Cresson, Pa. - The Mount Aloysius women's basketball team enters the 2025-26 campaign with high expectations, as the AMCC preseason coaches' poll projects the Mounties to finish second in the conference. It's another step forward for a program that continues to rise under seventh-year head coach Brian Giesler.

Mount Aloysius is coming off its best season yet, earning the No. 3 seed in the AMCC Tournament before falling to eventual champion La Roche. With that experience and a deep returning core, the Mounties will look to contend for a championship once again.

While the team will miss the leadership and production of third-team All-AMCC selection Angelina Kohlwaies, who started every game in her first two seasons and averaged 10.4 points per game, there's plenty of optimism surrounding this year's group. The Mounties will look to emerging sophomore guards Masie Reed (Shamokin, Pa., Our Lady of Lourdes) and Mariah Hall (New Enterprise, Pa., Northern Bedford) to take on larger roles after showing flashes of promise as freshmen off the bench. Their development will be crucial to maintaining Mount Aloysius's guard play.

The heart and soul of the team remains junior forward Molly Kosmack (Homer City, Pa., Homer-Center), one of the most decorated players in program history. Kosmack is coming off a dominant season where she was named First Team All-AMCC for the second straight year and shared AMCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. Her impact extended beyond the conference, as she became the first player in Mount Aloysius women's basketball history to earn All-Region recognition, earning a spot on the D3hoops.com Third Team All-Region 7 list. Her leadership and two-way play will anchor the Mounties again this winter.

Alongside Kosmack, the Mounties return key upperclassmen who bring experience to the table. Senior Molly Richards (Naples, Fla., Naples), a Third Team All-AMCC selection who averaged 8.9 points per game, and junior Mackenzie Barr (Pittsburgh, Pa., Shaler), who added 6.4 points per contest, are both key contributors to Mount Aloysius's volleyball team that recently captured its first-ever AMCC regular season title and will host the conference tournament this weekend. 

Sophomore forward Ashlie Weaver (Schellsburg, Pa., Chestnut Ridge) also returns after appearing in 24 games last season, including eight starts, while averaging 4.2 points per game. Junior guard Annalyn Isaacs (Harmony, Pa., Mars) returns after starting all 27 games last season and is averaging 10.1 ppg through two seasons. 

Giesler's 2025 recruiting class consists of freshmen Chloe Fritch (Chicora, Pa., Karns City), Taylor Doyle (Blanchard, Pa., Central Mountain), and Haley Ross (Three Springs, Pa., Southern Huntingdon). All three are guards and will look to continue to develop and grow behind an extremely young backcourt. 

The Mounties begin their season on Friday in the Nan Nichols Classic, hosted by Wooster College. Mount Aloysius will play Wooster on Friday at 7:30 and Giesler's alma mater Grove City on Saturday at 2:00 PM.