Following a promising 2011-12 season, the Wittenberg Tiger women's basketball team returns six letterwinners, including three starters, in hopes of breaking back on top of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2012-13.
The Tigers posted records of 14-12 overall and 9-7 in the NCAC a year ago, while featuring a starting lineup that included a trio of precocious first-year students a majority of games. Now well-seasoned sophomores, wing Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) and guards Amber Lara (Oak Park, Ill./Lake Forest) and Enri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls) figure prominently in the team's fortunes.
All three are good ball-handlers and shooters, giving Head Coach Sarah Jurewicz plenty of versatility on the perimeter. Haralamos earned honorable mention All-NCAC honors after averaging 9.7 points and 2.8 rebounds a year ago, while Small was the team's second-leading scorer at 10.4 points to go along with 4.3 boards. Lara added 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds, and she topped the team with 38 steals while ranking third in assists with 47.
They will have plenty of company on the perimeter, where the Tigers are loaded with quality players, starting with junior wing Amber Rice (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who enjoyed a breakout season in 2011-12. Haralamos and Small tied for team honors with 26 three-pointers a year ago, but Rice was right behind them with 25 treys in 17 minutes per game off the bench.
Also in the mix are senior wing Sarah Skidmore (Troy, Ohio/Miami East), a standout on defense who also averaged 2.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 20 minutes per game a year ago, and sophomore wing Heather Schroeder (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora), who appeared in eight games off the bench a year ago. In addition, sophomore wing Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) figures to benefit from a full season in the Red & White after transferring in December 2011 from Ohio Northern.
In the post, senior Kim Replogle (Houston, Ohio/Houston) will be the focal point for the Tigers after she posted per-game figures of 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 2011-12. Sophomore Karen Daniel-Hamberg (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) also returns after appearing in 14 games off the bench in her collegiate campaign.
A seven-player freshman class bolsters the roster and provides additional options to Jurewicz, who is entering her sixth season at the helm. The program's all-time leading scorer, Jurewicz enters the 2012-13 season with a career record of 74-57.