SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball team begins its 2012-13 season at 2 p.m. Sunday from Heiges Field House versus Washington Adventist and enters the game with a squad that has four returning starters from last year's group that played in the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2008.

Shippensburg was the only PSAC team that had four players average at least 11 points per game during the 2011-12 regular season. Three of those regulars are back this season – senior guards Dana Wert and Shawna Wert along with junior guard Sarah Strybuc.

Center Monae Baker, the team's leading scorer a year ago, has completed her eligibility, but SU returns starting power forward Caitlin Bamberger. The senior started a career-high 23 games last year, averaging 7.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

The Raiders once again excelled at the free-throw line, leading the PSAC and ranking fifth in Division II at season's end with a proficiency of 78.0 percent. SU was 479-of-614 from the charity stripe overall, with both Dana and Shawna Wert shooting above 83 percent as individuals.

Five of the team's eight returning players are seniors. Guards Raediah Lyles and Morgan Taylor are both redshirt juniors in terms of their athletic eligibility but are seniors academically and plan to graduate in the spring without completing their final year of eligibility.

Joining Shippensburg this season is a talented group of seven student-athletes – six freshmen and one junior transfer – who can step up and contribute to the strong base of returning players. Also new to the program this year is assistant coach Miranda Payne, a Clarion graduate and former standout at Cumberland Valley Christian School.

Kristy Trn enters her 14th season as the head women's basketball coach at her alma mater. With the inclusion of five years as the team's primary assistant, one year as a volunteer assistant and four years as a student-athlete, Trn – the winningest coach in Lady Raider basketball history – is set to embark upon her 24th season at SU in 2012-13. Jen Grassel enters her sixth season as Trn's primary assistant coach.

Overall, Shippensburg was 14-13 in 2011-12 with an 11-11 mark in Eastern Division play. Six of those losses were by five points or less, including two by just a single possession.

Looking ahead to this season, Shippensburg was picked fourth in the 2012-13 PSAC Eastern Division Preseason Coaches' Poll – matching its divisional finish of last season.

BACKCOURT

Shippensburg figures to be very stable in the backcourt this season with starters Dana Wert, Shawna Wert and Sarah Strybuc among the returning players.

Dana Wert started all 27 games last season at point guard and earned All-PSAC Eastern Division Second Team honors for her play. She has become a workhorse, having led the conference in average minutes per game last season (35.9) while scoring a career-high 300 points (including 44 three-pointers) and leading the team with 110 assists. Her 84.7 percent accuracy from the free-throw line ranked third in the PSAC and 32nd in Division II.

Shawna Wert started all 27 games last season at shooting guard. She was right behind her sister in terms of average minutes played per game, ranking second in the PSAC with 35.8 minutes per contest. During that time she was third on the team and 30th in the league in scoring, contributing 11.5 points per game. Shawna shot 83.1 percent from the free-throw line and was second on the team with 82 assists.

One of the important intangibles of Dana and Shawna's play is their decision-making. Dana's 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio last season ranked sixth in the PSAC, while Shawna's 1.0 ratio was 15th-best in the league.

Sarah Strybuc stepped up as a valuable scorer for the Raiders last season, contributing six or more points in all 25 of her games played. She particularly thrived with a team-best 60 three-pointers. Overall, Strybuc averaged 11.6 points per game – 28th-best in the PSAC – while shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc. Sarah is also an active defender, having led the team a year ago with 45 steals. Her emergence as a confident shooter stabilized the team's offensive production.

Raediah Lyles has also shown the ability to be a strong defender for the Raiders, having appeared in 25 of the team's 27 games last year and making three starts. Lyles averaged 12 minutes per contest and contributed at least one point in 16 games.

Morgan Taylor was able to play in all 27 games last season as a guard off the bench – showcasing a recovery from injuries that limited her playing time during her first two seasons. Taylor averaged 11 minutes per game a season ago and has shown the ability to run the point and provide valuable defense in matchup situations.

Sophomores Jen Kalinowski and Samantha Damiano are looking to expand their roles this season after receiving some playing time off the bench during their rookie seasons.

Three freshmen join the ranks this season. Caitlyn Deeter averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game as a senior at North Schuylkill, where she was the Standard Speaker Player of the Year.

Alex Gildea was an Altoona Mirror First Team Pick for her play at Hollidaysburg High School, where she averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game.

Kasey Long averaged 18 points per game as a senior at Line Mountain High School and was selected as the MVP of the Tri-Valley League after leading the conference in scoring and steals.

FRONTCOURT

With both Baker and Lindsay Howard having completed their eligibility, Shippensburg will call upon the team's lone returning frontcourt player – Caitlin Bamberger – to help compliment a talented and motivated group of newcomers who are competing for regular playing time.

Bamberger fought through previous injuries to appear in 25 games for the Raiders last year, averaging a productive 7.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Her presence as a rebounder is one of her most important characteristics, as she was one of the PSAC's Top 20 in the category last season. Caitlin averaged 25 minutes per game last year and scored in double figures 11 times – including two double-doubles. She scored at least one point in 23 games.

Four newcomers hope to bolster the forward ranks.

Lauren Barnett is a junior transfer from Queens (N.C.), where she played in 24 games over the course of two seasons. Barnett is a native of Virginia who has the ability to be a solid defender and rebounder for the Raiders.

Stephanie Knauer is among the candidates to earn regular playing time at center this season. She scored over 1,200 points over the course of a four-year varsity career at North Penn High School. Knauer was an All-State honoree who was also named the SOL Continental Conference Player of the Year as a junior.

Mariah Traywick was an All-PAC-10 First Team player for Spring-Ford High School who averaged 11 points per game for the Rams.

Shaniece Jackson can play guard or forward. The Englewood, N.J. native was a three-year varsity player at Emmaus High School.

SCHEDULE

After Sunday's game, SU will take on Davis & Elkins and West Liberty in the annual Wolf's Bus Lines Classic next weekend.

Another fascinating wrinkle this season is that the women's basketball team will get to travel to Hawaii for a pair of games, and will do so over the Thanksgiving holiday. SU will play on Thanksgiving Day, Thurs., Nov. 22 against BYU-Hawaii, before taking on Hawaii-Hilo a day later.

The last SU team to play in Hawaii was the 2004-05 men's basketball squad. The Raiders played on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday in 2004 against Hillsdale, Seattle Pacific and Hawaii-Hilo.

Beginning Dec. 1, all 23 of Shippensburg's remaining games will be PSAC contests. For the second consecutive season, SU will play each Western Division opponent at least once and all crossover matchups will again count in the standings. Therefore, 22 of the team's 27 contests this season will be considered “conference” games.

Due to scheduling adjustments, Shippensburg will host PSAC Eastern Division rival Kutztown on Dec. 8. Its next game against an Eastern Division school will not happen again until Jan. 16 at Bloomsburg.

The mandated PSAC crossover schedule affords Shippensburg the opportunity to host four consecutive games after the Kutztown clash, as Mercyhurst and Gannon come calling on Dec. 18 and 19 before Edinboro and Slippery Rock arrive on Jan. 4 and 5.

It leads to a brutally tough three-game stretch in mid-January, as SU will have to handle back-to-back road games at IUP and California before re-booting PSAC East play at Bloomsburg. Shippensburg's final home game of the regular season will be Feb. 23 against Cheyney while the last road game is Feb. 27 at Millersville.

Shippensburg is in its fifth season as a member of the PSAC Eastern Division after spending 21 seasons in the PSAC West. Since joining the Western Division prior to the 1987-88 season, the Lady Raiders won six PSAC West titles, the most of any current Western Division team.