Two days ahead of its Friday opening round game in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament, Guilford’s women’s basketball team is having to juggle its roster.

The Quakers will be without head coach Sarah Mathews, but by the time the team returns from Salem, Va., they hope to have a new teammate, albeit one in diapers.

Sarah is pregnant. Doctors gave her a due date in March but decided it was necessary to induce the pregnancy early. She was admitted to the hospital Wednesday morning and is expected to give birth later this evening.

This will be the third child for Sarah and her husband Bryan, a volunteer assistant with Guilford’s men’s basketball team. The couple chose to learn the baby’s gender at birth. They have yet to settle on names. Despite all the uncertainty, Sarah says she’s convinced she’s ready to become a mom again. “I just can’t wait,” she says.

She’s also convinced Guilford can thrive in her absence. She says the players are happy for her and are eager to compete. “I don’t think they ever thought twice about me not being able to go because all season long we’ve talked about this group being a player-led team. Obviously you need a coach, but the players are the ones competing and they are absolutely ready,” she says.

First-year assistant coach Aaron Fernandez will coach the team. He has coached at Roanoke, Davidson and Mars Hill, where he was interim head coach in the 2018-19 season. Athletic Director Bill Foti, who coached for 29 seasons at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire, will serve as his assistant.

The Quakers lost their regular-season finale at home to Shenandoah, snapping a six-game winning streak and ending the regular season 18-6 (13-5 in the ODAC). A win would have earned the Quakers a second seed for the tournament. Instead, they dropped to fifth and will play fourth-seeded Bridgewater at 3 pm Friday.

“It was a tough loss, but I really like the way we’re playing going in,” says Sarah. “Our defense and offense are right where I want them to be. Physically I think we have the stamina to play three straight games so that won’t be a problem. We just need to take it game by game.”

Well, the players do. When the Quakers tip off Friday at 3 pm, Sara will likely be cradling the newest Quaker – a brother or sister for brothers Macson and Tyson – and watching the game from a bed.

“It’s not the way any of this was planned, but I’m ready for my baby and the players are ready to compete. That’s really all that matters.”

Guilford’s men’s team opens play in the tournament quarterfinals Thursday against Virginia Wesleyan, which handed the seventh-ranked Quakers (22-3, 13-3) their most recent loss on Feb. 10 in Virginia Beach. Coach Tom Palombo says Guilford has regrouped since the loss.

Since losing to Virginia Wesleyan, Guilford won its final two games of the regular season – home victories over Roanoke College and Bridgewater College.

"I think we've gotten better,” says Tom. “We were very connected defensively on Saturday (against Bridgewater). We executed really well and we're going to need to do that. We're gonna need that same execution Thursday because we didn't do it very well the last time we played them. I think we've improved. I think we're in a good spot going in."