The 2007-08 West Chester University Lady Rams basketball team will be an experienced bunch that has gone through the ups and downs of a full collegiate basketball season together that saw them finish with a 15-13 record a year ago. The Rams finished second in the PSAC East with a 9-3 record.After losing to the Millersville Lady Marauders 57-54 at Hollinger Field House in the PSAC Quarterfinals to end the 2006-07 season, coach Deirdre Kane does not have to start from scratch this year.
The only Lady Ram missing from this year’s squad is senior captain Dominique Lewis. The remainder of the team is returning and accounted for. Mix in the additions of some recruits, and this team has the mix of both experience and young talent necessary to make a run at a PSAC Championship.
Returning for the Rams this year are seniors Katie Kline, Amanda Vitzakovitch and captain Catherine Andrews.
Last season, Kline was a first-team All-PSAC selection and she was honored by the PSAC as she was named to the league’s Winter Top Ten Award-winners list. Kline averaged 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.9 percent from the field. She led the team in scoring average and ranked second in rebounds behind Lewis.
Vitzakovitch was a spark off the bench for the Lady Rams in 2006. She averaged 5.8 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game. Vitzakovitch also shot 40 percent from behind the arc.
Andrews will yet again run the show for the Lady Rams. As the starting guard/forward, she averaged 3.2 assists per game as she was doing her best to get her teammates involved. She also averaged 7.8 points per game.
Also returning for the Lady Rams this year is junior Natalie Winters and sophomore Lindsay Weller.
Winters started last season for the Rams. She averaged 9.5 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game. Winters also shot 85 percent from the foul line.
Weller was also a starter for the Rams last season. She averaged less than 5 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game.
With Kline, Andrews, Winters and Weller returning to the starting lineup this year along with Bridget Carlin and Janelle Garber returning to help bolster the young bench, the Lady Rams have the ability to repeat last years run and possibly get farther.
Along with the returning players, the Lady Rams will be bringing in recruits to help the team continue to progress. Of the five recruits, three are guards and two are forwards. The recruiting class brings with it an attitude that will push the current players to step up their game.
Dominique Adams is a guard from Central High School in Philadelphia. Sydney Daviston Atkins is a forward from Susquehanna Township High School in Harrisburg. Marykate Serratelli is a forward from Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pa. Megan Stewart is a guard from York Catholic High School in York. And Dana Weems is a guard from Harcum Junior College in Philadelphia.
These players will help the team improve and bring a new element to the way the Lady Rams will play and win this year. With practices already under way, the Rams are working hard to get back to the level they played at last year and to surpass the high expectations placed upon them.
The Lady Rams start their season on Nov. 16 at the Millersville Tip-Off tournament. The first home game at Hollinger Field House for the Rams will be on Nov. 20 against University of Sciences in Philadelphia at 6 p.m.
LJ Harrell is a second year student majoring in business. He can be reached at LH639694@wcupa.edu