2014-15 Season Preview: Women’s Basketball

Dan Sherman

Asst. SID

Juniata

814-641-3513

Huntingdon, Pa., Juniata College women's basketball will look to continue build off of another successful season in 2013-14. While last year's squad was led by a group of veteran players, this year's team is very green, with only one senior player returning. Though the group is inexperienced, they make up for that with lots of speed and athleticism. The team was voted fifth by conference coaches in the Landmark pre-season poll.

Last season the Eagles finished over .500 for the tenth consecutive year. The team reached the Landmark tournament once again, something it has done every season since joining the conference. Juniata outperformed their opponents in several statistical categories averaging 70 points per game, outrebounding opponents, dished out more assists, had fewer turnovers, and stole more balls than the competition. They were nationally ranked in the top 100 in five categories, including 16^th in fewest fouls committed.

Describing the current group, head coach Danny Young-Uhrich states, "Our team is young and at a size disadvantage versus most teams, but there's definitely no shortage of talent and athleticism.  It might take us a few games to get acclimated to the college game and to one another, but once this team figures those things out we will be very competitive." 

Injuries played a big factor last season. Young-Uhrich said that 2013-14 was "a hard year. Injuries are common in collegiate sports, but to have the amount of them in one year, it was deflating," adding, "as a coach you see it as an opportunity. You are giving girls an opportunity to step up." Players like Olivia Halfpenny (McVeytown, PA / Mifflin County) and Katy Leamer (Bellwood, PA / Bellwood Antis) were called upon when other players went down, gaining valuable experience as freshman. When discussing the 2014-15, Young-Uhrich noted that the team would look to rely on several players coming back from injuries, "Natalie Hager (Franklin, PA / Franklin) is back and healthy. Maria Photiades (Abottstown, PA / Delone Catholic HS) is back, but still nursing injuries sustained last season."

Returners

This season, Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, PA / Bishop Guilfoyle) is the lone senior, "Kelsey Livoti is the only returner with significant experience." Livoti along with Hager and Photiades are all "expected to contribute significantly this season." Last season, Livoti led the team with a .494 shooting percentage, and finished second in points, rebounds and blocks. Photiades was a key sixth woman for the Eagles in her freshman campaign, appearing in every game and leading the squad in three-pont field goal percentage.

Their coach also stated that Halfpenny and Leamer would also be relied upon, "We're looking for Olivia and Katy to step up big for us this year as well." Halfpenny gained the most experience of any freshman last season, appearing in all 26 games. She finished 2013-14 as the fifth leading scorer on the team and was second in three-point field goals. Young-Uhrich declared that the sophomore, "She can definitely knock down a shot", but "still has a ways to go." She added that despite struggling early as a freshman she really gained momentum throughout the season and looks for her to continue to grow. Leamer a local standout and 1,000 point scorer in high school is a fast, athletic player. She has the ability to be an explosive, dynamic forward for the Eagles.

Speaking of this year's newcomers the coach said, "Our freshman class is very athletic. We anticipate all six making an impact considering they make up close to half our roster." Though the team is very inexperienced, Young-Uhrich is excited to see what this group can do, "This team has a ton if potential and are very eager to learn. It's going to be awesome watching them grow together as we navigate our way though the season."

Schedule

The team travels to New York in back-to-back weekends to start the season, opening up at the NYU Tip-Off Tournament. Juniata dropped consecutive games in New York, but earned their first victory of the season, defeating Frostburg St. 70-63 in Maryland on Wednesday. The Eagles travel back to the Empire State this weekend, and are looking to get back to .500 with a win at SUNY-Geneseo on Saturday at 2 p.m. Juniata will host St. Vincent in its home opener on Tuesday November 25^th and will begin Landmark competition upon returning from Thanksgiving break. Juniata will host Heidelberg and Carnegie Mellon in their annual Holiday Tournament on December 30-31.

The Eagles host Elizabethtown to start conference play. The Blue Jays are in their first season in the Landmark Conference after departing the Commonwealth Conference. Elizabethtown was ranked 4^th in the preseason polls, one spot ahead of Juniata. Scranton, Catholic, and Moravian round out the top five. Click here for more on the full pre-season poll. The Blue and Gold wrap up conference play with a home game against the three seed Greyhounds of Moravian. The Eagles will travel to play number one seed Scranton on December 6^th. The team is currently ranked 8^th in the nation by D3Hoops. It is going to be a very tough conference this season, but these young Eagles will be very competitive and will look to make it eight straight tournament appearances.

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