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Kristin Donawerth (34) hopes to spark the Tiger offense to bigger and better things in 2008-09.

The Wittenberg women's basketball program enters Year 2 of the Sarah Jurewicz coaching era brimming with collective optimism. The reasons start with the return of 10 letterwinners, including three starters, off last year's squad that finished 15-11 overall and 12-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

That was good for a second-place tie, and the Tigers went on to finish second in the NCAC Tournament as well. Not bad for a team that was still healing from the sudden loss of long-time head coach Pam Smith, who passed away in June 2007.

Jurewicz, Wittenberg's all-time leading scorer, has plenty of options to choose from in the backcourt, starting with senior point guard Kristin Donawerth and sophomore point guard Kelsey Casey, who appeared in 15 games off the bench in her first college season.

Donawerth bounced back from a knee injury that cost her most of the 2006-07 season to appear in 24 games, starting 13 while averaging 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Most significantly, Donawerth led the Tigers with 69 assists while only committing 64 turnovers, and she also ranked among the best in the conference with 44 steals.

There are even more options on the wings, starting with converted junior point guards Victoria Leali and Kellsea Vasileff. Leali also dealt with a knee injury during the 2007-08 season as she appeared in 20 games and started 13, leading the Tigers with 15 three-pointers on the season while averaging 5.8 points per game and ranking among the team leaders in steals with 33. Vasileff is back after a knee injury limited her to nine games off the bench in 2007-08.

That's just the start of things on the perimeter for Wittenberg, however. Also in the mix are senior Katie Gardner, juniors Elise Jenkins and Carrie Dyer, an honorable mention All-NCAC honoree a year ago, and sophomore Katherine Hueter.

Gardner started eight games a year ago and averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, Jenkins made 12 starts, averaging 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds while finishing with an assist-turnover ratio of better than 1.0 (35 assists-33 turnovers), and Dyer made a huge leap from her freshman season, finishing 2007-08 ranked third on the team with 8.2 points and fourth with 4.4 rebounds per game while starting 14 games. Hueter was one of the top freshmen in the NCAC a year ago, when she made 18 starts and averaged 5.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing.

Senior Rachel Dixon, who has not played since the 2006-07 season due to injuries, is the first recipient of the Pam Evans Smith Memorial Scholarship. After excelling on the wing as a freshman and then spending the last two years as an invaluable student assistant coach, Dixon has moved into the post, where the Tigers are thin after the graduation of first-team All-NCAC honoree Katie Gregorevich and three-year starter Ali Rohlfs.

Junior post Stephanie Boardman, who set the school and NCAC record for field goal percentage a year ago en route to second-team All-NCAC honors, returns after her breakout 2007-08 season. Boardman ranked second on the team with 11.4 points per game and added 4.3 rebounds to the cause. She shot 64 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line.

The roster was further stocked with the addition of a fine freshman class, which includes eight talented newcomers. Among the student-athletes expected to have the most immediate impact are 6-0 post player Sarah Watson, 5-8 forward Lyndsey Clark and guard Allie Leopard.