First-year head coach Bill Hyden will encounter two major
adjustments in taking over the Pitt-Bradford women’s basketball
program.

After a four-year assistant coach’s stint at the University of
Tampa, Hyden must adapt from a Division II program to a Division
III school and from the Florida sun to the Bradford snow.

“It’s cold here and there’s an adjustment recruiting to a small
town,” said Hyden, the 32-year-old Warsaw, Ind., native. “The
University of Tampa has sun, beaches nearby and a lot of nightlife,
but the schools are the same in that you’re getting a quality
education at both places.

“The biggest adjustment from Division II to Division III is
preseason conditioning,” Hyden continued. “Division II allows six
weeks of conditioning prior to the first official day of practice
and in Division III you’re not allowed to do that. Oct. 15 was the
first chance I had to look at my kids.”

Hyden must also adjust to a smaller roster that currently lists
only eight players.

“When you have a changeover at head coach there are kids, for
one reason or another, who don’t stay with the program,” Hyden
admitted. “I started with a roster of 17 the first day I walked in
the door and have only seven healthy bodies at this point.”

The returnees from last year’s 12-14 squad are 6-foot senior
center Megan Richards of Bergen, N.Y., 5-11 junior forward Taiasha
Brown of Coudersport, 5-8 junior guard/forward Amanda Williams of
Houghton, N.Y., and 5-7 sophomore guard Katie Moore of Warren.
Those four are penciled in to start along with 5-8 junior guard
Danielle Williams of Sandusky, N.Y.

Brown was First Team AMCC last year after leading the Lady
Panthers in scoring (10.0 points per game) and rebounding (7.8).
Richards averaged 7.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. Moore pitched in
with 6.8 points, and led Pitt-Bradford in assists (84) and steals
(46). Amanda Williams came off the bench to average 5.7 points and
shot 78 percent (32-for-41) from the foul line.

“Megan (Richards) continues to improve on her low post game and
I look for her to have an outstanding senior season” Hyden stated.
“Tai (Brown) is a proven go-to player and is the backbone of this
basketball team. Amanda (Williams) provides valuable leadership on
the floor and continues to improve every day. Katie (Moore) has
improved her shooting and her ability to direct our offense will be
one of our keys to success this year. Danielle (Williams) is a
tough defender and has added a long-range jumper to stretch
opposing defenses.”

Newcomers are 5-4 junior guard Marina Wesner of Roswell, Ga.,
5-6 freshman guard Tori Darling of Youngsville and 5-9 freshman
guard/forward Janelle Krisulevicz of Larksville.

“Marina (Wesner) is very quick and athletic,” Hyden noted. “Tori
(Darling) is a fierce competitor and Janelle (Krisulevicz) will be
asked to play multiple positions this year.”

The Lady Panthers will open their non-conference schedule at the
Washington & Jefferson Tournament on Nov. 17 and then travel to
South Padre Island, Texas, after Christmas.

“The schedule is pretty tough,” Hyden confessed. “We open with a
veteran Mount Union club at Washington & Jefferson. In December
we go to Texas and we’ll play Messiah College, who finished 17th in
the country last year. It’s a challenging non-conference schedule
that will get us ready for the conference.”

The Lady Panthers finished in fifth place (10-8) in the
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference last year and are ranked
sixth in this season’s preseason coaches’ poll.

“We open the AMCC at home (Nov. 29) with defending conference
champion Medaille,” Hyden said. “(Penn State) Behrend always has a
good team and the girls tell me that’s our big rival. Right now we
have to look out for every team. When you are a new coach and your
kids are learning a new system, you can’t take any team for
granted.

“The number one key to the season is to stay healthy,” Hyden
added. “The other is how quickly we pick up on the offense and
defense that I’m trying to implement. It’s not complicated, but
there’s a lot of it.”

Hyden will be aided on the bench by last year’s assistant Brian
Sansom.

“He (Sansom) has been invaluable so far this season,” Hyden
explained. “He is very energetic and brings a good knowledge of the
game of basketball.”