Tiger women set goals, look to improve from last season

With a 16-1overall record last season, the Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team recorded its first winning season in three years.

This season, the team has set its sights on cracking the National Association Intercollegiate Athletics top 25. 5

DWU women’s basketball head coach Jason Christensen said consistency will be important if the Tigers want to make an appearance atop the polls.

“I would like to think we are improved, and we would like to have a shot at the end of the year to be in the top 25 rankings,” said Christensen, whose team won 10 more games last season than it did in his first. “That’s one of our goals this year.”

Dakota Wesleyan fans takes on the Comets of Mayville State in the season opener during the DWU Fulton State Bank Classic at 6 p.m. today at the Corn Palace.

Christensen said his team has made great strides since he took over the helm two years ago.

“I came in and put my philosophies out there, and the kids have bought in to what we are trying to do to get to the next level. That’s probably the biggest reason we have the success of going from six wins to 16 wins last season.”

Despite huge improvements, the Tigers were picked to finish 8th in the Great Plains Athletic Conference preseason polls. For some, this may be considered bulletin board material, but for Christensen and his clan, it matters not.

“I don’t really pay attention to the polls at the beginning of the year,” Christensen said.

Perhaps one reason Christensen is not sweating the preseason polls is because he has a squad that returns all but one player from last season’s team.

This season, the Tigers are led by the trio of junior guard Amanda Hart, who averaged 11.4 points per game last season, senior guard Elizabeth Lamb, who averaged 8.2 points per game last year, and forward Kim Johnson, who averaged 8.7 points per game.

The Tigers will also rely on junior point guard Taylor Piper, who averaged 5.9 points per game and 3.2 assists per game last season and sophomore forward Katie Johnson, who averaged 5 points per game.

According to Christensen, on any given night his team could have eight or nine different players lead in scoring.

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