UMass Dartmouth will return with a pair of veterans in its back court as the Corsairs open the 1997-98 women's basketball season.

Fifth-year Coach Cathy Houtman has last year's back court intact with co-captain Kelly Berger (Buzzards Bay, MA) and Natarsha Silva (Brockton, MA) return for another season. Houtman will also be counting on a couple of newcomers, including two experienced transfer students, who the Corsairs are hoping to be key players.

"Our strength will be our guards," said Houtman, who's team is coming off a 4-20 season that left the Corsairs sixth in the Little East Conference (LEC). "They are both strong and quick and have experience in the back court. We will be looking for leadership from them and we will also ask them to create some offense as well."

Berger already has two years experience under her belt with the Corsairs. Last year as a sophomore, Berger moved over from shooting guard to point guard and did a very good job controlling the offense. She led the Corsairs in scoring with an average of 11.75 points per game, eighth in LEC. and was also among the conference leaders in assists with 3.4 assist per game. Berger is also a three-time LEC women's tennis champion.

"We are looking for Kelly to provide some very important veteran leadership on the court this season," said Houtman (21-74 career record). "She's a very strong outside shooter, quick and versatile, and someone who's not afraid to look for the three-point shot."

Complimenting Berger's skills at the off-guard position will be Silva. The Corsairs' quickest player on the court, Silva qualified for the NCAA Division III national championships last year in the long jump, plus both the 100- and 200-meters. Coming off a very solid freshman season, Silva finished second in steals in the LEC a year ago (3.2 per game) and 10th in assists (2.4). She was third in scoring for the Corsairs, averaging 8.75 points per game along with 4.25 rebounds from her guard spot.

"She's a very aggressive player but her strength on offense is taking the ball to the hole," Houtman said. "We hope she can develop her outside shot this year to make her even more of a threat on offense."

While Berger and Silva and co-captain Cathy Danner (Mansfield, MA) are the Corsairs' key returning veterans, they will be joined by transfer students, Kim Kelsey (Rockland, MA) and Lakoyla London (Dallas, TX). A junior transfer student from Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Kelsey was her team's top scorer and leader in several other offensive categories last year. A quick guard with a very good outside shot, Houtman is looking forward to watching Kelsey work her way into the Corsairs' lineup.

London comes to UMass Dartmouth as a senior from Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her versatility as both an off-guard or forward will be very helpful to the Corsairs. Houtman said London could end up playing at both positions because she wants to take advantage of London's quickness and rebounding skills.

Danner returns for what Houtman hopes will be an injury free season. A two-time captain, Danner missed some of last season with an injury, but still played in 18 games, averaging six points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

"She's worked very hard on her outside shot and her move to the basket," said Houtman, who will be joined by assistant coaches Carla and Kenny Johnson and volunteer assistant Patty Tomkiewicz. "She can do a lot of different things for us, including playing up front on our press to take advantage of her size and quickness."

Houtman will also be looking for a couple of players who saw limited playing time in the past to improve this season. Sarah Fortin (Hadley, MA) returns to the team after sitting out a season, while Heather Tavares (Dartmouth, MA), who suffered an early season injury, will give the Corsairs some rebounding and defensive skills.

Among the newcomers to the program this season, Houtman said she was looking for contributions from Kate Douglas (Sharon, MA) and Renee Miller (Dorchester, MA). Douglas impressed the coaches during the pre-season and was expected to see plenty of playing time as a forward. Miller will join the Corsairs in January and is expected to be a strong post player with a very effective outside shot.

Also joining the Corsairs after the pre-season will be Karyn Ferreira (Marion, MA), who played volleyball for UMass Dartmouth this season. Other players who Houtman has been keeping an eye on during pre-season practice are forward Becky Nault (Millbury, MA) and Denise Saucier (Uxbridge, MA), who was recovering from an injury as the season opened.

"We will have experience in the back court and that's a big benefit for us," Houtman said. "It will allow us to develop more flow to our offense and take advantage of our strengths on offense."

The Corsairs open their season on November 22 with a home game against powerful Southern Maine, the LEC regular season and tournament champions.

"Its going to be a tough battle for us, but we've played the best teams very tough in the past," Houtman said. "But we haven't been able to finish off those efforts. My goal this year is to finish off those games. We've got more athletes this year and I want to see us as a better conditioned team."

Five non-conference games follow in December before UMass Dartmouth returns to conference play in January.