Louis L’Amour’s thoughts could not be more apropos to the 2007-08 Brevard College women’s basketball team. Playing in their first season in the South Atlantic Conference, the Tornado women will continue the building process as they hope to eventually establish themselves as one of the premier programs in Division II.

Bill Wilson, head coach of the Tornados’, is in his third season at Brevard and accepts the challenge. "The players and I love the challenge of building this program and we like to recruit young women who have the same unique qualities that it takes to build a strong foundation."

Each year all teams across the country are faced with specific challenges and this season’s venture into the SAC will be no exception for the Tornados. "At some point we have to stop treading water and start swimming for shore; this season presents a great challenge in that some days we will be swimming for shore because we desire to be on dry land and other days we will be swimming to shore because we are being chased by sharks; either way we will be swimming!" continued Wilson.

Swimming to shore for the Tornado women this season will be a good mix of senior experience and youthful enthusiasm. The Tornados will be lead by 1,000 point scorer Holly Krogman. Krogman, a senior from Hickory, N.C. led the Tornados averaging 15.1 points per game and was named to the All-Independents Collegiate Athletic Association Division II First Team last season for her efforts. "I can’t say enough about Holly and how hard she works every single minute of practice and games," Wilson stated.

Brevard will also be paced by seniors Courtney Brandon from Corona, C.A. and local Jessica Whitmire from neighboring Rosman, N.C. "Courtney has been so loyal to me and our system (she followed Wilson to Brevard from Iowa) and her experience and leadership has helped everyone adjust to our style of play." Wilson also added, "I have so much respect for Jess in that she plays two sports (volleyball) at this level and it takes a great deal of commitment."

Along with the three seniors, the Tornados will return four sophomores who gained a great deal of playing experience as freshmen last season. Anchoring the sophomore class is Samantha Winn from Candler, N.C. Winn led the Tornados in rebounding last season and was second in scoring. Winn was named to the All-ICAA Division II Second Team and All-Freshman Team. "Sam has the ability to play anywhere on the floor and with a year of experience under her belt she should really be able to take advantage of the opportunities that our offense presents," commented Wilson. Millie Wharton from Brisbane, Australia averaged 15 minutes per game last season. "Millie has worked very hard over the summer and in our pre-season and I am expecting great things from her this season. I consider her one of our best defenders." Lindsay Thrift from Asheboro, N.C. missed the first eight games last season with a foot injury, but recovered to average 15 minutes per game. "Lindsay understands the game and she has great shooting range. She should be a major contributor this season," Wilson added. Sara Elmore from Lincolnton, N.C. saw action in 17 games last season. "Sara has worked hard on her ball handling and shooting and I expect her to surprise a lot of people this year," Wilson stated.

There are six new faces this year for the Brevard Women: transfer Kallie Huff, a 5’8" junior guard from Jefferson Community College in Missouri; Liz Hoppes, a 5’9" freshman guard from Kokomo, Indiana; Amber Roberts, a 5’7" freshman guard from Fairview, N.C.; Amanda Whitaker, a 5’10" freshman forward from Fairview, N.C.; Kelsey Sill, a 6’1" forward from Raleigh, N.C.; and transfer Shebi Leburu, a 5’6" junior guard from Howard University. "We are very excited about the additions to our program. They have all worked hard in the pre-season and we are expecting major contributions from each of them," stated Wilson. "I have always believed in playing the very best players in each game that will give us a chance to win. For me this has always included freshmen and incoming players. Playing freshmen may have contributed to a few more grey hairs for me, but it has always made a big difference when building a program to compete for future championships." Wilson added, "While we might dream of big things for our program in the future, we must focus on the moment to get there."