Season Outlook
In 2008-09 the Haverford College women’s basketball team made great strides towards becoming competitive in the Centennial Conference. This season —with more new faces — the Fords hope to continue their development from competitive to contender. The 2009-10 squad features eight returners and eight newcomers who aim to help Haverford take another giant leap.
Key Contributors
Haverford must replace its top-three scorers from last season. Brittany Lattisaw, Kathleen Abels and Natalie Richman accounted for nearly 70 percent of the team’s scoring. Now that all three have graduated head coach Bobbi Morgan will count on a handful of players to fill the void. She will look to senior Sarah Cram and junior Liz Mayell for their experience. The tandem will serve as co-captains and be counted on for their leadership. Cram was fourth in scoring as a junior (5.8 PPG) in 17 games. Mayell averaged 2.8 PPG in 22 games a season ago.
Twin sisters Danielle and Domenique Harrison played valuable minutes as freshmen. They both played in 19 games and averaged over 13 minutes per contest and will provide quickness in the front court. Morgan also sees junior Nia Richardson contributing. Playing behind Lattisaw for two seasons she averaged just four minutes per contest, but brings athleticism to the front court.
Newcomers
Six freshmen donning the scarlet and black for the first time will have a chance to contribute right away.
“This is an enthusiastic group that will help guide the program in the right direction,” said Morgan. “They will contend for playing time and I expect a few of them to be impact players.”
Morgan sees Nina Voith giving the offense a boost. A local product from Germantown Friends, Voith scored 1,000 points in high school. Richmond, Va., native Dominique Meeks give the Fords a dominant presence in the paint. At the Collegiate School she surpassed 1,000 career points and rebounds.
Calla Miller, Victoria Sobocinski and Alyssa Mayo provide depth on the perimeter while Meredith Schoyer will compliment Meeks and Richardson inside.
“This is a group that is used to winning at their respective high schools and I expect that to rub off on everyone.”
Two other newcomers to the Fords are not strangers to the Haverford campus. Sophomores Katie Van Aken and Sarah Andrade will trade in their soccer cleats for sneakers this winter. Van Aken has been the women’s soccer team’s leading scorer and an all-conference selection the last two seasons while Andrade has been a key midfielder.
The Expectations
Despite losing three starters Morgan believes she has a team with more athleticism and scoring threats. However, most of those threats lack the collegiate experience and only time will tell if they can carry the burden. Regardless of who is doing the scoring, Morgan expects her team to be very competitive.
“We’re going to play hard and get better every day,” she said. “This season we hope to lay the foundation for becoming a great program in the Centennial Conference.”