The 2006-07 season promises to be an exciting and challenging one for the UD women’s basketball team, which has a strong lineup to make a run at the front-runners in the Colonial Athletic Association—perennial power and defending champion Old Dominion University and senior-laden James Madison University.

In addition to a difficult schedule within the conference, which is rated the eighth best in NCAA Division I in women’s basketball, the Fightin’ Blue Hens are playing “the toughest nonconference schedule we’ve ever had,” Head Coach Tina Martin says.

The Hens opened the season against Villanova University of the Big East Conference and followed with early season games against Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the University of Kentucky of the Southeast Conference.

They also will travel to Bowling Green State University of the Mid-America Conference on Dec. 29 before getting into the heart of the CAA schedule against Hofstra University on Jan. 4 at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Hens will face Old Dominion, which was ranked No. 18 nationally in one preseason poll, just once, with a game in Norfolk on Feb. 11. UD will play at James Madison on Jan. 25, and the Dukes will visit on Feb. 22.

As a bonus this season, UD will be the host team for the annual conference championship tournament, which for the first time will be played at the Bob Carpenter Center. The tournament is scheduled March 8-11.

“I am really excited about this year and excited that the CAA tournament will be here at Delaware,” Martin says. “It will be great for the fans, and I hope the community will rally around this event.”

The team has added three transfer players to a core lineup that finished 22-8 last season. Key returning players include senior guard Tyresa Smith, who was the CAA defensive player of the year, senior point guard Alena Koshansky, junior center Courtney Irving, junior guard Melissa Czorniewy and senior forward Chrissy Fisher.

“Tyresa is very athletic and makes a lot of things happen on the defensive end, and that spills over to help us offensively,” Martin says. “I am looking for a big senior year for her.”

At the point, Martin says Koshansky is a “solid, steady force,” who has “a calming influence on the team.” She expects that Koshansky will provide leadership to help the nucleus of the team mesh with the transfer players and freshmen.

Although Irving is slightly undersized for a center at 6-1, Martin says she plays with determination in collecting rebounds. Fisher, who is fully recovered from a serious sprain that sidelined and slowed her much of last season, will anchor the forwards. Martin says she is hopeful Czorniewy can recover from a preseason back injury to build on what was a breakout sophomore season.

The three transfer players who will join the mix this year are Kyle DeHaven, a point guard from the College of William & Mary with what Martin says is “a lot of speed and quickness,” Kristina Gineitis, a 6-2 forward from George Washington University who has an outstanding outside shot, and Jamie Mundy, a guard from Georgetown University. While at William & Mary, DeHaven was named to the CAA all-rookie and all-defensive teams.

For the Hens to be successful, Martin says she believes at least one of the team’s freshmen will have to contribute. The group includes redshirt freshman Farrah Ferguson, a 6-3 center from Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa., and Corinthia Benison of the Holderness School in New Hampshire, who enrolled last January and who Martin says “has a bright future in this program.”

True freshmen include Sha’Ron Harrison of Kennedy High School in Paterson, N.J., Brittany Bell of Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del., Ariene Jenkins of Woodbridge (Va.) High School and Ronniece Kirby of Towson (Md.) Catholic High School.

Martin says that early in any season, a basketball squad is a “work in progress.” She says she hopes to know more about the chemistry developing among the Hens about six or seven games into the campaign.

As in any season since UD joined the CAA, Old Dominion will be the gold standard. “They’re loaded,” Martin says of a team that has won 15 conference championships. “They are talented, and they are a veteran team.” Joining Old Dominion atop the CAA is James Madison, which returns five seniors and has added several strong transfers.

“Both have the most talent in either program since we joined the conference,” Martin says.