The Muskingum womens basketball team will start their 2019-2020 season under first-year head coach Erin Eaton and first-year associate head coach Sean Strickland.
The Lady Muskies have six returning letter-winners from last season as well as several upperclassmen. Those six lettermen 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.
Coach Eaton is striving towards steady improvement and wants to build a new culture for women’s basketball at Muskingum University.
“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,” said Eaton.
Leppla averaged 23.6 minutes in 16 games last season. She averaged 4.2 points per game, grabbed 67 rebounds, and swiped 14 steals.
Filiaggi started 23 games for the Lady Muskies. She played 24 minutes a game and averaged 7.8 points and 5.7 rebounds.
Yeager played in 22 games for the last year and started 18 times. She was second on the team with 12.1 points per game and averaged 4.2 rebounds per outing. Also, Yeager shot 75.8% from the free-throw line, which placed her in the top five on the team in free throws. Last season, Yeager was selected to the Manchester University Main View All-Tournament team.
Bonner led the team with a total of 320 points, averaging 12.8 points per game on her first season for the Lady Muskies. She also added 158 rebounds, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. 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 finished the season with 70 points, 63 rebounds, and 15 steals.
Lang scored 207 points last year, maintaining an average of 4.3 points per game. She also secured 39 rebounds and snagged seven steals.
Muskingum tips-off the season at Thiel Saturday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. Muskingum’s home opener is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20, against Kenyon at 6 p.m.
The Lady Muskies begin Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 7, against the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets at 3 p.m.