Even Playing Field Highlights Annual Classic

Meredith Wilson could become a significant 3-point threat this season for Wooster.

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The 12th edition of The College of Wooster’s Nan Nichols Classic should feature some very competitive games, as all four teams posted similar records last season. Joining the Fighting Scots (14-12 in 2006-07) are fellow NCAA Div. III members Misericordia University (14-11) and SUNY Fredonia (10-14), along with NAIA foe Notre Dame College (21-10). Also of note, the squads are representing four different conferences.

The exciting match-ups begin with SUNY Fredonia and Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 1 p.m., followed by a showdown between Misericordia and Wooster at 3 p.m., or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. On Sunday, Nov. 18, the consolation game is slated for 1 p.m., followed by the winners from the previous day in the finals at 3 p.m.

Below is a brief capsule on each team:

The Cougars of Misericordia, led by head coach Tom Griffith, look to improve even further on their 14-11 overall record and 11-5 mark in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference action. Returning to key the Cougars in 2007-08 is senior forward Ericka Morrison, who picked up first-team All-PAC accolades last season after two consecutive second-team conference nods. Last winter, Morrison was second on the team in scoring and rebounding with 15.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while pacing the team with 2.8 steals per game. Joining Morrison is senior guard Amy Hughes and junior forward Lacey DeGraw. Hughes led the Cougars in both scoring (16.1 ppg) and assists (2.9 apg). DeGraw, who has appeared in every contest over her first two seasons, finished with 10.3 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game last season.

Notre Dame returns six letterwinners to this year’s squad and is the preseason pick to win the American Mideast Conference’s North Division after finishing third last season at 9-5. Leading the way for seventh-year head coach Dick Deasy’s Falcons is senior guard Sarah Dia, who a year ago averaged 13.8 points, along with 3.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game, on her way to earning first-team All-AMC honors. Ashley Carney is also back in the Blue and Gold. Carney, a guard, played in 29 games last year, contributing 12.2 points and a team-high 4.0 assists per game. Sophomore guard Amanda Brown will join Dia in the backcourt. Last season, Brown had a 5.5 scoring average and 3.6 rebounds per contest. This season, the Falcons already picked up a victory, a 93-50 win over Marygrove College on Nov. 10, with Carney leading the way with 22 points and four assists.

SUNY Fredonia head coach Donna Wise has high hopes for her team during 2007-08, as she brings back six players from last season’s squad that tied for seventh in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (6-10). Two of those six were starters last year, including now-senior forward Cheryl Kindzia and guard Maria Scaffidi. Kindzia, a two-time All-SUNYAC postseason honoree, finished third in the SUNYAC in scoring (14.8), second in blocked shots (40), and fifth in rebounding (8.3), while Scaffidi averaged 6.6 points and 2.5 assists. Also back is senior forward Michelle Bull, who played in every contest last season and finished with 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in just 14.9 minutes per contest.

Wooster will be trying to make it back to the finals of its own tourney for the eighth time in nine years, and defend its 2006 Nan Nichols Classic title. Eleventh-year head coach Lisa Campanell Komara led the Scots to their first winning season since 1992-93 during 2006-07 as well as a tie for fifth-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference at 9-7. Sophomore Kym Wenz hits the hardwood as Wooster’s returning leading scorer after finishing seventh in the NCAC scoring race with 11.8 points per game, in addition to 4.7 rebounds, which landed her NCAC co-Newcomer of the Year honors. The trio of junior Meredith Wilson and sophomores Colleen Goodwillie and Priscilla Staples will flank her in the backcourt. Wilson posted a .393 (11-of-28) three-point shooting percentage last season. The Scots will likely look to push the tempo with a wealth of perimeter players in place. In the frontcourt, sophomore Kaitlin Krister comes off a freshman campaign in which she averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds.