2011-12 MAAC Women's Basketball Season Preview
MAAC Sports
By STEVE AMEDIO
When it comes time to make the annual preseason predictions for the upcoming season's race for the regular-season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's championship all coaches have to do is break out a well-worn rubber stamp.
Just stamp the name "Marist" atop the ballot, and move on.
In the Northeast region where change is the norm ... the leaves, the seasons ... the conference's dominant team remains constant. Death, taxes and the Marist women's basketball team.
The Red Foxes have dominated their level of play like no other basketball squad, men's or women's, in the conference's 30-year history to date, so it's hardly a surprise that the preseason poll of conference coaches have once again made Marist a unanimous pick to continue dominating in 2011-12.
The last time Marist didn't win or share the MAAC's regular-season championship was in the 2002-03 season, more than a full year before current President Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, and when gas prices were under $1.40 per gallon.
Since then, the Red Foxes have been atop the MAAC standings for eight straight seasons, sharing first place in 2003-04 and winning outright every year since.
By now, a first-place Marist finish seems as likely as a sunrise in the east.
And Marist has done more than just win regular-season crowns. It became the conference's first and, still, only team to win two NCAA tournament games in the same season (2007) and the first to win an NCAA tournament contest in successive seasons ('07 and '08), since joined by the Siena men ('08 and '09). The program added another NCAA tournament victory to its resume last season with a 74-64 victory over Iowa State, and nearly added a second-round win before Duke, a regional No. 2 seed, rallied to take a 71-66 decision.
Its eight straight regular-season crowns dwarf the next best runs of success of four straight first-place finishes of the La Salle men's teams of 1988, '89, '90 and '91 and the Siena women of 2001, '02, '03 and '04.
And, there doesn't appear to be any end in sight of the program's domination.
It's not difficult to understand why the Red Foxes are heavy favorites to reign once again. Marist (a perfect 18-0 in conference play last season and 31-3 overall), has the conference's preseason choice for Player of the Year in senior guard Corielle Yarde (11.8 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds), who had arguably her best game of the season with a 25-point, 12-rebound effort in the NCAA tournament loss to Duke.
Despite the perception that Marist is a sure-thing champion once again, the program not only needs to replace last season's MAAC Player of the Year guard Erica Allenspach, but an unexpected hole with the transfer departure of 6-foot-4 forward Kate Oliver, who would have been entering her junior year.
Still, Marist returns a potent second option to Yarde in 6-2 forward Brandy Gang (8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds last year), a second-team preseason choice. And, Oliver's role should be capably filled by Kristina Danella, a 6-1 junior small forward who transferred in from UMass, where she averaged 11.6 points and 5.6 rebounds as a sophomore in 2009-10.
And, then, there's a seemingly roster full of last season's role players ready to step up and make significant contributions. Among those are 5-10 sophomore guard Leanne Ockenden (4.1, 1.1), 5-10 sophomore guard Casey Dulin (3.5, 1.6), 6-0 sophomore forward Emma O'Connor (3.3, 1.8), and 6-2 junior forward Kelsey Beynnon (3.1, 1.1). And, then, there's seasoned veteran Kristine Best (2.6), a 5-4 senior who started at point guard as a sophomore but came off the bench last season.
As if that's not enough, the program still has head coach Brian Giorgis in place. Giorgis has capably drilled his team in team play that resulted in it ranking No. 1 nationally last season in fewest turnovers per game (11.2) and fewest points allowed per game (49.7).
Since an 8-10 MAAC record and a 13-16 overall mark in his first year with the program (2002-03), Giorgis' record has been 128-16 in conference games (which doesn't include a 23-1 record in MAAC tournament play) and a 212-49 overall ledger.
The team most likely to challenge Marist, according to the coaches' poll, is Loyola (15-3, 21-13), the conference's only team with two preseason first-team all-star selections.
Those are 5-10 junior guard Katie Sheahin and 5-10 senior guard/forward Miriam McKenzie.
Sheahin, who started her career as an off-guard, moved to the point last season with great success. She averaged 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and her 3.5 steals per game was second-best nationally. If nothing else, she established herself as the most-versatile player in the conference.
McKenzie, meanwhile, led the Greyhounds in scoring (14.0) and rebounding (7.4) and seemed to take over games in crunch time on a nightly basis.
Loyola, though, will need to find some depth. It only had five players last season that got more than 14 minutes per game, and two of those have graduated.
The third returning starter is 6-1 junior forward Alyssa Sutherland (6.1, 4.1), but the Greyhounds need to find some front-court help for her, particularly after they were outrebounded by an average of three per game last season.
The top candidate to move into the starting lineup appears to be sophomore Nneka Offodile (1.6, 3.0). Other returnees that contributed a year ago are 6-0 sophomore guard Nicole Krusen (3.2, 1.0) and 5-5 senior guard Candice Walker (1.9, 1.0 assists).
Fairfield (10-8, 17-13) has consistently been among the conference's better teams in head coach Joe Frager's previous four seasons (77-49 over that stretch), and that's not likely to change this year considering the Stags' top three scorers and seven of their top eight point-producers from a year ago are back.
Fairfield seems to have everything in place again to harbor hopes of upending Marist, and if experience and years of playing together mean anything then it should be even better than last year.
The team's strength is definitely on the perimeter with first-team preseason pick Taryn Johnson, a 5-11 senior small forward (12.8, 8.1) back after leading Fairfield in scoring and rebounding last season. There are nice perimeter players surrounding her with 5-8 junior guard Katelyn Linney (12.7, 2.4 and 76 three-pointers last season) as one of the most-effective long-range snipers in the league, and 5-6 senior guard Desiree Pina (9.9, 4.6 and 3.3 assists), a veteran presence at point guard.
Fairfield, though, needs to have a better inside game than a year ago, although Brittany MacFarlane (4.8, 6.4), a 6-1 junior forward, had a nice sophomore year. Kate Cizynski, a 6-2 sophomore forward (3.7, 2.2) was also effective as a freshman and 6-2 junior forward Laura Vetra (4.1) is a solid offensive performer.
Manhattan (13-5, 24-10) faces the same dilemma it did this time last season, the lack of a defined point guard. But, things turned out fine in 2010-11 as now third-year head coach John Olenowski gave the ball to Abby Wentworth, formerly an off-guard, and the Jaspers turned in one of the best seasons in program history and their first winning record since the 2002-03 season. The year culminated with a post-season berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational where Manhattan advanced to the semifinal round before losing to UAB.
This year? Wentworth has graduated, although everyone else of significance is returning. The Jaspers appear to have just about everything in place for the upcoming season. Everything, that is, except a point guard. That role is likely to go to junior guard Maggie Blair (5.2, 3.4 and 38 total assists last year), or, potentially, 5-8 sophomore Jazmine Jarvis, who played the position in high school but only saw 17 minutes of court time last season.
The team's top returning assist distributors, 6-1 senior Nadia Peters (6.4, 6.1, 63 assists) and 6-0 sophomore Monica Roeder (9.7, 3.4, 50 assists) are both forwards. They'll likely be two of the three front-court starters with Lindsey Loutsenhizer (9.4, 6.1), a 6-0 senior and a second-team preseason all-conference pick, anchoring the front line. Then, there's also 5-11 junior Toni-Ann Lawrence (4.5, 3.4).
If Blair starts at point guard, she'll be joined by 5-8 senior teammate Alyssa Herrington (6.8, 2.0) one of the league's top long-range bombers, in the backcourt. Another senior, swingperson Schyanne Halfkenny (3.2, 2.1) is also expected to help out either at guard or forward.
Iona (7-11, 11-20) suffered through at least one key injury contributing to the end of a five-year stretch in which it won, in order 17, 21, 20, 18 and 18 games.
The injury came to point guard Suzi Fregosi, in the Gaels' eighth game, and the team never seemed to recover. Fregosi, who had 33 assists against 19 turnovers when she went out, is healthy again and the team (which committed 558 turnovers to 338 assists in Fregosi's absence), needs her veteran poise at the point.
The team has enough returning otherwise to justify a position in the upper half of the standings, particularly with one of the more explosive conference players in 6-1 senior forward Kristina Ford (12.0, 6.2), a first-team preseason pick. She'll be joined up front by 6-3 senior center Milica Paligoric (4.8, 4.2) and 6-0 senior forward Tomica Bacic (7.6, 5.6).
Along with Fregosi in the backcourt will be Diana Hubbard (7.3, 3.7), who missed games early with an injury last season and should be 100 percent this year. The top incoming freshman is another point guard, 5-7 Damika Martinez (Orille H. Platt High School of Meriden, Conn.), who was rated by one recruiting service as one of the top 25 high school point guards nationally last season.
Canisius (6-12, 11-20) coach Terry Zeh hopes the conventional wisdom that says the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores holds true this season.
His Golden Griffins had a four-member freshmen class. And, while each of them won at least one conference Rookie of the Week award during the 2010-11 season, the overall team youth helped account for a roller-coaster of ups and downs.
As sophomores, the foursome might not yet be ready to deliver a regular-season title, but they're getting better and those aspirations might not be far off for a program that answers this trivia question: What two MAAC programs have recorded at least 14 league wins in a season within the last seven years? Marist is the obvious answer, and Canisius is the other, and a return to that level doesn't appear far off.
But, this year's team is the only one in the conference without a senior on the roster. It might mean more growing pains as the current sophomore class of 5-9 guard Jen Morabito (8.3, 2.3), 6-3 forwards Jamie Ruttle (8.9, 4.6) and Jen Lennox (4.9, 3.7) and 6-1 forward Courtney VandeBovenkamp (4.7, 4.8) matures.
What veteran leadership there is comes from 5-5 junior point guard Ashley Durham (8.7, 3.6) and 6-0 junior forward Melissa Gardner (3.0, 4.0). And, there's another highly regarded freshman coming in. Kayla Hoohuli, a 5-7 point guard (St. Mary's, Pa., High School) was named to Parade Magazine's 40-member All-America team last season after averaging 28.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.5 steals and 4.3 assists per game.
Siena (11-7, 14-16) might have been the conference's surprise team last season, finishing fourth after coaches predicted an eighth-place finish in the preseason poll. This year the preseason prognostication is for seventh place, but the Saints might be a positive surprise once again. Last year's team even provided a surprise within the season, starting 1-8 overall and, then, going 13-8 over its final 21 games.
Like Canisius, Siena will be counting on last season's six-person freshman class to mature and produce several key contributors. But, there is also considerable veteran talent in place, too.
The biggest need is to replace do-everything 6-2 center Serena Moore, who became just the 13th player in conference history to record career totals of 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 100 blocked shots. The top candidate to replace her offensive contributions is 5-11 junior forward Lily Grenci (3.8, 3.0), who has been effective when healthy.
The team's proven strength is on the perimeter with seniors 5-9 Cristina Centeno (9.5, 4.1), a second-team preseason pick; and 5-11 Maja Gerlyng (10.0, 3.0), a third-team selection. Sophomore 5-7 Ciara Stewart is likely to take over at the point with 5-9 sophomore Allison Mullings (2.2, 1.4) also getting key minutes.
Inside the Saints will need some of its youngsters to mature quickly. The most-likely candidates are sophomores 6-1 Kate Zarotney (1.4, 2.2), 6-1 Clara Sole (1.7, 0.9) and 6-1 freshman Kelsey Booth.
Saint Peter's (5-13, 6-25) might be poised to get back over the .500 mark in league play after two straight losing records, particularly if the sophomore backcourt is ready to step up this season.
The Peahens certainly have the necessary experience up front with four seniors handling the paint. Jynae Judson (13.2, 7.8), a 5-9 senior forward, is the team's best player and a preseason third-team selection. She'll get help up front from fellow seniors 6-2 Quiana Porter (3.9, 4.6), 5-9 Lauren Morris (7.4, 5.0) and the returning Adenike Oyesile (3.9, 3.6 in 2009-10). The 5-11 Oyesile is a fifth-year senior after missing last year with an injury.
And while the guards are young, there is much talent in place. The starters are likely to be 5-8 sophomore Teresa Manigrasso (7.5, 2.6), who led the team in scoring in six games; and, 5-3 Aziza May (5.2, 3.0, 3.1 assists) at the point.
Khadijah Young, a 5-2 sophomore (4.1, 1.7) provides solid back-up at the point, and Aminah Davis, a 5-5 senior (3.6, 2.0) provides a veteran presence as a capable reserve guard.
Although league coaches picked Rider (5-13, 5-25) to finish ninth, this could be the season the Broncs start turning things around. Signs of better things started showing up last season, in fact when, after a 14-game losing streak to start the season, Rider won five of its final 16 games including three of its last five.
Every player of significance returns, which if nothing else, gives the program plenty of depth, especially up front where Rider will be the tallest and deepest team in the conference.
Front-court starters are likely to be post players 6-3 senior Sarah Homan (6.6, 6.1) and 6-2 junior Caitlin Bopp (7.7, 8.6) with 5-11 sophomore MyNeshia McKenzie (8.2, 7.3) working at small forward. Bopp is the league's top returning rebounder, and McKenzie led all conference freshmen in rebounds last season. And, maybe as a preview of things to come, Homan and McKenzie each had huge games down the stretch last season. Homan had a 19-point, 20-rebound game in early February last season, while McKenzie had February games of 22 points and 12 rebounds and 19 points and 14 rebounds.
For depth there's 6-0 junior Carleigh Brown (3.3, 3.4) and 6-3 freshman Marritta Gillcrease from Perry Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh.
The Broncs should also be strong at off-guard with 5-8 junior Shereen Lightbourne (9.6, 2.6), 5-8 senior sniper Ali Heller (8.0, 58 three-pointers) and 5-6 junior Dior Brown (4.9, 3.2). Last year's team, though, had point guard issues, although 5-4 senior Alyssa Parsons returned from two major knee surgeries to play the position last year. This year one of two international players, freshmen 5-6 Manon Pellet, rated the 16th best guard in France at her age level last year, and 5-8 Kornelija Valiuskyte, a native of Lithuania who played as a senior at The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla., last season, might take over point-guard duties.
Niagara (0-18, 1-29) looked like it might be competitive early in the season and, then, it lost sophomore point guard Kayla Stroman from an already young team for the season. After picking up a win in its sixth game of 2010-11, the Purple Eagles then dropped 24 straight, although six of those came by seven points or less.
Niagara faced problems with rebounding (a conference worst 5.6 per game fewer than opponents), handling the ball (just 9.2 assists per game) and scoring (a league low of 48.3 points per game).
The return of Stroman (12.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists through eight games before she was hurt) should bring some poise to the team's ball-handling ability. Transfer Lauren Gatto, a 6-2 center who played as a freshman at Illinois-Chicago College (3.9, 2.8), should help with the rebounding. And, some team-wide improvement of last year's role players should bring about more points.
Other than Stroman, not a single returnee averaged more than 5.8 points per game last year. But the fact that two of last season's freshmen had some big games adds additional promise for a Niagara turnaround. Sophomore 5-10 guard Chanel Johnson (5.8, 3.6) led the Purple Eagles in scoring in three of their last six games, while 5-11 sophomore forward Shy Britton (5.0, 3.0), had a 16-point outburst midway through the season.
Ali Morris, a 5-8 senior guard (5.8, 3.9) joins Johnson as the top returning scorer who played a full season a year ago. Meghan Waterman (5.0, 3.2), a 5-10 senior forward and one of the conference's top defenders, and 5-11 junior Jess Flamm (5.5, 3.9), should join Gatto up front.