The Kenyon College women’s basketball team takes to the court for its first scrimmage tomorrow, stepping foot on the floor in competition for the first time in 614 days. Expectations for the 2021-22 season are, in part, unpredictable for first-year coach Grace Elliott.
With the 2020-21 schedule wiped out by the pandemic, the Ladies are set to build off a 10-16 finish and a trip to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament with new faces and veteran leadership returning. Madelyn Anderson, Grace Connery, Bridget Molnar and Katie Orefice headline the new roster for the Ladies, who have lost seven players, including Academic All-American Paige Matijasich, since their last full season of play. Other returners from 2019-20 include Bela Krslovic, Greta Propp and Jakkie Tomlinson. Claudia Cooke also returns as the lone sophomore on the Kenyon roster.
Five of the seven returning Ladies from the 2019-20 season started in three or more games. Each Kenyon returning player saw action in at least nine games, with five seeing action in 24 or more games.
Anderson heads into her senior season after playing 25 games, starting seven, in her sophomore campaign. In that season, she averaged 4.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. She also finished top five on the team in assists per game and total assists.
Connery enters her senior season for the Ladies as the third-leading scorer from two years ago. The Sparta, N.J., native started in 16 games and played in all 26. From her guard position, Connery averaged 8.2 points per game and led the Ladies in three-point field goals attempted and made.
Molnar, a post player, returns for her fourth year. She started in three games but played in all 26 during the 2019-20 season, averaging 2.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Molnar’s 42 blocks led the team and accounted for almost half of the Ladies’ total for the season.
Orefice enters her junior season after starting in eight of the 24 games she played in her first-year season. As a first-year, she averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Despite limited starting opportunities, Orefice finished top three on the team in total assists and assists per game.
The Ladies' first scrimmage is scheduled for Oct. 31 at Defiance College before returning home to scrimmage Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Nov. 3. Regular-season play starts Tuesday Nov. 9 at Heidelberg University. Mount Vernon Nazarene comes back to Tomsich Arena on Nov. 17 for the Ladies’ first home game of the season. North Coast Athletic Conference action starts the following Sunday as Kenyon goes to Greencastle, Ind., to take on DePauw University.
