TIFFIN, Ohio—The Heidelberg University women’s basketball team was picked to finish 10th in the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season standings during the 2011-12 season in a vote by league coaches, announced today by the league office. The ‘Berg received 10 points.
The University of Mount Union was predicted to win the regular season championship in a unanimous vote with 81 points and nine first-place votes. Baldwin-Wallace College came in second with 70 points and one first-place vote. Coaches could not vote for their own team.
Following Mount Union and B-W were Ohio Northern University in third place with 63 points and Capital University and Otterbein University in a tie for fourth place with 50 points each. Rounding out places 6-10 were Muskingum University (45), Wilmington College (36), John Carroll University (23), Marietta College (22) and Heidelberg.
Fourth-year head coach Marcie Alberts welcomes back seven letter winners and four starters from a season ago. Sophomore guard Kathleen Phillips (Sandusky/St. Mary’s) leads all returners with a 12.7 points per game average from 2010-11, along with 3.4 rebounds per game, 38 steals and a 33.3 field-goal percentage (101-of-303). Sophomore guard Emily Giel (Burton/Burkshire) brings her 6.2 ppg. average, team-high 64 assists and 29 steals back to the court. Junior guard Jordan Ickes (Wooster/Triway), who averaged 4.1 ppg. and tallied 32 assists and 27 steals, will look to increase her role this season. All three student-athletes started at least 16 games last season.
Incoming guard Paige Ricketts (Mineral City/Tusky Valley) and forward Ally Blum (Galion/Northmoor), and transfer Megan Miller (Tiffin/Columbian) are expected to have an immediate impact on the team.
The Berg returns 41.6 percent of its scoring and 32.4 percent of its rebounding from last season.
Heidelberg opens its 2011-12 slate with a home game against Ohio Wesleyan University on Nov. 16. Other non-conference match-ups include two games at the Emmanuel (Mass.) College Saints Invitational in Boston, Mass. (Nov. 18-20), at Earlham (Ind.) College (Nov. 22), at Kenyon College (Nov. 30), hosting Case Western Reserve University (Dec. 5), and at Oberlin College (Jan. 2).
The OAC schedule features a double round-robin among the league’s 10 teams, with each team playing all other teams once at home and once on the road. The top eight teams in the final regular season standings advance to the 2012 OAC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The team, along with Heidelberg’s men’s basketball team, will officially kick off the 2011-12 season tonight with Hoopapalooza at Seiberling Gymnasium in Tiffin, Ohio. Fans can meet the teams, take in dunk and three-point shooting contests and have a chance to win $300. The first 75 fans to sign up with receive a free 6th Man Club t-shirt. Admission is free.