By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

After being ranked poorly in the preseason last year, the Bison proved all of their critics wrong, winning seven out of their last 11 games.

“I believe our momentum has carried over onto the court this year. Everyone is really motivated and excited to get games underway,” guard Shelby Romine ’14 said.“Last year we were ranked eighth in the preseason and no one was expecting us to do well. This year, however we are ranked fourth, and with the addition of six talented new freshmen, the bar is raised much higher.”

Entering her fifteenth season as head coach, Coach Kathy Fedorjaka believes Romine has great potential in the upcoming season.

“One of the key players to keep an eye on is obviously, Shelby Romine, sophomore guard who had a terrific year last season even as a freshmen. Shelby came in and made a huge impact a year ago and now is even more seasoned with a year of experience under her belt. She will continue to be a go-to for us on the offensive end of the floor, but she will also be looked to for more leadership and vocal direction on the court now as a sophomore,” she said.

As a first-year last year, Romine averaged 13.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game last season. She led the team in scoring by over six points per game.

Forward Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 also echoed Romine’s statements about the promise of this year’s first-years.

“We lost three impact players, but we have six new freshman on the team that are all very good. We are also returning eight players to the team this year,” Horbatuck said.

Fedorjaka was also excited about the new first-year recruits. “We do expect the freshmen class to make an impact. Rookie guard Amy Zehner should bring some excitement to Sojka this winter as she brings a strong offensive skill set to our team. Also, a trio of freshmen post players–Audrey Dotson, Micki Impellizeri, and Jen Heider–should add depth and firepower to our roster as well,” she said.

Katherine Harris ’15 and Tara Wilk ’15 are also expected to help the team achieve their ultimate goal of winning the Patriot Leage Championship.

Horbatuck explained that in addition to winning the Patriot League Championship, the Bison also hope to challenge themselves.

“The ultimate goal for this season is to win the Patriot League. Some other goals that we have this season are you win all of our games at home, which will be a challenge especially because we play a big school like Penn State at home this year. Another goal would be to host a first round game going into the Patriot League tournament like we did last year,” she said.

The Bison will kick off their season on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. against St. Peter’s.