Eastern women’s basketball will start this season from where it left off last year.

The Panthers were ranked tied for sixth place in the Ohio Valley Conference with Murray State and Tennessee-Martin in a preseason poll among OVC coaches and sports information directors. In the 2001-02 season, the Panthers finished with a 7-21 overall record and 6-10 in OVC play to tie Tennessee-Martin.

Head coach Linda Wunder will return all but one player from last year’s team. The Panthers lost guard Michelle Lewis to graduation. Lewis joined the Panthers in 2000 as a junior college transfer. In her senior year, Lewis set a school record for the most three-point field goals made in a season with 58.

The Panthers are a young team this year with just only seniors on the roster. Forward Kayla Bloemer and Brooke Gossett will be playing in their fourth season at Eastern.

After red-shirting her freshman year, Gossett made 27 appearances in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. While only making two starts in those two years, Gossett averaged over 16 minutes a game. Last year, Gossett continued to come off the bench to average 6.3 points per game. She also recorded a career-high 25 points against Bradley.

Bloemer started in 22 games last year averaging 4.3 points per game and pulled down 88 rebounds.

It is Eastern’s junior class that fills the bulk of the Panthers’ roster. Wunder has five juniors on her roster, including OVC pre-season first teamer Pam O’Connor.

O’Connor was an OVC second team choice last year after leading the Panthers in scoring with 18 points per game (fourth in the OVC).

The Panthers will be without O’Connor’s services until December at the earliest. O’Connor is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Wunder is pleased with the way O’Connor’s rehab is progressing.

“Pam’s doing pretty good, she is pretty much on schedule and should be able to practice by the beginning of December,” Wunder said.

Junior guard Lauren Dailey is also recovering from injury. Dailey has been nursing a sore foot that limited her playing time during the teams trip to Australia this past August.

Last season Dailey, a natural two guard, was second on the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game playing out of position at point guard. Dailey established herself as one of the best perimeter shooters in the OVC making 56 three pointers, two shy of Lewis. Dailey was forced to play point guard for the injured Ashley Kearney.

Kearney, who was expected to start at the point as a freshman, suffered a season-ending back injury after just three games. In three games she made seven steals. Kearney was granted a medical redshirt and will have four more seasons with the Panthers.

Others returning from last year’s team with considerable playing time under their belts include juniors center Allison Collins and forward Ronesha Franklin, and sophomores Rachel Karos and Sarah Riva.

Collins averaged 3.8 points per game coming off the bench in 26 games. Franklin made six starts in her second year as a Panther.

Karos saw the most playing time of the four with 605 minutes, and started in 19 games. She averaged 4.9 rebounds a game and led the team in steals with 43. Riva appeared in 25 games and made 41 percent of her field goals.

Newcomers to the team include Evansville transfer junior forward Katie Meyers and freshmen forward Lauren Sims and Mattoon native guard Megan Sparks.

However, Sims will be out with a sprained ankle to start the season and Meyers will not be eligible until she meets her transfer requirements at the end of the Fall semester.

Wunder believes that Eastern’s sixth place ranking in the OVC is pretty close to where they should be.

“It I were to look at things on paper with our injuries and everything, I think our ranking is pretty accurate,” Wunder said.

At the top of the OVC stands two-time defending OVC Tournament champion Austin Peay who received 13 first-place votes.

The Governors return three players from last year’s starting line up. Their roster includes three-time All-OVC senior guard Brooke Armistead and junior center Gerlonda Hardin, the 2002 OVC Tournament MVP.

“They’ve got a good nucleus back,” Wunder said. “They have represented the OVC in the national tournament for the last two years really well. I think the rest of us are trying to play that catch up game.”