HEAD COACH

Melanie Balcomb, 6th season

A-10 TOURNAMENT

Defeated St. Bonaventure 76-57 in quarterfinal round
Defeated St. Joseph's 84-78 (OT) in semifinal round
Defeated George Washington 80-66 to win the A-10 Championship

NCAA TOURNAMENT

Lost to #11 Stephen F. Austin 73-72 in 1st round (East Regional)

RETURNING PLAYERS

The injury bug hit Xavier with a venegance during the off-season, but the cupboard is far from bare for the Musketeers this season. For starters, Taru Tuukkanen returns as the team's starting center. Last year, she averaged 14.5 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game to lead Xavier in both categories. She was a preseason 1st-team All-A10 selection, and she may well be a threat for A-10 Player of the Year. It is almost impossible to stop Tuukkanen in the paint at either end, although her foul shooting is a little questionable (65%) in critical situations.

Jennifer Phillips (another 1st-team preseason selection in the A-10) will man the PF slot to start the game; she will take over at center when Tuukkanen is on the bench. She is a critical part of the Xavier backcourt, and averaged 13.3 points per contest and 6.3 rebounds per game as well last season. She is a better FT shooter (78.8%), although she may be prone to foul trouble in key situations. Like Tuukkanen, you have to be careful about guarding each player in the paint; if either one gets open on a backdoor cut, it's 2 points on the spot.

The third preseason first-team conference selection for Xavier is SF Nicole Levandusky. Perhaps the A-10's best defender, she logged 100 steals on the season - a little under 3 per contest. In fact, she broke the school record for steals as a junior - the record book will completely be rewritten by season's end. She can be just as lethal on offense - she averaged 13.5 points a game and 5.1 rebounds a game. Behind the line, she shot 38.6% from the 3-point line and 71.8% from the FT line - she can score from pretty much anywhere she chooses. She may well challenge Tuukkanen for POY honors in the A-10.

One of Xavier's injuries that occurred during the offseason was a back injury to Katie Griggs that forced her to retire from collegiate basketball. In her place at SG will be Jennifer Parr, one of Xavier's captains last year and this season as well. She has seen spot duty most of her Xavier career behind players like Nikki Kremer and Amy Waugh, but now is her time to shine. She can be a good outside shooter, but taking care of the ball in critical situations will be the key for her.

The most crippling injury of all was the loss of Amy Waugh at PG after she tore her Achilles tendon during pre-season conditioning. She is out indefinitely, although she is not expected to play this season. PG Reetta Piipari will take the majority of the PG duties this season in her place. As a freshman last season, Piipari averaged 6.7 points per game and 2.4 assists per game. She had a respectable 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (74 A/60 TO) as well, although she will have to limit her turnovers this year as the starting PG. She has a great outside shot (39.1% 3-PT FG) and is a lethal foul shooter at 87.1%. For opponents, it's pick your poison regarding Piipari.

Other starters who will be called on to provide reserve minutes will be senior Erin Hall and sophomore Kristen Lowry, both of whom saw spot duty last season. As good as Xavier's starting 5 is, developing a deep bench will be critical this season.

NEWCOMERS

Xavier's recruits weren't immune from the injury bug, either. PG Charlyn Hawkins was signed in the off-season to provide point guard depth, but she tore an ACL during preseason conditioning and is also out indefinitely, although it's likely she'll redshirt. SG Allison Lipinski was expected to be the future shooting guard for this team, but she left the team and school for personal reasons in October.

Kate Kreager is likely to make an immediate impact in the frontcourt this season. As a senior in HS in Virginia, she averaged over 23 points a game, and will be looked to provide depth at the PF slot. Shavon Bell will also see some minutes in the backcourt as a defensive stopper. She will spend the majority of her time at the SG/SF spots.

Other players who add frontcourt depth to this team include freshmen F Aida Sarajilia and Colleen Yukes. Neither player may crack the rotation immediately, but will play a key role in the future after Tuukkanen, Phillips, and Levandusky all graduate after this year.

SEASON OUTLOOK

If Xavier had returned all 5 starters from last season, this team would have been a lock to repeat as A-10 Champions and get another chance to make noise in the NCAAs. Even with the injuries they've sustained, Xavier has persevered in the past and will probably continue to do so this year. This is a team that will play up-tempo, although they've proven capable of winning defensive struggles as well (i.e. their comeback win against St. Joe's in which they utilized a full-court press in the 2nd half - something they did not do last season). How this team does in close games will be critical - their 5 losses last season were by a combined total of 12 points, the biggest margin being a 6-point loss to Cincinnati in double overtime.

That said, the Muskies are probably looking at a 24-3 campaign during the regular season, including a 13-3 record in the A-10.

POSTSEASON

The pieces are there for Xavier to repeat as conference champions, although they will be tested from the get-go at home against Vanderbilt. If this team runs the table in their noncon slate, which includes games against Kentucky, CIncinnati, and Florida State, a strong conference record might pave the way for Xavier to not only return to the NCAAs, they may have a chance of hosting first and second round NCAA games in the new Cintas Center on campus this season. But for that to happen, they would almost have to run the table during the conference season, and that is almost certainly not going to happen. Last season ended in heartbreak against SFA; how will they respond this season?