After over seven months since the Capital women's basketball team last stepped onto the court, head coach
Dixie Jeffers is anxious and optimistic heading into her 24th season as coach of the Crusaders.
"At the beginning of each season, you are like an artist blending new pieces together. Then you get to see how it unfolds and progresses over time, which is really great to see. I'm looking forward to seeing how this team grows," Jeffers said.
The defending OAC regular season and tournament champions are not resting on their laurels, but will shoot for even higher accolades in 2009-10.
"I guarantee you that this team is not content because their leader is not content," said Jeffers who has the sixth most wins of any coach in NCAA Division III history. "Our motto this year is ‘Make it happen.' If you want something bad enough, make it happen."
The leader is senior Kristen Richardson (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda HS), who garnered All-American and All-OAC honors last season en route to leading CU to a 22-6 record.
"You cannot measure the things that Kristen does for this program on and off the court," Jeffers said. "When you recruit, you look for people like Kristen. Her effort, personality, and intensity on the court are invaluable."
The team's leading scorer with 26 points in CU's thrilling 77-72 loss to the eventual national runner-up Washington University-St. Louis in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, Richardson is using the setback as added fire for this season.
"To be honest, (the loss) still makes me a little sick, especially the two weeks right after the game," Richardson said. "I'm using it as motivation for this year. If we put our minds to it, we can put ourselves in a position to win another OAC Championship."
Capital also returns All-OAC performer Caitlin Elsass (Batavia, Ohio/Clermont Northeastern HS), the squad's leading rebounder and third most prolific scorer from a season ago.
"(Elsass) still has some things that she wants to accomplish. Caitlin has really worked hard this offseason to get her ready for this moment," Jeffers said.
A key for the Crusaders this season will be adapting to the loss of OAC Player of the Year Daniele Sanna.
"You're not going to replace Daniele Sanna, but you want to get kids that give the same effort that she did. We have some returning players like Hilary Kuhns (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield HS) that have shown great strides. Transfer Lindsay Smithberger (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North HS) and freshman Stacy Timmerman (New Bremen, Ohio/New Bremen HS) is very athletic and someone that we're excited about."
Other veterans looking to make an impact for the Crusaders includes senior point guard and three-point specialist Abby Winland (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville HS), classmate and fellow guard Audrey Mitchell (Lithopolis, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll HS), junior forward Lindsey Watt (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North HS).
"I expect big things out of these kids," Jeffers said. "Everybody knows that we play in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, and we will have to bring our best game to the court every night to be successful. They will work hard, and we will be a very competitive team."