Thunder Look to Lay Foundation
The Thunder women's basketball team is looking to bounce back in 2024-25 as they open up their season this weekend as they travel to Moberly, Missouri to play the Free Lutheran Bible College Conquerors on Friday, November 1st at 5:00 PM and the Grace Christian University Tigers on Saturday, November 2nd at 1:00 PM. Both games will be held at Ferneau Center on the campus of Central Christian College of the Bible. With a new head coach leading the way, the Thunder are looking to lay the foundation for this program this season. The Thunder did not complete their season in 2023-24, but did play 12 games of which seven counted towards their record.
The Thunder do return three players from last season's roster. Led by senior, Karlee Wahlmeier, the Thunder will use her experience to lead this young team. Wahlmeier, a 5'11 forward from Concordia, Kansas, averaged 4.0 points on 62.5% shooting from the field, to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks last season. Redshirt freshman, Madison Ellis is another returner for the Thunder who averaged 1.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and hit 100.0% of her free throws in 2023-24. The final returner for the Thunder is redshirt freshman, Maritza Yescas who averaged 3.0 points on 33.3% shooting from the 3-point line, to go along with 5.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.9 steals.
The five other players for the Thunder are all newcomers with one being a transfer and the other four being true freshman. Junior, Nekayla Williams, a transfer from Dallas College-Cedar Valley, will also bring college playing experience to the team like Wahlmeier and Ellis. Williams averaged 4.8 points on 37.8% shooting from the field, to go along with 6.0 rebounds for the Suns. The true freshman for the Thunder are Macayla Hines, Ca'Mya Burns, Elayna Wegner, and Kaedynce Hixon.
First year head coach Dalton Miller had this to say about his team on the eve of their season, "This is an exciting moment for Manhattan Christian College women's basketball. This group has come together with commitment and resilience, and they've done everything asked of them since arriving on campus in August. This is a very competitive group that pushes one another and continuously builds each other up. I couldn't be more proud of the foundation we're building together. We are all eager to take the floor and compete."
After their two neutral site games, the Thunder will have their home opener against the Southwestern Adventist University Knights. Like the men, the women's MCCC opener will be at home against the Emmaus Bible College Eagles on December 6th. The Thunder have three non-conference and non-region home-and-home games set with Union Adventist, Randall, and Ecclesia to boost their schedule.
The MCCC Women's Tournament will be hosted by Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, Kansas from February 20th-22nd. The NCCAA Central Region Women's Tournament will be hosted by the highest seed in each individual game. These games will be held during the week of February 24th-March 1st. The NCCAA National Tournament will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota from March 13th-15th where North Central University will be the women's site.
Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's and Women's Basketball news on our social media pages!
Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics
Twitter: @mccathletics & @wbasketballmcc
Instagram: @mccathletics & @mcc_wb