Nov 13, 2016 5 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Waynesburg University women’s basketball team begins its season Tuesday as the Yellow Jackets try to improve on a 15-14 record of last season.

Waynesburg was picked to finish fourth in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, behind Thomas More, Washington & Jefferson and Saint Vincent.

Waynesburg has finished either third or fourth in the PAC in each of the last six seasons, including last year’s third-place finish behind NCAA Division III national champion Thomas More and Washington & Jefferson.

Head coach Sam Jones thinks his team has the ability to take the next step and compete for a second-place spot.

“We play in a really good conference … we might take the next step in the program and still finish third,” Jones said. “I do think we are ready to take that next step to be more consistent and be a better team than we have been.”

Jones, who is in his ninth year as head coach, realizes the chance of any team, including the Yellow Jackets, overtaking PAC powerhouse Thomas More is slim. The Saints have won 66 consecutive games, including back-to-back national championships and 10 straight PAC titles.

The Yellow Jackets lost three starters from last year’s team that won a PAC tournament game but lost to W&J in the semifinals. Forwards Maura Bobby and Heather Davis are gone. They scored 38 percent of the team’s points. Bobby was an All-PAC honorable mention forward, Davis led the team in three-pointers and Lauren Blair led in assists.

While replacing three starters is difficult, Jones thinks they are replaceable.

“Honestly, I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “We have good players ready to move into those spots who have been waiting their turn, so we might look a little different in a couple of those areas, but I think it’ll be fine. We’ve got a lot of good players waiting in the wings.”

The Jackets return their best player and All-PAC second-teamer junior forward Addy Knetzer. Last season, the Chartiers-Houston graduate led the team in minutes per game (25.5), points (14.4), field-goal percentage (51.4 percent) and rebounds (9.1).

Jones thinks Knetzer will take the next step and become one of the top players in PAC.

“I think she’s already better,” Jones said. “We just had our first scrimmage, and I’ve noticed a growth and a change. She put in a lot of work over the summer. She’s always been strong and athletic, but she spent a lot more time in the skills aspect of the game.”

Knetzer wants to improve her defense and expand her game beyond the low post. Consistency is Knezter’s primary goal.

“I don’t want to have games where I (don’t play well),” she said. “If I can manage a double-double, that would be my goal. I just want to be consistent.”

Returning along with Knetzer from the starting lineup is senior guard Katie Gehlmann, who averaged 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds last season.

While the Jackets lost two of their top long-range shooters, Gehlmann finished second on the team three-pointers, many coming in transition.

“We’re still going to shoot the transition three,” Jones said. “I’ll let (Gehlmann) shoot a transition three any time she feels like it. Sign me up for thinking that’s a good shot nine times out of 10.”

The Jackets run a system that is a combination of Knetzer in the post and three-point shooting. Jones loves the three-point shot, and it showed last season, as the Jackets averaged 24 three-point shots attempted per game last season, making them at a 31 percent clip.

“We’re going to get the ball into the paint, and if you double down, we’re going to kick it out and we’re going to shoot,” he said.

Along with Knetzer and Gehlmann, Jones said sophomore Monica Starre will start at point guard, which Jones said will be a transition as Starre’s balanced style is different than Blair’s scoring-oriented game.

Senior Kassidy O’Keefe and sophomore Julie Deklaven, who were reserves last season, will play a bigger roles this year. Jones said both players are good defenders and good three-point shooters.

Junior forwards Rachel Ang and Mackenna Drazich will play more often, and senior forward Haley Delaney will give the Jackets depth down low, something Jones said isn’t in abundance and could lead to a lot of four-guard lineups.

Knetzer said this season is about the team’s attitude – something that wasn’t good on last year’s squad.

“Last year we had a lot of talent, but at times it was wasted with a lot of bad attitudes and things like that,” Knetzer said. “This year, we really need to be at our best every game and really stay positive and keep a good attitude about things. If we do that this year, I think we have the chance to finish second.”

The Jackets begin their season at home Tuesday (6 p.m.) against Frostburg State.