As the summer comes to an end, it’s time again for the Women’s basketball squad to take to the court. Last season was one of the best in Loyola’s history, with a record number of wins and a trip to the national championship. Now, fresh from a quick break due to Hurricane Isaac, the team is back in the Den. While watching games this season, you may notice a few new faces on the court.

Beck Flanagan was just announced as the new assistant women’s basketball coach. He joins Head Coach Kennedy in the coaching staff as the recruiting coordinator. Of course, Flanagan is not the only new face that is joining the crew. A heard of freshmen players will now don the maroon and gold jerseys.

“It’s going well so far,” said business freshman Katie Youngblood. “Everyone’s easy to get along with. We all get along.”

While most incoming freshmen have to learn to balance classes with their social lives, the members of this team must juggle being a college freshman with being a part of a team.

“Freshmen have mandatory study halls, I know that will make it easier,” said psychology freshman Briana Oglesby. “I’m just looking forward to playing and seeing how

I can contribute to the team.” Though schoolwork and basketball may have seemed daunting at first, the new players are confident that they will be able to handle whatever is thrown at

them.

“I think I’ll do great,” said biology freshman Shayyne Charles. “I have my teammates and my coaches to motivate me. So I’ll be fine.”

These players are not new to handling athletic responsibilities. They all played for their teams during high school and joined Loyola with fair expectations. The sport may be the same, but the intensity has increased dramatically.

“It’s different in every aspect,” said Charles. “Things compared to what we’re doing now and what I was doing then are totally different.”

The team will debut later this fall and will continue training under the guidance of the coaching staff until then. The freshmen are ready to jump in and get fully accustomed to being a college athlete.

“I didn’t come in expecting for it to be easy, ” said Charles. “I knew I’d have to work. But I’m ready for it.”

Cami Thomas can be reached at [email protected]