In the 2016-2017 season, the Albion women’s basketball team finished with an 18-8 overall record and an 11-5 conference record, good for fourth overall in the MIAA. With a large amount of returning players, the team hopes to continue to work hard in order to have another successful season.
The returning players for Albion include three seniors, one junior and five sophomores. Emily Bernas, a sophomore from Waterford, Michigan, is among these returnees. She received second-team All-MIAA honors last year, averaging 12.5 points and five rebounds per game in conference play.
Head Coach Doreen Carden says practices have been similar to last year, and she is happy to see that. She explained how the upperclassmen have been doing a good job of teaching the underclassmen to work hard.
“We have a lot of kids going hard and competing and that’s what we want to see,” said Carden. “The freshmen and newcomers will add some depth for us this year and just help push everyone else in practice to get better.”
Albion’s schedule this year is similar to last season, so the Brits know what to expect.
“We have some tough games at home and on the road early, so that will be a good test for us,” said Carden. “We need to continue to get better from game to game so we are ready to go when league play starts.”
Albion is scheduled to play their first league game on December 2 against St. Mary’s College.
In the MIAA preseason poll, Albion is projected to have another fourth-place finish overall. Trine University received eight out of nine votes to finish first, as they did last season in the final league standings. Hope College received the last vote, so they are predicted to finish second followed by Calvin College.
Coach Carden described this year’s team as “scrappy.” They have a game plan to force more turnovers this year in order to get them easy points that lead to wins. She is confident her players will work hard and compete in every game to have another successful season.
She seems to be right. The team has dominated the court since their opener against Anderson, whom they beat by 42 points. Their record is 4-0 .
Photo courtesy of Albion Athletics
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