."
Backing up Mengos at the point guard position is sophomore Becca Saine.
Saine made the most of the limited action she saw last season and figures to provide important minutes off the bench.
Schedule
Ohio Northern will face a tough schedule this season.
The team open's the season at the Washington (Mo.) Classic which features perennial power Washington (Mo.). The Polar Bears face off against Lake Forest (Ill.) in the opener of the tournament.
Northern will also participate in the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic against Albion (Mich.) and St. Mary's (Ind.).
The non-conference slate also features road games at Denison and Adrian (Mich.), plus a home game against Kenyon.
The Polar Bears begin their OAC season on December 1 when they host Marietta. They will play each OAC team at home once and on the road once.
The OAC Tournament begins of February 18 and concludes with the championship of February 23.
"Our schedule this season is very difficult," Durand noted. "Our out of conference schedule is tough. The OAC is as strong as ever on top of that which will make this season a grind. I am very excited to see us compete against some great competition".