Small Town Division III Women’s Basketball Team on Revenge Tour

DELEWARE, OH- A 33-minute drive from The Ohio State University, Ohio Wesleyan University is
often overlooked. The division III women’s basketball team is making noise in the small town of
Delaware, OH. The Battling Bishops went 21-7 last year, producing their best season since 2000.
They were named to D3hoops.com All-Region Team after reaching the championship game of
the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.

The Bishops are on a revenge tour.

“We know we aren’t going to be the same team as last year” junior point guard, Elizabeth
Homan, told us.

Head Coach, Stacey Ungashick Lobdell, meets with her team during a timeout

The team will miss graduates, Cierra Joiner and Molly Delaney, on the court this season. The
two combined for 683 points. Joiner led the NCAC in field goals (197), offensive rebounds (89)
and points (453). Additionally, she won several accolades such as third-team all-region honors
from D3hoops.com and first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference. Delaney led the team in
assists with 96, second in steals (43) and put up 21 threes.

Junior guard, Lauren Denison, knows that “Molly and Cierra played a vital role on our team. It’s
not possible to replace them but we can continue on, grow and be great in different ways than
we were last year.”

The absence of the two will be a concern for this year’s squad in addition to how young they
are with just four juniors and a combined 18 sophomores and freshmen suiting up. Sophomore
post, Karlee Ross, assured that the age of the team is not an obstacle to attain their goals, “yes,
we’re young but we have people with experience, and we’ve been using our experience to build
off of what we did last year.”

Fortunately, there are 12 members from the 2021-22 team returning, all who are grinding to
get back to where they were last year.

“Losing in overtime in the championship game [last season], is driving a lot of our practices and
force. We are using that as momentum into this season to bring the freshman along and get
them on the same level of competitive excellence that we are striving for” junior guard, Lauren
Denison told us.

Junior guard, Lauren Denison, faces off against Oberlin

The Bishops can expect Denison, Homan and Ross to help lead the team and fill the shoes of
Joiner and Delaney. The three combined for 457 total points in the 2021-22 season. Denison
has started in every game and was named Great Lakes Region Rookie of the Year in 2020-21 as
well as won honorable mention All-North Coast Athletic Conference for 2021-22. Accounting for
86 assists last season, Homan will be a key asset to getting the offense flowing as well as a vocal
leader on and off the court. As one of two freshmen to play in all 28 games last season, Ross
knows the style of the Bishops play and will be detrimental to opponents. Additional help will
come from junior guard, Kasey Schipfer, who averaged 13.4 ppg and 7.1 rebounds as well as
named to second-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference

Coach Stacey Ungashick Lobdell is going on her 12th season as head coach of the women’s team
and is looking to generate another great season. From 2015 to 2021, the program went 52-90
overall, including going 1-24 during the 2017-2018 season. What changed within the Bishop’s
program to generate their best season in 21 years? A change in culture.

The past couple of years, the team struggled to be on the same page. Rather than a battle
against opponents, it was a battle of playing time. Many were there for the wrong reason and
had an individualized outlook rather than a “for the team” mindset.

“We wanted a full culture change, for all the bad negativity and energy to get out. By the end of
the [2020-2021] season, there were ten people on the team. We wanted the right people to be
here” Homan told us.

There are three words that Coach Lobdell has preached to the team: practice, promote, and
permit. You practice and promote the culture and don’t permit anything that strays away from
what that is. She is the backbone of the team and the driving force behind the Bishops culture.
The right people are in the right place for the right reason all thanks to Coach Lobdell.

Ohio Wesleyan at DePauw

“She recruited us not only based on our basketball skills, but who we are as people” Homan
added.

People are what Coach Lobdell sees her team as, not just players. During the preseason, they
do weekly mental trainings to build their mental toughness as well as their mental awareness.
Coach Lobdell is aware of the rising mental health issues in collegiate athletes and is balancing
the importance of mental health and physical health.

Not only are the Bishops minds and skills sharp for the upcoming season, but so are their
relationships.
“Our team chemistry is great even with the eight freshman that did come in, everything clicked
right away because everyone here is for the same reason which is to get better and win a
championship. When everyone has that like-mindedness, it’s easy to mesh well because we are
all on the same page and know what is expected.” Denison explained.

The women’s basketball team is known as their own sorority on campus. They are always with
each other whether that is before practice, after practice, lunch, dinner, and on the weekends.

“There is always going to be a group of us together” Homan assured.

Team bonding before going back to school (Instagram: @owu_wbb)

Everything is set in place for Coach Lobdell and her Bishops to produce another outstanding
season.

While this team isn’t the same as last year, they are expecting those same results, if not better.
The Bishops will face some pretty tough opponents this season including matchups against two
division III top 25 teams; reigning division III national champion, Hope (1) and two conference
battles with DePauw (24).

Ohio Wesleyan is expected to finish third in the conference according to the North Coast
Athletic Conference 2022 Women’s Basketball Poll. Voting is from the league’s coaches.
Defending NCAC champions, DePauw, are expected to be back on top, receiving six out of eight
first place points followed by Oberlin with the two remaining votes.

“We have something to prove” Denison declared.

The season will kick off on Friday, Nov. 11 against Albion in the Fred Razik Memorial
Tournament in Wilmington, OH.