Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Lady Pioneers shoot for winning season

Technically speaking, if a team ends a season with a 14-13 record, they are an above-average squad, but nothing more. However, for last year’s Point Park University’s women’s basketball team, that record indicated a major change in the program.The reason that 14-13 season was so special was that it was the first time in 16 years that the Lady Pionees could celebrate a winning season.”They did well last year,” Director of Athletic Communications Kevin Taylor said. “But this year they are looking to break the wall and get to the playoffs.”A playoff run barely eluded last year’s team, as it fell one game short of extending its season. As a result, coaches in the American Mideast Conference (AMC) recognized the strides the team made and ranked them seventh out of 12 teams in a preseason poll. However, if true, that would mean that the team would once again miss the playoffs by one spot.”To be ranked high, you need to succeed,” fifth-year head coach Sam Kosanovich said.Kosanovich has been a huge part of the team’s turnaround. In the four seasons before he took over, the program had gone through three head coaches. Taylor emphasized Kosanovich as a key reason for the team’s recent success, explaining that the team’s win total has increased annually for the past two seasons.The season began slowly, with the Pioneers dropping two of their first three contests. These losses were by a combined eight points and they were inflicted by strong opponents, the University of Rio Grande and Fairmont State University, on the road. However, they notched back-to-back wins to improve their record to 3-2. In the contests they won, they outscored the opposition by 92 points, highlighted by an 84-48 affair with Penn State-Fayette University and a 76-45 win in their home-season opener against Geneva College. Senior guard Ashley Henderson expressed concern over the tight losses.”[To reach the playoffs] we are going to have to win more close games,” Henderson said. “Every game is very important.”Perhaps the most important game in the early stages of the season was last Tuesday’s matchup with a nationally-ranked team, No. 17 Walsh University, a team that has already dropped three of its first seven games. The home contest against a slumping team is supposed to the first big test for this year’s group, but Kosanovich was nonchalant when talking about the matchup.”It’s a game for us,” Kosanovich said. “It’s one game. You can’t put a lot on a game. We need to play every game like this.”Even though both the coach and players are shrugging it off as just another game, this contest might serve as the first indicator to see if the Pioneers are a playoff-worthy team or not. It certainly is not a game that can make or break a season, but it could be a confidence booster that could make a playoff run easier. No matter what the result of the game is, both teams will be battling Walsh again on Feb. 1.”Tomorrow’s game is very important…but we will treat it as if it is any other game,” Henderson said.Despite what happens during the game against Walsh, there are high hopes that this year could result in the Pioneer’s playoff run. Kosanovich has high hopes about what the short and long term future of the program holds.”We need to keep improving and getting winning seasons…but this year’s goal is to make the playoffs and the national tournament,” Kosanovich said.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Point Park Globe Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *