IU Columbus sophomore transfer Abby Fleetwood drives to the basket for Spring Arbor last year.
Submitted photo
For most of the preseason practice for the inaugural season of IU Columbus women’s basketball, coach Dana Dunson has had a grand total of six players.
Several more, however, are planning to join the Crimson Pride over the next couple months, and that will give them a little bit of depth to throw at established programs.
“We can scrimmage that way, so that’s going to help out a lot,” Dunson said. “By December, we’ll probably have 14 or 15 girls. Then next year, I have six of them already committed that’s going to be coming for 2025. We’ll have a nice class for next year.”
The original six includes five freshman and one sophomore. Abby Fleetwood, who spent two years at Brown County and two years at Indian Creek, comes to IUC after playing last year at Spring Arbor (Michigan).
Fleetwood also was a cross-country and track standout in high school and had offer to run at Cincinnati.
“That was my second option,” Fleetwood said. “I didn’t get an offer for basketball until my late senior year. I considered (both running and playing basketball in college), but I don’t like running that much.”
Greenwood Christian Academy’s Sydney Waldron, left, battles Edinburgh’s Shyleigh Gobel for the ball during a game Dec. 5, 2023.
Daily Journal file photo
The freshman class includes Sydney Waldron, a Hope native who played at Greenwood Christian Academy, along with Gwen Higdon (Whiteland), Amaya Collins (Frankton), Jacelyn Starks (Anderson) and Jenna Bowers (Medora).
Whiteland’s Gwen Higdon, right, drives past Mt. Vernon’s Kaitlyn Laffey on her way to the basket during a game Oct. 31, 2023.
Daily Journal file photo
Joining those six will be six other players from other sports at IUC. Softball players Calie Beikes (sophomore, Heritage Christian), Elyse Goad (senior, Bloomington North) and Andi Burkhardt (freshman) joined the team this week.
Mallory Gilley, a sophomore from Columbus North who did not play basketball in high school, plans to join after her soccer season is finished. Cora Baker, a sophomore from South Adams, and Olivia Embry, a sophomore from Wes-Del, are planning to join after their volleyball season is over.
Two other players, former Hauser and Columbus East player Madelyn Poe and former Southwestern (Shelby) player Trinity Tatlock, will arrive in December after they finish their semesters at their current colleges.
“Regardless of what I have, I’m always putting my stakes high,” Dunson said. “I never go low, even though you have to be realistic. At the same time, every time you step on the floor, I plan to win. That doesn’t always happen, but that’s my expectation for the team.”
Dana Dunson
Dunson came to IUC from Centenary College in Louisiana.
“I wanted to take on something from the ground up and build it from the ground up,” Dunson said. “Everything right now is looking good.”
“I have three daughters, so the women’s basketball program is something that I’m deeply passionate about,” IUC athletics director Zach McClellan added. “As we were going through the interview process, the thought ran through my head, I want to make sure we have a coach that I as a father can trust if my daughters happen to be good enough to play (at IUC). And I think we nailed that. He’s someone that we as a department have come to trust a lot. He’s a calming voice. We’re thrilled to have him as a coach. There’s some real challenges going into Year 1 with any team you put together. We know that from experience, but I think having a calm leader like we have will help us get as far as we can in this process.”
The Crimson Pride open the season Tuesday at Taylor, and the first home game is Nov. 14 against Kuyper. The schedule features back-to-back road games in December at Division I opponents Morehead State and Evansville.
“Year 1 is about existence,” McClellan said. “We show up, we play, we give everything we’ve got. The AD, the coach, we should be happy with that and the public should be, too. But to go out there and see what’s out there is a great opportunity that we couldn’t pass up, and coach Dunson is afraid of no one.”
The 2024-25 IUC women’s basketball schedule:
Tuesday at Taylor, 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 2 at Spring Arbor, 3 p.m.
Nov. 5 at Union (Kentucky), 2 p.m.
Nov. 11 at St. Xavier (Illinois), 5 p.m.
Nov. 14 vs. Kuyper, 5 p.m.
Nov. 21 at Georgetown (Kentucky), 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 26 vs. Bethel, 6 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Oakland City, 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 7 at Grace Christian, 3 p.m.
Dec. 10 at IU South Bend, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Morehead State, 3 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Evansville, 11 a.m.
Jan. 4 vs. Brescia, 3 p.m.
Jan. 7 at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 11 at IU Kokomo, 3 p.m.
Jan. 14 at IU Southeast, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 vs. Alice Lloyd, 3 p.m.
Jan. 23 at Shawnee State, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 25 at Rio Grande, 3 p.m.
Jan. 30 at Midway (Kentucky), 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 at IU East, 3 p.m.
Feb. 4 at Oakland City, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 8 at West Virginia Tech, 3 p.m.
Feb. 11 at Brescia, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 15 vs. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 3 p.m.
Feb. 18 vs. IU Kokomo, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 vs. IU Southeast, 3 p.m.
