This weekend, the women’s basketball team will be in Erie for the Penn State Behrend Tip-Off Tournament.
Although the Yellow Jackets have had to deal with injuries early in the season, head coach Sam Jones said the team has been dealing with the adversity well.
“We’re adjusting day-to-day and the way this year has gone, we had some major injuries,” said Jones. “So, we plan day-to-day as best we can with the group that we have to improve what we feel is the important thing for this day.”
In last week’s season opener, a 67-54 loss to Carnegie Mellon, Jones saw a few his new acquisitions in action due to the injuries, notably senior point guard Monica Starre, who is out with a back injury.
“With as banged up as we are, we went into the game with eight healthy players and we’re missing some key players,” said Jones. “Starting three freshmen against a good team like Carnegie Mellon, I was very pleased with our effort and intensity and overall we did a lot of really good things in that game.”
The four freshman who saw time in some capacity were center Brooke Fuller and guards Taylor Kovatch, Haley Porter and Kylee Meyers. Porter notched five three-pointers for Waynesburg.
Moving into the tip-off tournament this weekend, Jones said road trips provide the team with a reprieve from campus life.
“Sometimes I like getting away from the distractions,” he said. “You have your team there and together and they can focus on each other and basketball.”
The Jackets first game of the tournament will be Friday night against Jones’ alma mater, the Mount Union Purple Raiders.
“They’re always a really good squad, always really well coached,” said Jones. “We’ll have to be ready for a lot of different presses and pressures, they look to speed you up with various presses throughout the game. Be ready to play at a fast pace, which isn’t odd for us. Then, defensively we’ll have our work cut out for us as they always have some good players.”
On Waynesburg’s end, Jones said the team needs to improve on the small, technical things that contributed to opening night’s loss.
“The little details that we didn’t do well with against Carnegie Mellon, [we need] improvement in those areas,” said Jones. “Boxing out, taking care of the basketball a little bit better, just some of those details there. We aren’t going to be perfect, but we can be better.”
Depending on the results of Friday’s games, the Jackets will either face Fredonia State University or the host school Penn State Behrend Saturday. Tip-off for Friday night is set for 8 p.m. on the campus of Penn State Behrend.