WINONA LAKE – Optimism has never been higher for Grace College's women’s basketball team than it is entering the 2011-12 campaign. The Lady Lancers are coming off their best conference record in school history and their first .500-season since 1992. Grace, which finished 17-17 overall and 7-9 in the highly-competitive Mid-Central College Conference, closed the season receiving votes in the NAIA top-25 coaches poll – a first for the program – and advanced to the NCCAA National Tournament (held at Grace College) for the third straight year. Head coach Scott Blum has slowly but surely built the program, increasing the team’s win totals in nearly each of his previous seven seasons. He enters this year with one of his most experienced teams and hopes the team can reach its goal of finishing in the top three of the MCC – a goal which would most likely result in an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. "It’s going to be a fun year," said Blum. "Our team knows our system, and they have the confidence knowing they can do it. We have most of our pieces back and will have one of the deepest teams in the MCC. The girls have a lot of experience and hungriness coming into the season." Senior co-captains Hayley Cashier and Hannah Lengel spearhead Grace’s team and lead a balanced squad. Cashier enjoyed a breakout season a year ago with 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while nailing 39.2 percent of her three-point attempts. Cashier was named First Team All-MCC. Lengel has been a crucial part of Grace’s backcourt since her freshman year. Last season, she averaged 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and shot 38.2 percent from beyond the arc and 82.3 percent from the free throw line. She will be joined in the guard rotation by senior Kiera Gray and sophomore Juaneice Jackson. Gray is an experienced scorer who enters the season ranked No. 9 on Grace’s all-time scoring list with 1,059 career points. Jackson was named the MCC’s Freshman of the Year after tallying 7.3 points per game off the bench. Other guards in the mix include juniors Jayla Starks and Rianne Aguilar. Both players, according to Blum, have worked hard in the offseason to improve their play and have the ability to contribute both offensively and defensively this year. The post rotation was one of the team’s strengths last year and only figures to improve. Cashier is joined by fellow seniors Danielle Boykin (9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Kate Ball (3.4 ppg, 32.4% 3FG) and junior Emily Bidwell (5.6 ppg). "We’re too good in the post not to score down low, but we also want to run the ball when we get the chance," said Blum. "Our strength is probably inside, but you have to have a good inside-outside game to make a run in the national tournament, so that’s how we’ve built our program. If you take away one aspect, we can go with the other." Two freshman forwards from Fort Wayne, also hope to contribute right away in Lindsey Schaefer (Carroll HS) and Allison Kauffman (Blackhawk Christian). The Lady Lancers will open their season tonight on the road against Holy Cross College at 7 p.m. Their home opener is Oct. 29 against Indiana University-South Bend at 1 p.m.
