Women's Basketball looks to have a transformative year

The Muskingum women's basketball team is under the guidance of first-year head coach Erin Eaton and first-year associate head coach Sean Strickland. The Muskies are looking to have a transformative year and to be competitive in both non-conference and conference games.

Coach Eaton looks to the teams' strong nucleus and a blue-collar recruiting class to strive towards competitive excellence. Eaton has six returning letterwinners back from last season as well as a plethora of upperclassman. Those six players include junior forward Kacie Leppla, junior guard Sam Filiaggi, junior guard Emily Yeager, senior forward Devyn Bonner, junior guard Camay Baylock, and sophomore guard Olivia Lang.

Leppla played in 16 games, averaging 23.6 minutes per game. She tallied a total of 67 rebounds and amassed 14 steals. She scored 67 points on the year, averaging 4.2 points per game.

Filiaggi started 23-of-25 games for the Muskies. She averaged 24 minutes per game, registering 7.8 points per game and notching 5.7 rebounds per game.

Yeager played in 22 games for the Muskies and registered 18 starts. She finished the year second on the team with 12.1 points per game. She logged a total of 92 rebounds, averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. Yeager also made 75.8% of her free throws, putting her in the top five on the team in free throws. Last year, Yeager was named to the Manchester University Main View All-Tournament team.

In her first season for the Muskies, Bonner led the team with a total of 320 points (12.8 points per game) and 158 rebounds (6.3 rebounds per game) on the year. Bonner shot 47.1% from the field and 65.8% from the free-throw line.

Baylock played in all 25 games for the Muskies, averaging 11.6 minutes per game. She ended the season with 70 points, 63 rebounds, and 15 steals.

Lang finished the year with a total of 107 points, averaging 4.3 points per game. She also secured 39 rebounds and chipped in seven steals.

The Muskies also return sophomore forward Sarah Miller and sophomore guard Emily Jackson. Miller ended the year with a total of 37 points, while Jackson registered 10 points.

Coach Eaton comments on her expectations and intentions regarding the upcoming season. She says "We spend each day focused on the daily pursuit of improvement as we continue to make gains towards laying the foundation for a group of young women that will learn to compete in one of the most well-respected conferences in all of Division III athletics." 

Muskingum tips-off the season at Thiel on Saturday, November 9. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. Muskingum's home opener is scheduled for Wednesday, November 20, against Kenyon at 6:00 p.m. The Muskies begin conference play on Saturday, December 7, when the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets come to the Anne C. Steele Center for an OAC showdown. The start time is slated for 3:00 p.m.