Author: Jack Ridenour
The women’s basketball team had a season that was filled with highs and lows all year long. The team finished the season with a 13-13 record overall, and a 7-11 conference record. The team had some big wins throughout their season, including a season sweep of Westminster College and a win against Waynesburg University at Waynesburg. The team had some tough losses against Thomas Moore College and St. Vincent College, two of the top teams in their conference.
Author: Jack Ridenour
As the season winds down, the Cougars are fighting for a spot in the PAC post season tournament. The Cougars currently stand at 11-11 overall and 6-10 in conference play. They are currently 7th in the PAC with two games to go. If the team makes it to the playoffs, they will have to travel to face 2nd ranked Washington and Jefferson.
Author: Jack Ridenour
The Women’s Basketball team continues play well as they get closer and closer to the end of the season. With 10 league games down, and 8 more to go, the team is 4-6 in conference play and 9-7 overall. The team currently stands in 7th place in the PAC standings, but with a late season push, the team could finish even higher in the conference.
Author: Jack Ridenour
The Women’s basketball team is coming off of a week where they faced three PAC opponents. The team took on Thomas Moore College, Waynesburg University and Washington and Jefferson University. The Cougars took down Waynesburg, but had two tough losses to Thomas Moore and Washington and Jefferson.
Author: Jack Ridenour
Basketball season is back, and the women’s team continued their winning ways in the first game of the season. On Tuesday November 15, the Cougars defeated the Franciscan University Barons from Steubenville, Ohio by a score of 71-58. The Cougars were led by sophomore guard Katie Sieg with 12 points; junior guard Megan Sieg and sophomore guard Ashley McClain each scored 11 points.
The women’s basketball season came to an end last Wednesday. The Cougars took a tough loss to Waynesburg in the second round of playoffs. Down big at the half, they came out swinging in the second, cutting down the lead down to 15. The ladies fought hard all game, but ultimately could not pull out a victory. Seniors Rachel McClain, Anna Shashura and Chelsea Kovalcsik left everything out on the court for their final game in a Chatham uniform.
This season marked a few firsts for the Women’s team. On Monday, the team won their first ever playoff game in school history.
“We were all really happy and kind of in shock that we just accomplished such an amazing thing in Chatham history,” said first year Natalie Knab. “We knew that we had been wanting to win this game since the beginning of the season and just couldn’t believe we had accomplished it. The locker room was crazy. We were all going crazy especially the seniors. Walking off the court I think we all felt like we finally had a great game as a team and individually. We all contributed to the win and we were all excited to move on to the next round of playoffs.”
In addition to this big accomplishment, the team won 11 games, the most they have won in the last five years.
“I think everyone on our team has great chemistry and we know what each other’s strengths are,” said Shashura. “We have so many talented players so we don’t have to rely on one person to pull through to get the win. We have contributors from both the starters and the bench.”
“In the past we have won maybe three games a season and that’s really hard. Just going back day after day and continuing to lose, but I think us getting through those tough years made this year even better and has set the standard for what Chatham’s women’s team will be from now on,” Shashura continued.
The team was helped all year long by the leadership of its three seniors. Through the tough loses to Thomas Moore and Grove City, the seniors held their heads high and continued to encourage their younger teammates. They had some hard fought wins as well, against some tough conference opponents. Two big road wins, against Bethany College and Geneva College, helped them for playoff seeding. Another crucial victory was a home win against PAC rival St. Vincent College.
After a tremendous season, the three seniors have passed the reigns off onto the younger players. Juniors Jesse Hinkle, Nikki Ingel, and Dana Eastman look to lead this young Cougar team next year. The Cougars will offer more experience as they return one sophomore and five first years.
After four years of play, the senior team members have some advice for returning and new players.
“I would tell them not to take the time they get to play for granted,” said McClain. “Four years seems like such a long time but goes by so quick. I would tell them the athletics program is only going up from here and use this year as a stepping stone to get better for the next few years.”
The Cougars look to build off of this incredible season. With only three seniors graduating, the team will be comprised mainly of returning players who had a big impact on this season. The Cougars look forward to taking on their rivals in the PAC conference next year.
The Chatham Women’s basketball team has been in the gym working diligently in preparation for the home opener against Penn State New Kensington on November 17.
With the five freshman playing major minutes the first two scrimmages, the team had a lot of inexperience on the court. But this did not seem to phase the young Cougar team. Lead by three seniors, the team clicked with one another.
The seniors feel that this year’s team has a lot of promise.
“Honestly I think this year we’re going to be really strong. We have a lot of good leaders on the team that we haven’t had in the past, we have some great players who bring all different things to the team, and we have the will to win that we haven’t had in the past,” said senior Chelsea Kovalcsik. “I think this year’s team is much better than the teams in the past.”
There were challenges in the scrimmages that were noticeable.
“Based on the scrimmages, I think our team really needs to work on boxing out. We’re a small team so fundamentals to rebounding are going to be extremely important,” said Rachel McClain, another senior.
Rebounding will be crucial in the success of the team. What they lack in size, they’ll need to make up for in fundamentals.
“Another area we need to work on is passing,” said McClain. “During the scrimmages, we had some weak passes that turned into points for the other team so it’s crucial that we sure this area up.”
Although they have some areas of improvement, there are areas of strength.
“I think our biggest strength is that we really are great teammates to each other and we play because we want to be there.” Kovalcsik said.
Besides having to be fundamentally good, they have to be able to be good teammates too.
“We especially aren’t selfish when we’re playing,” said Kovalcsik. “We’re so good at looking for our players and playing off their strengths and weaknesses.”
The Basketball season has just begun, and both the men and women’s teams have been working hard preparing for the upcoming season. The women have been in the gym everyday, running sprints, doing drills and going over plays to prepare themselves for the long and grueling season ahead of them.
The team has had to overcome some adversity after the first two weeks of practice. Multiple injuries have plagued the team, including an injury to senior Rachel McClain. She overcame this injury and has been practicing hard with the team the last week.
“It’s been challenging, but I know the end result will be rewarding,” said first-year Natalie Knab.
With the addition of five freshmen to the team, there have been some adjustments that the team’s had to face. They’ve had to learn how their teammates play and come together as a team. First-year teammates have also had to learn the new offense and the style of their new coach.
“I feel like the five freshman on the team, including myself, are very intelligent and have played the game for many years, and continue to grow as players, adjusting won’t be hard for us,” said first-year player Ashley McClain.
Despite adversity, both Knab and McClain are optimistic for the season.
“We should always hope for a winning season so that is what we will strive for. I am very confident in the team,” said McClain.
The team has been working day in and day out, regardless of how many injuries they have endured.
“It’s hard to get into a groove with everyone on the team because teams are so selective based on who can do a drill,” she said. “Overall we are all playing well together and it’s exciting to see our overall improvement.”
The team’s first game will be against Allegheny College on November 17 at 5:30 p.m. Their talent will be tested, and they will have to fight hard in order to come out victorious. All signs point towards a fun and interesting year for the Chatham women’s basketball team.
When you walked into the AFC on the night of Wednesday, October 14, you knew something was going on.
As the women’s Ice Hockey team, and the men’s and women’s Swimming and Diving, Basketball, and Indoor Track teams filed into the gym, the crowd in the stand began to grow as well. People lined up to get some Buffalo Chicken Dip and chips, and then they began to take their seats. After some mingling, the games began.
Competitions with the people in stands began, consisting of 3-on-3 and coaches vs. student 5-on-5. The crowd really got into it and really showed their school spirit.
As the hour neared midnight, the crowd began to die down. They anxiously waited to hear the announcement of the new 2015-2016 winter sports teams.
The announcer came on to introduce the women and men’s Swimming and Diving and Track teams. They then moved onto the women’s and men’s Basketball teams. The men’s team gathered around the center of the court and really got the crowd going with their enthusiastic chants.
After the conclusion of the announcements, the basketball teams had their own contests against each other. The coed shootout was greeted with lots of support from the fans.
One fan, sophomore Ava Iuliucci, had a great review of the event.
“I thought it was fun; it made it feel like it was an actual college, compared to last year where we couldn’t do that for the women’s teams,” she said.
There was then a skills contest among the women’s team and then the men’s. The competitors had to make a layup, dribble down the court, pass into a laundry basket, make a jump shot, then dribble down the court and pass to their partner.
After the event concluded, the teams all helped clean up and the fans began to leave. Many fans, both faculty and students, turned out for the event, making it a contender for a new Chatham tradition.