by Courtney Briggs, Staff Writer
The Saint Vincent Lady Bearcats basketball team is set to officially open their season November 19 against Ohio Wesleyan at the Wilmington Tournament in Ohio. The team is ranked 25th in preseason rankings; this is the first national ranking in SVC basketball since the men’s basketball team in 2004. Thanks to their strong preseason, they are one of two schools from the Presidents’ Athletic Conference to represent Division III hoops women’s ranking.
In the previous season, the Lady Bearcats were the ECAC South Champions, and overall, the team has a .647 winning percentage, including 503 wins and 275 losses in the team’s history.
All five starters from last year are returning this season. The team includes seniors Kathy Biano from Oakdale and Maria Baroffio from Butler. The juniors include Emily Fenton from Latrobe and Brittany Sedlock from Northern Cambria. The sophomores include Melissa Mansur from Pottstown, Kendra Burchfield from Batavia, OH, Devin McGrath from Robinson Twp, Savannah Hardy from Huntingtown, MD, and Megan DePrimo from Ligonier. The freshman consist of Ariel Rocco from Northern Cambria, Caty Kumar from Oakmont, and Bethany Mehall from Hopwood.
Brittany Sedlock is a junior captain of the team who has been playing basketball since 5th grade and joined the lady bearcats as a freshman. She loves playing basketball, especially for Saint Vincent. She likes how nice and supportive her teammates as well as the coaches are and feels that they all work together to achieve success. As a team, she feels that the team is quick and aggressive and thrives on defensive stops and fast breaking.
“The drive for success motivates me. The determination and desire to achieve our goals pushes me. I am one of those people who are never satisfied,” Sedlock said, “there is always room for improvement, and I think that plays a big part motivation.”
The team’s goals include winning the PAC, making it to the national tournament and winning, and going undefeated in the conference, but most of all, doing their best every game while having fun.
The team attributes much of their success to associate athletic director and head women’s basketball coach Kristen Zawacki, assistant coach James Petruska, assistant coach Mark Hozak, and volunteer assistant coach Ashley Campbell.
by Kylie McGinnis, Photographer
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