As the sweat drips onto the court and the net swishes, the 39 season of Guilford women’s basketball seems poised to be a good one. 

    The team has set its eyes on the big prize of winning the Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular season title and the league’s championship tournament.  

    “We want to win the ODAC, play more team ball, and improve our defense this year,” said senior Jazlyn Gibbs.  “We have already started improving team chemistry this year by trying to do more off the court together and working on communication.”  

    There is a new sense of team-building with several members of the team getting together for simple things like, team pasta dinners, hanging out in each other’s apartments and even one excursion to a haunted house.

    “The team chemistry is good right now, and I hope it continues to stay that way,” said Head Coach Stephanie Flamini, currently in her ninth season.  “Obviously there will be a lot of ups and downs; it is a long season, but hopefully we can get through them successfully.”  

    All of these activities should lead to a strong sense of unity, which will help the team with the adversity that comes from being picked as a strong front-runner in the conference.  

    Last season was strong for the Quakers. The Lady Quakers are coming off a solid performance with a 15-12 record, reaching the semifinals in the ODAC tournament. The Quakers were picked to finish second in the 2011-2012 ODAC preseason coaches’ poll.  

    The team will be experienced, returning four out of five starters from last year’s line-up.  This includes their leading scorer in Gibbs, who averaged 14.8 points per game last season, clinching Second Team All-Conference honors.  The frontcourt of the Quakers will be one of the strongest in the conference with sophomore Gabby Oglesby leading the way.

    Oglesby and fellow sophomore teammate Morgan King return as two of the most well-rounded players in the league.  Both players ranked near the top in rebounding, scoring, field-goal percentage and blocked shots last season.

    In spite of these strengths the team does face some challenges.

   “We have to live up to high expectations now that we found out we were ranked second in the ODAC,” Oglesby said.      “My biggest challenge is putting up the same stats that I put up last year.” 

    With all the returning starters, this is a young Quaker squad.  There are only two seniors on the roster. 

    “As a young team we have to keep our composure when games are close and our emotions are high so that we can get the win,” Gibbs said.

    In spite of the pressure, the season is promising. 

    “We have a really good mix of returners (returning players) and new talent,” said senior Laura Kopald, “including a really good freshman class, a transfer, and a sophomore class who have a year of experience under their belts, so we are expecting big things from them.”

    Come out and support the team on Nov. 16 as the Quakers take on arch-rival Greensboro College at 5 p.m.  The team’s conference schedule begins Nov. 22 at Washington & Lee, followed by the Quakers’ first home game Nov. 30 against Salem College. 

    “It has been a pleasure working with these kids (this year’s team), they have a lot of potential,” said coach Flamini.  “If they can live up to it I think they will see some great things happen.”