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<p>A lot can change in 8 months.</p><p>Just ask Wilkes and Misericordia.</p><p>It was Feb. 23 when the Cougars fell to DeSales in the MAC Freedom women&#8217;s basketball championship. Since then, Misericordia graduated five seniors, including starters Rachel Carmody and Japriya Carroll. The curveball they face comes from losing two underclassmen starters, Kalynn Sefcik and Paige Wampole, as well.</p><p>&#8220;For us, we didn&#8217;t just lose two players (Carroll and Carmody), we lost five seniors and two underclassmen starters,&#8221; Misericordia head coach Jason Rhine said. &#8220;We have 13 percent of our scoring back which is rare in college basketball. The message for our team this year is clear, show us that you can put the ball in the hoop, and you&#8217;ll have a chance to contribute.&#8221;</p><p>Misericordia will look a lot different this year, with just five players returning. Tessa Zamolyi, Erica Haefele, Jordan Barth, Emma Hayes and Nora Tracey are the only players back for Rhine and the Cougars.</p><p>&#8220;Normally there are only a few newcomers. We are the complete opposite of most teams because we have 10 newcomers and five returners,&#8221; Rhine said. &#8220;Everything we do this year will have to be someone stepping up and being asked to take on bigger/different roles.&#8221;</p><p>One of the incoming freshmen for the Cougars is Lake-Lehman graduate Madison Borum.</p><p>Despite the new faces for Misericordia, the Cougars were still picked to finish second in the MAC Freedom in the coaches poll, receiving one first-place vote.</p><p>The Colonels are also a much different team coming into this season. Two seasons ago, Wilkes had its second straight season without a conference win. Since Tara Macciocco away from Marywood to coach the Colonels, there is a different aura surrounding the team.</p><p>&#8220;We have a very young group this year which includes six freshmen,&#8221; Macciocco said. &#8220;They are all working very hard and it has helped raise the competition level.&#8221;</p><p>The Colonels posted a 4-10 conference record last season.</p><p>&#8220;We are much more athletic this year and we are much bigger,&#8221; Macciocco said. &#8220;We have seven post players that we are splitting opposed to last year splitting guards in the post.&#8221;</p><p>Wilkes returns all but two starters from last season after Gab Giordano and Ashley Caster graduated. Gianna Roberts, Maddie Kelley, Alyssa Alfano, Kenda Smith and Gabby Smicherko all played significant minutes for the Colonels last season. In addition to returning those minutes, Wilkes introduced six new freshmen to the program.</p><p>&#8220;The energy level has been outstanding,&#8221; Macciocco said. &#8220;And the returners have done a great job of keeping everybody on the same page.&#8221;</p><p>Roberts, Alfano, Sierra Smith and Amber Grohowski are the program&#8217;s four seniors on the team this season.</p><p>&#8220;Expect to see a much tougher defensive team and a stronger group on offense,&#8221; Macciocco said.</p><p>The incoming freshman class is also expected to have an impact. Macciocco has high praise for the newcomers and has high expectations.</p><p>&#8220;They are going to play significant minutes for us but with freshman you have to expect the learning curve and the ups and downs,&#8221; Macciocco said. &#8220;Brianna Horton, a freshman point guard from Verona, New Jersey, has the potential to be one of the best point guards in the league. Katelyn Kinczel, from Cleveland, and Macy Berryman from Pocono Mountain East are both shooters that will have an impact.&#8221;</p><p>Wilkes is picked to finish in last place in the MAC Freedom again.</p><p>King&#8217;s is coming into the 2019-2020 season with momentum from an appearance in the MAC Freedom playoffs. The Monarchs graduated two seniors, Alexis Steeber and Lindsey Dippre, but return Mackenzie Yori, Rebecca Prociak and Kayla Dilinger.</p><p>&#8220;The next step for us is to be more consistent in our performances throughout the year,&#8221; King&#8217;s head coach Caitlin Hadzimichalis said. &#8220;For the first time since taking over, we have seniors who have played for us for four years and using that experience on the court will be invaluable.&#8221;</p><p>Last year, the Monarchs had a &#8220;big three&#8221; consisting of Prociak, Steeber and Yori. With two of the three coming back, the Monarchs don&#8217;t expect to miss a beat. Prociak averaged 16.5 points per game to lead the Monarchs, and Yori followed with 14.9, only .1 behind Steeber for second on the team in points per game.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re really impressed with Samantha Rajza this preseason,&#8221; Hadzimichalis said. &#8220;Rajza has stepped up her leadership which makes everyone around her better on and off the court.&#8221;</p><p>Rajza started eight games last year as a freshman and finished fourth on the team in points per game with 9.3. With Dippre graduating, Rajza slots into the starting lineup.</p><p>&#8220;Rotation wise, there are a lot of minuets out there. The plan is to give whoever is ready an opportunity to step up,&#8221; Hadzimichalis said. &#8220;Some of our returning players came back to campus in the best shape they&#8217;ve ever been in. It is up to our coaching staff to put them in situations where they can be successful within our style of play.&#8221;</p><p>The Monarchs finished fourth in the conference last season and are picked to finish fourth again in the coaches poll behind DeSales, Misericordia and the newcomers Stevens.</p><p>&#8220;We have focused on having a tough strength of schedule, so the roster, especially the seniors, have logged a ton of minuets in many different scenarios during their careers,&#8221; Hadzimachalis said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Mackenzie Yori, the second leading scorer for the King&#8217;s College last season, returns for the Monarchs this season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL012419Miseri-KingsBB_6.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mackenzie Yori, the second leading scorer for the King&#8217;s College last season, returns for the Monarchs this season. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ben Mandell</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

MAC Freedom Women’s Basketball: Plenty of new faces for King’s, Wilkes, Misericordia