A new season is fast approaching for the Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team.
With five freshmen joining the mix and only two returning upperclassmen, head coach
Christine Collins-Kiernan and her staff are excited to see how their young group responds to challenges during their first month on the court.
The Eagles will get their initial test with an exhibition at coach Collins-Kiernan's alma mater - Cal State Fullerton - this Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. The women's team will then begin the regular season in Carson at the CCAA/PacWest Challenge against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, Nov. 9 and against Cal State LA on Saturday, Nov. 10. Both of those games are slated to start at 4 p.m.
The first home game for the women's team is Thursday, Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m. against Cal State San Marcos. The Eagles certainly know how to protect the nest. After all, they went 9-4 last season at home.
Other key games on the schedule include a home meeting with conference foe Azusa Pacific on Wednesday, Dec. 5 and the following game will feature the rival Eagles of Biola coming to town on Saturday, Dec. 8.
Sophomore
Michaela VanderKlugt returns after being named the PacWest Conference Freshman of the Year during a remarkable first season on campus. VanderKlugt averaged more than 15 points and 8 rebounds per game and dropped a career-high 32 points in an emphatic win over Holy Names last February.
Guard
Kara Ito is the only returning senior for the Eagles. Junior
Jennie Kwok will also provide leadership after working her way back from a knee injury and sophomores
Kennedy Fulcher and
Riley Friauf will be counted on as key contributors on both ends of the floor.
The Eagles head on their Hawai'i road trip to face the three schools on the islands in mid-January. The Hawai'i trio of schools return the favor by visiting Irvine in late February as the Eagles will look to build momentum down the stretch heading into the PacWest Conference tournament. Last year, Concordia posted a 5-0 record against the schools from Hawai'i including a signature victory at Hawai'i Pacific.
The Concordia women's basketball team also received one vote in the preliminary D2SIDA West Region Preseason Poll. Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene tied for first at the top of the poll. PacWest member Azusa Pacific was picked third, Hawai'i Pacific placed sixth, and Dominican collected enough votes to tie for seventh.
The Eagles are coming off a historic season in which Collins-Kiernan and her staff directed the Green and Gold into the PacWest Conference Tournament for the first time in school history.
The 2017-2018 season marked the school's first year of eligibility for the postseason at the NCAA Division II level and also the debut of Collins-Kiernan as a head coach. The Eagles went 16-and-11 overall under her leadership and posted an impressive 13-and-7 mark in conference play.
