Women's Basketball Sees The Big Picture In 2008-09
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEES THE BIG PICTURE IN 2008-09
CHICOPEE, MA, Nov. 11, 2008 - Although many of the names on the 2008-09 Elms College women's basketball roster are new, there is also an ironic sense of familiarity for those players.
"We have a lot of local players who have competed against each other on the high school and AAU levels for awhile now," seventh-year head coach Laura Habacker said of her team, which has nine newcomers on its 13-player roster.
Although lacking overall collegiate experience, Coach Habacker noted the Blazers should be solid for one key reason - their unselfishness.
"Our team chemistry has been excellent," she pointed out. "We have ‘big picture' players who will do whatever is needed to help us succeed."
FRONTCOURT
The Blazers have decent size and proven experience in the frontcourt with the return of 5-7 senior Paige Schneider (Windsor, CT), 5-9 senior Shauna Sullivan (Chicopee, MA) and 5-10 junior post player Amanda Brogna (Oxford, MA).
The three combined for 21.4 points and 17.1 rebounds per game a year ago.
Schneider, who has started 71 of her 76 career games for the Blazers, averaged 6.6 points and 4.9 rebounds last season.
"Paige has really stepped up for us in preseason," Coach Habacker said of Schneider, the team's only returning player to start in all 26 games last season.
Sullivan started in 21 games and averaged 27.2 minutes per game - both career-highs, while Brogna averaged a team-leading 10.2 points and 9.0 rebounds to rank among the North Atlantic Conference's (NAC) top 15 in both categories.
Five-foot-eight junior Erin Hutchinson (Groton, MA), appeared in 22 games off the bench last season and should give the Blazers another solid option up front.
"Erin came into preseason in very good shape," Coach Habacker said. "You can tell she worked very hard in the off-season to make herself a better player."
Five-foot-10 freshman Maryanne Overmyer (Mattapoisett, MA) will also bring additional size into the frontcourt this season.
BACKCOURT
With no returnees in the backcourt, guard play is the biggest unknown for the Blazers in 2008-09.
The Blazers, though, have a solid one-two punch in 5-9 junior Tomie Lafond (Hatfield, MA) and 5-8 junior Jessica Jurkowski (Belchertown, MA) - both transfers from Holyoke Community College (HCC).
"Tomie and Jess had great postseason experiences at HCC last season," Coach Habacker said.
Freshman Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, MA) is expected to get the nod at the point following the graduation of Michelle Fernandes.
"Carolyn is a true point guard that can handle the ball and score," Coach Habacker explained. "She comes from a high school program (Minnechaug Regional) that has a history of producing fundamentally sound players."
The Blazers boast a pair of other local freshman guards in Misty Kology (Ludlow, MA) - a two-time Second Team All-Western Massachusetts selection - and Christina Korney (Feeding Hills, MA).
Freshmen guards Brooke Miller (West Warwick, RI), Katie Condon (Sandy Hook, CT) and Erica Griffo (Solvay, NY) will also vie for playing time as well this season.
SCHEDULE
Home sweet home. The Blazers will look to take advantage of a friendly early-season schedule that features five straight home games to begin the year.
Elms College begins its season with non-conference home contests against Westfield State (season opener on Nov. 15) and WNEC (Nov. 18) before hosting Johnson State in the first round of the Blazer Tip-Off Tournament on November 21. The team will then host either Hartwick or MCLA in the second round the next day.
The Blazers then conclude the season-opening homestand against Smith on November 25 before hitting the road for tough road games at Mount Holyoke (Dec. 2), Nichols (Dec. 4) and SUNYIT (Dec. 15) to conclude first semester play.
"We are playing the right teams and I think some of these games are winnable for us," Coach Habacker said.
From there, Elms College plays just one more non-conference game (at St. Joseph-CT on Jan. 5) before playing its final 16 games of the year in the newly-formed, nine-team New England Collegiate Conference (NECC).
The Blazers will play home and away games against NECC foes Bay Path, Becker, Daniel Webster, Lesley, Mitchell, Newbury, Southern Vermont and Wheelock.
"Having less travel in this new conference is good for all of us," Coach Habacker noted. "We have a lot of three game weeks which I think will test our depth."
WRAP-UP
Overall depth, athleticism and decent height (six players 5-8 or taller) should make the Blazers an immediate threat to contend for the NECC's inaugural championship in February.
The key, according to Coach Habacker is simple.
"Every player on our roster needs to be ready to play right away," she explained.