How far can you go on a dream? How much mileage can you get out of a vision?

Danny Young-Uhrich bleeds Blue and Gold, and her passion and vision for what Juniata women's basketball could be has fueled the Eagles' drive toward becoming one of the top women's basketball programs in the mid-Atlantic region.

Juniata's 2011-12 campaign signaled the Eagles' arrival as a national power, as the sqaud grabbed its first ever top 10 ranking on both the D3hoops.com Top 25 Coaches Poll and USA Today/ESPN's rankings.

Although the Eagles couldn't capture a second Landmark title in the 2011-12 season, Juniata's 25-2 record heading into the NCAA Championship Tournament was enough to get them into a bracket with an at-large bid. In the first round, Juniata knocked off Castleton State in demanding fashion with an 84-57 win before losing in the second round to York College 90-81. 

The Eagles finished the 2011-12 season with a perfect 14-0 regular season conference record in the Landmark for the first time in program history, and its 26 wins also marks a prgoram best. Young-Uhrich also had her first athlete named an All-American in Ashton Bankos who was selected as a D3hoops.com All-American Honorable Mention, while also being named the Landmark's Player of the Year alongside Kate McDonald who was selected the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.

In 2010-11, the first time Juniata proved to be a regional powerhouse, the Eagles finished the season with a 22-7 record, 12-2 in the always-challenging Landmark Conference, while winning a program record 10 straight games on their home court. Along the way, Juniata knocked off 16th-ranked Saint Vincent and swept a pair of regular season games over the University of Scranton, a team Juniata had defeated just twice over 30 previous meetings dating back to 1976.

The Eagles capped the regular season by winning the first conference championship in program history. Juniata's 67-49 upending of Scranton in the Landmark Conference Tournament title game, defeating the Lady Royals for the third time that season, clinched the Eagles' third trip to the NCAA tournament, second over the last four seasons, and their first through an automatic qualifier as a conference champion.

When Juniata was tapped as a first and second round host for the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, and proceeded to handily dispatch Gallaudet University in the first round to advance to the round of 32, the Eagles sent a message that they were ready to be players on a bigger basketball stage.

Danny Young-Uhrich's dream has carried the Eagles this far, and there's no reason to suggest that even bigger prizes might be in store for the former Juniata standout who begins her tenth season on the Juniata bench this fall.

The Landmark Conference's 2011 and 2012 coach of the year, Young-Uhrich has steadily raised the expectations bar for Juniata women's basketball over recent seasons, making post-season success a regular occurrence for the Eagles. Heading into her tenth season at the helm, Young-Uhrich has a 139-103 overall record, giving her the most coaching wins in Juniata history. Under her tutelage, Juniata has made trips to either the NCAA or ECAC South Region tournaments in each of the past five seasons, and has posted a winning record in each of the past seven seasons, longest such streak in program history.

In her first nine seasons on the Juniata bench, Young-Uhrich's teams have earned 17 All-Conference awards and six D3hoops.com All-Region honors, while producing a pair of conference rookies of the year and four league players of the year.

The 2008-09 Eagles captured the first post-season championship in program history, winning the ECAC Division III South Region Championship with a 72-52 win over Wesley College (Del.). Juniata finished with an 18-11 overall record, 9-5 Landmark, and earned a berth in the Landmark Conference Tournament for the second straight year. Then-senior and current Juniata assistant coach Claudia McDowell was recognized as the Landmark's Defensive Player of the Year, and was a First team All-Landmark honoree for the second year in a row. Joining McDowell on the All-Landmark squad was Kelly Ashcraft, who was also making her second straight appearance on the league's first squad.

In 2009-10, Juniata nearly repeated its run through the ECAC Division III South Region tournament. Entering as the eighth seed, the Eagles defeated a pair of higher seeds on the road, before eventually falling in the championship game.

Young-Uhrich's 2007-08 squad reached the championship game of the Landmark Conference Tournament, and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, just the second NCAA tournament appearance in program history. The 18-10 record posted by the Eagles in 07-08 represented the second-best single season win total in program history at that time, and the most wins since the 1979-80 season.

Three players earned All-Conference honors in 2007-08, including two first-team selections, the first time in program history that Juniata women's basketball has had two first team all-conference selections in one season, and the first Juniata first-team all-conference honoree overall since 2002.

Those are amazing achievements in such a short span of time, but nothing less was expected of Young-Uhrich, who brought unquestioned commitment and resolve to the job. As a former player, assistant coach, and now head coach at her alma mater, Young-Uhrich has invested the last 14 years of her life into the Eagle women's basketball program.

Danny Young-Uhrich was named head women's basketball coach at Juniata College prior to the start of the 2003-04 academic year, following two seasons as an assistant under previous head coach Amy Buxbaum.

Young-Uhrich returned to College Hill in 2001 and served as an assistant coach for both the women's basketball and field hockey programs for two seasons, and was also a residence director on campus.

During her two years as an assistant on the Juniata bench, the Eagles posted a 21-29 overall record, and captured one Commonwealth Conference play-off berth. Young-Uhrich assisted with all aspects of the program as an assistant coach.

A native of Wrightsville, Pa., Young-Uhrich played out her scholastic career at Eastern York High School, before attending Juniata College and graduating in 2000 with a degree in Psychology.

While attending Juniata, Young-Uhrich was a four-year letter winner as a forward on the blue and gold basketball team. She finished her career ranked first in steals (299), second in blocked shots (124), third in assists (291), seventh in scoring (1,045) and ninth in rebounding (596). Young-Uhrich completed her career by earning a spot on the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth First Team.

Young-Uhrich is married to Jeremy Uhrich, and the couple recently had their first child, Finley.

Coach Young-Uhrich can be reached at youngd@juniata.edu.