2006-07 Women's Basketball Season Outlook

Greensboro, N.C. (11/13/06) -- Guilford's women's basketball team has mastered the art of peaking at the right time and hopes this year will result in its third Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament crown in school history. Three letter winners return from last year's 11-16 unit that reached the ODAC Tournament semifinals, but fourth-year head coach Stephanie Flamini believes her large freshman class will develop and contribute enough to compete for the league title.

Selected eighth in the last year's ODAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Quakers turned some heads with a strong second half of the season that clinched the ODAC Tournament's fifth seed. After a convincing quarterfinal win over Eastern Mennonite, eventual tourney champ Randolph-Macon ended Guilford's season with an 85-63 victory. Flamini needs to replace two key students from last year's club: First Team All-ODAC selection Jennifer King '06 and 2006 ODAC Rookie of the Year Kristine Ellis. King concluded an impressive career with 1,601 career points, the third-highest total in school history, and ranked second in the ODAC with 22 points per game. Ellis averaged 12 points and 9 boards per game last year.

Among the returning letter winners, point guard Dionne Graham is the lone senior and a team captains. She starts her final season ranked fifth on Guilford's career assists list and will provide valuable leadership to the young Quakers. Her quickness off the dribble helps create space and find open players. Graham's tenacious defense is another valuable asset and helped her rank third among the league's 2005-06 steals leaders.

Sophomore Brittany Bumgarner, Guilford's other captain, enjoyed a successful first season and hopes to contribute on both ends of the floor. The shooting specialist got hot down the stretch and ranked sixth among ODAC three-point shooters with a .337 percentage. Another sophomore, center Shevon Hackett, led the team in offensive rebounds last year and should provide a strong inside presence. Sophomore guard Jessica Casto, who played in eight games with the Quakers before transferring to West Virginia State, rejoins the team with improved shooting and impressive court savvy.

Some of the newcomers will obviously have an impact in 2006-07. Based on high school credentials and early preseason workouts, some of the top newcomers include forwards Tracey Croner, Alexa Williams, Nisha Brooks and guard Ann Seufer. Flamini originally recruited the 5-9 Croner out of East Rowan (N.C.) High School, but she started her college career at Coastal Carolina University where she did not play basketball. Williams led Loudoun Valley (Va.) High School with 14.3 points per game in her senior season and graduated with the school record for three-pointers (83). Brooks was the best defensive player on Eastern Randolph High School's 25-2 team that reached the 2006 state sectional finals. Seufer is another shooting specialist who twice earned all-state honors at Williamstown (W.Va.) High School..