'99-00 SCHEDULE

Dec. 3 -- Laurel       6 -- Mohawk       9 -- at Slippery Rock       13 -- at Hickory       16 -- at Portersville Christian       20 -- Sharon       28 -- Linesville Christmas Tournament       29 -- Linesville Christmas Tournament       30 -- Linesville Christmas Tournament Jan. 3 -- at Grove City       6 -- Slippery Rock       10 -- Hickory       13 -- at Hickory       17 -- Grove City       20 -- at Kennedy Christian       24 -- Greenville       27 -- at Sharpsville       29 -- West Middlesex       31 -- at Mercer Feb. 3 -- Reynolds       7 -- Kennedy Christian       10 -- at Greenville       14 -- Sharpsville       17 -- Mercer       21 -- at Reynolds.

By The Herald Sports Staff

For Wilmington, 1998-99 was virtually a tale of two seasons.

Over the first 13 games, the Lady Greyhounds could muster only four victories, but that perhaps was due in part to a difficult non-league schedule that included one contest with Sharon and Warren JFK, and two each with Class AAA stalwarts Hickory, Grove City and Slippery Rock.

It might have been that difficult schedule, however, that prepared Wilmington for its final dozen games, of which the Lady Hounds won nine to finish the year a respectable 13-12.

Included in that record was an 8-2 mark in MCAC-AA play and a berth in the District 10 playoffs where Wilmington was eliminated by eventual state runner-up Girard in the first round.

"We were excited about our finish last year," said Lady Greyhounds coach Erin Borowicz. "Unfortunately, we drew Girard in the first round. But (that finish) got us back in the playoffs and that's where we wanted to be. And we're already setting our goals this year on reaching the playoffs again."

That might prove a bit more difficult this season, however, as gone from last year's team are leading scorer Inge Jorgensen (486 points), as well as Becky Baumgartner (171) and Amy Kaufman (160), the squad's third- and fourth-leading scorers.

"That's about 50 to 60 percent of our offense," Borowicz said. "And everyone talks about Inge, but Amy and Becky were two tremendous guards. Right now we have sophomores playing there and we're finding that to be a very difficult area to fill. But some of the younger kids are stepping up and saying, Œit's our turn.' It's going to take more teamwork to fill in the spots this year. It'll be more of a group effort."

Borowicz (24-24), entering her third year at the helm, does have one big building block returning in the form of 5-10 senior frontliner Janelle Whiting, who was good for a double-double almost every night out. She finished the year with 285 points and also is nearing 1,000 rebounds for her career, which is a school record.

"We're really focusing on her as a rebounder and to provide a lot of the offense as well, and to be a team leader," Borowicz said of Whiting. "And we feel she's going to do that for us and that will get us going in the right direction."

Also hoping to get Wilmington pointed in the right direction is 5-5 junior guard Abby Anderson, the only other returning starter.

Other returning letterwinners, all seniors, are: 6-0 center Martha McGrath, 5-7 forward Julie Wilson and 5-6 guard Jodi Peterson.

Borowicz said the starting lineup should look like this: 5-6 sophomore Laurie Schneider at the point, Anderson or 5-8 sophomore Jessica Reiber at the two-guard, Peterson at the three-guard, Whiting at forward and McGrath in the post.

Whiting and McGrath should provide a fairly imposing front line, Borowicz concurred.

"I feel our strongest point right now is our post play," she said. "With Janelle, and our younger players have really come along, our inside game is looking impressive."

As strong as the inside game looks for the Lady Hounds, Borowicz is conversely concerned about the outside game.

"Our weakness is our inexperience at the guards," Borowicz said. "They're not bad players, they're just inexperienced."

Others expected to dress varsity are: juniors -- 5-5 guard Val Roman, 5-7 forward Tanya White and 5-4 guard Tedra Stiffler; and sophomores -- 5-9 center Jamie Thomas, 5-2 guard Lindsay McKean, 5-2 guard Teresa Bartos and 5-9 forward Lisa Telesz.

Cathy McCommons serves as junior varsity coach, while Becky Rosengarth guides the junior high program.

As for the league outlook, Borowicz expects a real dogfight.

"I think AA is going to be the most competitive that it's been in quite some time," she said. "All teams have a chance for the No. 1 or No. 2 seed (for the playoffs). I don't see any weak teams, so it should be quite a struggle."