When the women's basketball team takes the court this winter, two guards will lead the way for a squad with high hopes for success. Senior tri-captain Jessica Powers and junior Valerie Krah return for their fourth and third seasons, respectively, looking to provide the Jumbos with leadership both on and off the court.
Powers has been a staple in the Jumbo scheme since her freshman season in 2002-2003. She has started every game the Jumbos have played over the last three years and has led the team in minutes per game each season. Powers' consistency earned her the NESCAC rookie of the year award in 2002-03, and all-NESCAC second team honors during her sophomore season.
Powers led the 2004-05 Jumbos in time on the court, averaging 32.3 minutes per game. She also led last year's team in assists with 92, good for a 3.8 assists per game average. In starting all 24 of the team's games, Powers was third on the team in both rebounds (94) and total points (278). Her 11.2 PPG were also third behind Krah and graduated senior Allison Love, who averaged 12.2 PPG.
Since Powers first took the court for the Jumbos, the team has gone 49-23 for its best three-year record since the 1984-87 seasons.
"Jess has always been my role model; she's just always worked so hard," Krah said of her teammate. "We have great chemistry both on and off the court and I hope it's a successful year."
Krah broke out during her sophomore season as a prolific three-point shooter, coming off the Jumbo bench to tie for team scoring leader. She led the team in field goals, netting 37 out of her 95 attempts. Her average of 20.7 minutes per game in each of her 23 games helped Krah gain valuable experience and made her team-leading PPG stat all the more impressive.
"Last year I really started to work into my role on the team," Krah said. "I always try to focus on the small things because it's the small things that matter the most."
With her upperclassman status, Krah will now begin to fill a revised role on the team. Along with Powers and tri-captains Julia Verplank and Kat Miller, Krah will look to take the Jumbos to new heights this season.
"Coming into this year, there are some things I need to work on," Krah said. "I hope to take more of a leadership role onto the court. But as a team, we need to just take one game at a time. It's important to not get too far ahead of ourselves."
