The Albion College women's basketball team launches its 50th season Saturday with a 3 o'clock home game against Case Western Reserve University.
Head Coach Doreen Carden begins her 19th season with seven veteran and eight first-year student-athletes on the roster.
Three of the veterans – Emily Bernas, Rain Hinton and Evelyn Wischmeyer – have achieved all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association status.
Bernas, a senior who prepped at Waterford Kettering, is a two-time all-MIAA second team pick. She finished 10th in the MIAA in scoring at 12.3 in 16 league games while leading the league at nearly 81 percent from the free throw line.
A junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., and Woodlan High School, Hinton has two all-MIAA awards in her career. She moved up to the all-MIAA first team last season after finishing third in the league in scoring (17 points per game) and rebounding (8.2 per game).
Wischmeyer, a senior from Lake Orion, also has a pair of all-MIAA awards on her resume. An all-MIAA second team pick last season, she knocked down 46 percent of her attempts from 3-point range while averaging nearly 12 points per game against MIAA rivals.
"We still return our three top players, but we will be young," Carden said. "There are going to be some growing pains, but the first-year players are going to be great for us. We are going to continue to press, and their effort is going to be great. We are going to be more athletic and have more depth this year."
Albion's November schedule includes home non-league dates against local rival Spring Arbor University (Nov. 19) and Great Lakes Christian College (Nov. 30).
The Britons jump into MIAA play with three league games during the first half of December. Albion will travel to Alma College and Hope College and have a Dec. 18 home date against Kalamazoo College.
Albion was picked to finish third in the MIAA preseason poll released Thursday. Hope enters as the favorite to claim the league championship, receiving eight first place votes. Trine University received the other first place vote and is picked to finish second. The complete MIAA women's basketball preseason poll is listed below.
- Hope (8 first place votes) 64 points
- Trine (1 first place vote) 55 points
- ALBION 51 points
- Calvin 42 points
- Alma 38 points
- Saint Mary's 29 points
- Adrian 19 points
- Olivet 18 points
- Kalamazoo 8 points
Get the latest information on the team by following @AlbionWBB on Twitter and Instagram. General athletics news can also be found at GoBrits on Twitter, AlbionAthletics on Instagram and Albion College Athletics on Facebook.
Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball teams that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.
The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu.