2013-14 @UDallasWBB Season Preview
IRVING, Texas - Entering the 2013-14 season, the University of Dallas women's basketball team is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jina Johansen. The Lady Crusaders are 35-44 (.433) in Johansen's tenure.
Dallas ended their 2012-13 campaign with a 12-15 record, which included a 4-11 mark as second-year members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), and reached the SCAC championship semifinals as the fifth seed.
The squad loses All-SCAC First Team guard Kylie Yoshimura to graduation. She was a four-year Team MVP and letterwinner, who ended her career with eight school records – game assists (12), season assists (175), season assists-per-game (6.48), season games (28), career games (107), three-point field goals (189), career assists (586) and career assists-per-game (5.48).
With a number of guards to choose from in 2013-14, thanks to strong recruiting efforts, Johansen is eyeing newcomers to help fill Yoshimura's void.
"We actually have three freshman point guards that will play for us," Johansen said. "They are Holly Tonry, Sammi Tso and Darion Summers. All three will see minutes and contribute in different ways. Holly can also play the wing position so two of them can be on the court at the same time. So far, they all look really good and I am excited to watch them continue to progress throughout the year."
From what she has witnessed in the preseason, Johansen expects one to three more newcomers to factor into the rotation in addition to this trio. One possibility is Bishop Kelley High School (Tulsa, Okla.) product Seana Stoia, a 5-foot-11 post who Johansen noted as an early standout.
With 23 on the current roster, Dallas returns seven student-athletes – sophomore guard Christen Bounsall, sophomore forward Chelsea Cole, sophomore post Colleen Campbell, junior guard Marleyna Bustamante, junior guard Emily Madden, junior forward Brooke Hagemann and senior post Christy Allen. Two transfers have also joined the team – junior guard Briana Bricher and junior post Liz Avila.
As a returning three-year letterwinner, Allen has the most experience of this group. In her career, the Burton, Mich., native has accumulated 668 points and 329 rebounds. In the 2012-13 season, she earned All-SCAC Third Team honors and finished ranked as follows in the conference – 149 defensive rebounds (Second), 8.6 rebounds per game (Third), a 49 percent field-goal percentage (Third) and 83 offensive rebounds (Fourth). Johansen anticipates another quality season for Allen.
"Christy brings so many things to our team," Johansen said. "She is our only senior, has been starting for us since the middle of her freshman year, has a ton of experience, is a great leader, gets along well with everyone and has really bought into our program. I expect another great year from her again. She wants us to do well and really cares about our program, and I hope we have a great season for her."
Dallas opens their 2013-14 slate in Irving, Texas, versus LeTourneau University on Friday, Nov. 15, in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off at the Maher Athletic Center. After heading to Michigan to play in Allen's home state versus Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Dec. 30-31, the Lady Crusaders begin conference-play at home versus Colorado College on Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.
Johansen said a continued improvement on the defensive end is needed to ensure this season's success.
"We need to make strides on the defensive end and rebounding the ball." Johansen said. "We improved tremendously on those two areas last year, but we still can get better at them and it will help throughout the season. We also need to take care of the basketball."
Video: "Coach Johansen, Christy Allen of @UDallasWBB take part in SCAC Media Days"