Athletics

Women's Basketball

2012-13 Season Outlook

The Northeast women’s basketball team returns only four players from last year’s squad, but they are really excited for the 2012-13 season. The four returners are AJ Johnson, Sarah Pieper, Sasha Carter, and Ivana Vuletic.  These four are expected to play a significant role this season.  Johnson is a very quick point guard.  Pieper is a solid defender who can shoot the 3 pointer.  Carter is a slashy athlete who can score, and Vuletic is a 6’3” post.  Carter led the team in scoring last season at 16 points per game, but she and Vuletic are recovering from past injuries.  Vuletic missed the entire second half of the 2011-12 season with an injury to her foot and Carter is recovering from a May ACL injury.  Vuletic will be ready to go, but Carter could miss some early season games.

The team added experience to the roster by signing two transfer athletes.  Jaylan Spencer, 6’0 forward from Western State University, and Bethany DeLong, 5’8” guard from Colorado State University.  Spencer is a mobile forward who is left-handed.  She can play in the post and on the perimeter.  DeLong, who ran track at CSU, brings great athleticism and quickness.

Sometimes a team can rest on its returners to carry the load early, but that won’t be the case with this year’s team.  With only four returners on the roster, the incoming freshmen will be expected to contribute immediately.  Time will tell if there will be growing pains, but this freshman class appears ready for the challenge.  The new group of freshmen will bring very good versatility, a balanced set of skills, and they each have good athleticism.  These characteristics should allow for the team to do multiple things on the offensive and the defensive side of the ball. 

Coach Svehla is expecting a solid season, but he never favors making bold predictions.  “Our team has a chance to be pretty good.  We have solid players with good character, but it is pointless to predict anything.  We will have expectations, we will work hard, and we will strive to improve each day.  Time will tell how good we will be.  However, if we focus on the day-to-day things, there is a good chance that the results will be in our favor at the end.”