Coming off of their 10th consecutive post-season appearance, the Raiders are focused on climbing the mountain once again. Their season will begin at the North Central Michigan College tournament at Petoskey Plastics Arena with game one on Saturday, Nov. 1 against Kirtland Community College at 1 p.m. Followed by another game on Sunday, Nov. 2 against North Central Community College at 3 p.m.
This year’s Raiders team will feature seven returning sophomores and seven freshmen from the latest recruiting class. With a balanced mix of veterans and new players, Head Coach Dave Glazier sees a group that’s going to be tenacious.
“We’re going to compete,” Glazier said. “This group just competes, and I’ve been around long enough to know that we’re going to be trouble for a lot of teams because we play so hard.”
Glazier is excited about the new freshman class, and through the first few practices he can already see the first year players fitting in well with the veteran group. Despite the new players showing their talent on the court, Glazier puts onus on his veterans to bring the younger players along as the season progresses.
“We got a couple freshmen who can play,” Glazier said. “I think they’re going to really fit in with more experienced players. This group of sophomores this year have already taken on that role of bringing them along. The way that this group carries and lifts each other up, it’s been fun to watch.”
From the players’ perspective, building team chemistry wasn’t smooth to begin with. But as they gained reps, practiced more together, and have gotten to know each other, they feel they are now on the right track heading into the season.
“It was a little rough at first but now I feel that we’re really clicking,” Freshman Guard Lydia Schilthroat said. “We’re very competitive so the more we practice and the more we get after each other, I feel that helps us grow not just as teammates but as friends.”
Being an incoming freshman can come with a lot of pressure, but Schilthroat is just looking to contribute to winning as much as she can as her first year of college basketball begins.
“I don’t really care if I score a lot or anything like that, I just want to be a good teammate,” Schilthroat said.
Along with the freshman just wanting to find their footing on a new team, Sophomore Forward Emma Picarazzi is setting her expectations high for the team.
“We want to make the national tournament,” Picarazzi said. “This is the one team I’ve been on where we can get after each other in practice and then once we hit the locker room we’re all friends.”
Picarazzi uses the word “passionate” to describe this year’s team, a term she believes fans and campus spectators alike will witness every time the team takes the floor this season.
“We all just really like to play basketball, we love it,” Picarazzi said. “There’s not one person on the team that is a weak link where they just show up and don’t want to work and do their best. Everyone shows up, goes to work and does their best everyday.”
Confidence before the season starts is paramount to getting off to a great start, especially for a team that has high hopes for a season. Freshman Guard Allison Rockburn isn’t shy in her confidence in where the team currently stands as the regular season approaches.
“We want to work on our communication, that can use some work, but overall we want a national championship,” Rockburn said. “I think we’re a very deep team at guard and in the post, so I don’t think we’ll have any disadvantages against any teams.”
