Women’s basketball gets fresh start with new coach, new conference

Boston, Mass. - The Wheelock women's basketball team is set to start the season on Monday night when the team hosts Johnson & Wales at Pine Manor College in the home opener.

The team will be competing for the first time in the newly formed New England Collegiate Conference, a league in which the Wildcats can be extremely competitive. This will also be the first year for new head coach Brooke Freeburg, who takes the reigns after a successful playing career at NCAA Division I Providence College.

Quickness and speed in the backcourt will help to overcome a lack of height, and should provide the Wildcats with ample scoring opportunities from the perimeter.  Junior captain Sarah Brown (Plainville, CT) returns as the leading scorer for Wheelock, coming off a year in which she averaged 16 points a game. Brown was also the leader in blocks with 19 and dished out 35 assists.

Ameilia Woodley (Malden, MA) is the only senior on the team and will look to continue her scrappy defensive play on the perimeter after ranking second on the team in steals last year with 62 while averaging 5.3 points per contest.

Also returning from last year's squad are Elise Ordile, Joy Holliday, Kerry Casey, Callahan Moore, Caitlin Kerr, and Sharrell Brown; all of whom logged enough minutes to give the Wildcats great experience coming off the bench. Freshman Jessica Battista, Brooke LaBossiere, and Morgan Perry will also be making an immediate impact with the young squad.