QUNICY, Ill. – The Winona State University women's basketball team officially begins its 2018-19 campaign with a pair of games at the Quincy Subway Classic this weekend. The Warriors tip off against the host Quincy Hawks on Friday at 7 p.m. and take on Truman State University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Warriors lost their opening exhibition game at Iowa State earlier this month and defeated Saint Mary's at home in an exhibition.
Winona State is coming off a 17-13 (10-12 NSIC) season in 2017-18 and has been picked to finish seventh overall, and fourth in the South Division in this year's NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Warriors recorded at least 17 wins and finished over .500 for the fourth consecutive season a year ago.
WSU returns two of its top three scorers from last season in Allie Pickrain (12.8 ppg) and Gabie Doud (10.6 ppg). Pickrain was the 2017-18 NSIC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference and ranking 13th in the country in three-point shooting (43%). Pickrain also ranked eighth in the NSIC in assists/game (3.0). Doud came on strong last year after returning from injury and shot 42.7 percent from downtown. She netted a career-best 27 points on February 2nd vs. MSU Moorhead.
Seniors Kayla Schaefer and Rachel Novotny will lead a relatively young team on the court this season. Schaefer (7.4 ppg) and Novotny (7.3 ppg) each had career years offensively for the Warriors in 2017-18. Sophomores Emily Kieck appeared in all 30 games last season and fellow second-year player Julia Silloway played in 25 games while starting nine.
Freshmen Jenna Bruss, Jennah Johnson and Sydney Lodermeier are each expected to see significant action over the course of their rookie seasons.
Scouting Quincy
The Hawks are off to an 0-2 start this year after dropping games to Ohio Dominican and Cedarville University last week. Maddie Spagnola led Quincy offensively in both contests, averaging 20 ppg.
Spagnola, a sophomore, averaged 5.6 ppg as a freshman last year while appearing in all 27 games and making 11 starts. Quincy lost its three top scorers from last season's team in which the Hawks went 8-19.
Quincy averaged 64.7 ppg a year ago, shot just 39.2 percent from the field and 36 percent from downtown.
Scouting Truman State
The Bulldogs are out to a 3-0 start this season and will take on Wayne State College at the Subway Classic prior to Saturday's contest with Winona State. Truman State went 15-11 a year ago.
Truman State is averaging 71.3 ppg over its first three tilts. The Bulldogs are shooting 43.2 percent from the field, but only 28.4 percent from beyond the arc. Four Bulldogs are averaging at least 10 ppg this year with Sloane Totta, Katie Jaseckas and Maddie Re each averaging 10.3 ppg. Re is averaging a double-double with 10.7 rebounds/game.
