When the 2017-18 edition of the Madison College women's basketball team takes the floor to start the new season, it will do so looking to for a new identity. Gone is the versatile Rachel Slaney, the program's all-time leading scorer and a two-time All-American, and left is a major void of production in all statistical categories. The current version, and second year head coach Lois Heeren, is hoping a quartet of returning players and a talented crop of newcomers can do the trick.

Adding to the list of challenges will be an evolving roster of available players to start the season thanks to a trio of two-sport student-athletes. Returning starters Peyton Trapino and Megan Corcoran played women's soccer and volleyball, respectively, this fall. Both, along with women's soccer goalkeeper Brandie Gospodarek who decided to join the program, have missed significant portions of the preseason and will continue to do so as WolfPack women's soccer has qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament that runs November 9-12.

"With four returning players who have had collegiate experience, the WolfPack will be relying on the newcomers to make an immediate impact," states Heeren, who guided the team to a 20-7 record in her first season. "As with every team beginning the season, it will take some time to learn the system, playing with one another and understand how the game is played, but I am excited to see how they grow and develop throughout the season."

Corcoran and Trapino highlight the group of returning players with both looking to build upon freshman year season's that finished with second team all-conference and all-region honors. Trapino, a 5'5" point guard from DeForest, Wisconsin, averaged 12.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.4 steals in 26 games. Corcoran, a 5'10" guard/forward from Madison, Wisconsin, posted 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists over her 27 games.

Making up the rest of the returning group are guards Cheyanne Jo Udelhoven and Shakira Burks. Udelhoven, a native Fennimore, Wisconsin, was averaging 15.0 points a game and shooting 40-percent from beyond the arc before a leg injury in the season's seventh game ended her season. Burks, from Gary, Indiana, saw action in 26 games and scored a total of nine points.

"We will be looking for our returners to bring leadership, an aggressive mindset, and a championship mentality to the court," acknowledged Heeren. "We will look for them to provide our scoring both off the dribble penetration and behind the arc. They understand what it takes to compete every day and in every game, and they can help our newcomers with that."

Those newcomers are a group of eight players, five of which stand 5'8" or taller. Six-footer Melissa Grotenhuis from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin is the tallest of the group, while 5'10" guard/forward Macey Klebesadel boasts three all-conference awards and a WBCA All-Star selection. Caitlyn Gilbertson, a 5'10" forward from Belmont High School, and Jessica Kosharek, a 5'6" guard from Highland, Wisconsin, are also former all-conference players and WBCA All-Stars.

"Our newcomers are a solid group that brings a lot of versatility, size, and athleticism to the court," touts coach Heeren of her first official recruiting class. "They will blend in well with our up-tempo style of basketball. They can score in a variety of ways, have great basketball IQ, and will help the WolfPack reach new heights."

Madison College will enter the season as the #9 ranked team in the NJCAA Division III Preseason Poll. Longtime rival and defending national, region, and conference champion Rock Valley College opens as the top-ranked team in the nation. The Golden Eagles visit Madison on January 24. The WolfPack will also see #4 Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, in the season's third game on November 10.

The 2017-18 season and home opener is Wednesday, November 1 against NJCAA Division II McHenry County College. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The first North Central Community College Conference game is January 3 at Triton College.

All Madison College home games, and a majority of the away contests, will be video streamed live via MadisonCollege.TV. The free stream is also available on the Madison College Athletics Facebook and YouTube accounts.

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