Athletics News

The 2007-2008 Swarthmore women's basketball team will rely on a small, but experienced, group of veteran players in hopes of returning to the Centennial Conference Championships.

The Garnet are led by senior forward Karen Berk (Havertown, Pa./ Haverford), a two-time All-Centennial selection and team captain. Berk, one of the top post players in the region, led the Centennial Conference in points per game (18.5) and rebounds per game (12.5) last season. She scored her 1,000^th career point against Dickinson on January 25^th, becoming the sixth Garnet woman to achieve the feat. She also led the conference in double-doubles (18) and free-throws made (125); and ranked (fourth) in the top ten in blocks per game (1.83), steals per game (2.08), free-throw percentage (71.8%) and field goal percentage (42.5%).By the time Berk wraps her up career, she will stand as one of the best Swarthmore basketball players ever. She currently ranks fifth all-time at Swarthmore for scoring (1,137) and rebounding (732), and is also sixth for most career field goals (432). She holds the career blocking record with 96 and also owns the single-season mark (44, set in ’06-’07).

Returning sophomore captain Pam Costello (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) is known for consistent play at both ends of the court, averaged 7.1 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. As a freshman, the forward started in all 24 games leading the team in 3-point shooting percentage, knocking down 37% of the shots from behind the arc. Costello ended the season on a high note) scoring a career-high 23 points in the final game of the season against Haverford on February 17. Senior forward Kristen Traband (Swarthmore, Pa. / Ridley), who scored a career-high 10 points in a win over Bryn Mawr on December 13, will also look to contribute significant minutes for the Garnet.

The Garnet guards look to match the offensive out-put of their forwards, but will be without junior Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa./ West Chester East) for the start of the season as she completes a study-abroad program in India. Grigsby led the Garnet in minutes played last season, averaging almost 37 per game (second most in the conference). She also led the Garnet with an 80% free-throw percentage, and was second on the team with 7.2 points per game.

Senior Laura Popovics (Gorham, Maine / Gorham), along with sophomore Lisa Schumacher (Middlebury, Conn. / Westover School), will be relied upon to handle the bulk of the ball-handling duties at the guard position. Popovics averaged 6.2 points per game for the Garnet in 2006-07 while knocking down 19 three-pointers in 14 games. Playing in 66 games during her career, Popovics missed the first half of ’06-‘07 pursuing her academic career while studying abroad in Prague. Schumacher scored a career-high 14 points against Franklin and Marshall on January 13, and played a significant amount of minutes in all 24 games for the Garnet (she made 17 starts).

With the graduation of forwards Jess Fuhr (6’1”) and Sam Graffeo (6’2”), the Garnet will be pressed to replace height, but the addition of freshman forwards Summer Miller-Walfish (San Jose, N.M. / West Las Vegas), Kathryn Stockbower (Fort Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) and Sarah Brajtbord (Dallas, Texas / Greenhill), Swarthmore feels prepared to make an easy transition. Another newcomer, Ceylan Bodur (Istanbul, Turkey/ Robert College) will provide the Garnet with much-needed depth in the guard position.

Renee DeVarney enters her third season as the head coach of the women’s basketball program. A graduate of the University of Vermont, DeVarney has over 20 years experience in college basketball and will provide the team with wisdom.

The Garnet will open their season on Nov. 17^th hosting the annual Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament. Tournament entries include Eastern, Heidelberg and Middlebury with Swarthmore playing Eastern at 4:00 p.m. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Swarthmore will open their Centennial schedule when McDaniel visits the Tarble Pavilion on Nov. 27^th at 7:00 p.m. The Swarthmore-Haverford rivalry will continue on Saturday Feb. 23^rd at 2:00 p.m.; the Garnet will also celebrate their Senior Night the same night.

Preseason Centennial Conference Poll

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Women's Basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.