BEREA, OHIO -- There's an old adage in coaching. "If you're good enough to start, you're old enough to start." That is certainly the case for the 2009-10 Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team, as the Yellow Jacket's starting point guard this year is a freshman, Rachel Rossman.

"We anticipated starting a freshman point guard this year with what we had coming back," said veteran BW Head Coach Cheri Harrer. "We weren't reluctant to start a freshman. We've done it before in the past and had some very good teams with freshmen point guards. We knew Rachel was special coming in and once she earned the starting role, we knew she would do a great job."

The point guard is more or less like the quarterback of the team and sets the tone for the entire team on both ends of the court, something Rossman enjoys about the position.

"The point guard is the floor leader and needs to take care of the ball," said Harrer, who enters the game as the second winningest women's basketball coach in OAC history with 407 wins. "If you don't have a good point guard, you won't be successful as a team."

Rossman, a graduate of nearby Olmsted Falls High School, has started all 15 games this year for the Yellow Jackets. She leads the team with 40 assists and is scoring 2.9 points and grabbing 2.4 rebounds per game. She also shoots 81.8 percent from the charity stripe in 21.9 minutes per game.

"Rachel is an excellent ball-handler and a good passer. She understands the game well and the role of the point guard," noted Harrer. "She plays defense, does a good job of getting the team into the offense and knows when to score and when to pass."

In high school, Rossman earned four varsity letters in basketball, twice earning All-Southwestern Conference accolades.  She helped the Bulldogs to an SWC title as a junior and a Division I District Runner-up finish and 18-5 overall record as a senior.  She credits her high school coach, Matthew Fulton, for realizing her potential and pushing her to get better in every aspect of her game.

"We knew early on we wanted to recruit Rachel and we were fortunate she committed early during her senior season," said Harrer. "We knew she had the ability to come in and compete for a starting job right away."

Rossman said she originally wanted to go somewhere far away for college, but BW's past success in women's basketball and opening for a point guard this year were some of the reasons why she ended up staying close to home and choosing the Yellow Jackets.

"Coming into this year, I expected to have a role on the team, not necessarily start, because I knew I could help the team as freshman," said Rossman. "The coaches told me I had the ability to start, and they've put a lot faith in me and expected a lot."

"We're really close," said Rachel. "So getting a chance to see her at least twice a year is special, even if it's when we're playing them."

Now that the season is well underway, Rossman said that her personal goals have changed.

"My role is to get the ball to people in the right position so they can score, but I now realize I need to be more of a shooter and scoring threat and not just a passer, so defenses can't ignore me on offense," said Rossman.  "Also, I'm trying to be more talkative and help lead the team."

Harrer agrees.

"Rachel is more comfortable now," said the coach. "We've asked her to score more and she can score. Rachel struggled with turnovers at one point because she wasn't being aggressive enough. She's better when she attacks and isn't timid. We need her to be aggressive, yet poised at the same time and that's a tough line to draw."

Rossman, who is currently undecided on an academic major, said there was an adjustment period getting assimilated into Harrer's system, which goes 11-to-12 women deep and players are subbed for one another every 3-to-4 minutes.

"In high school, I played the whole game, so I sometimes saved myself for the end of the game,"noted Rossman. "But here, its [the system] allowed me to play my hardest at all times and I feel like my defense has definitely improved."

In addition to getting accustomed to the various strengths and playing styles of her new teammates, Rossman said she also had to adjust to playing with intensity on every possession, especially on the defensive end of the court.

"Here every single play matters and each point counts," said Rossman. "A mistake shows in college, where it might not have in high school. If you let up just one play on defense, the other team will score on you."

Harrer says that in the future she will look for Rossman to be more of leader on the floor and provide the intangibles at the point guard position necessary for the team's overall success.

"Right now our priority for Rachel is learning the intensity and making sure we're both on the same page," said Harrer.

Playing point guard, Harrer says that when Rossman competes and fights on every possession, especially on the defensive end, her energy spreads to the rest of the team and good things happen.  Harrer summed her thoughts on Rossman.

"When Rachel is intense and focused she's as good as anyone in the OAC," said Harrer. "We're glad she's a Yellow Jacket."

Looks like fans in Berea will have a lot to look forward to over the next three plus years.