2004-05 SHU Women's Basketball Season Prospectus
11/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 2, 2004
2004-05 Women's Basketball Prospectus in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
2004-05 Season Outlook
The 2003-04 Sacred Heart Pioneers posted a school record 21 wins, qualified for the Northeast Conference Tournament for the fifth consecutive year, finished a perfect 14-0 at home and had the NEC Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year. In short, last year's team had the most successful season in the 30 year history of Sacred Heart women's basketball.
So what can the 2004-05 version of the Red and White do for an encore?
With the return of the last two conference rookies of the year as well as a roster deep with talent, head coach Ed Swanson has his team ready for a run at their first NEC Championship.
The Pioneers will rely heavily on the strength of their perimeter play this season, especially with the return of junior Nicolle Rubino and sophomores Amanda Pape and Kerri Burke. Pape and Rubino provided a large chunk of the SHU offense last season with the duo combining for 26.6 points per game, nearly 40 percent of the offensive output. Burke will lead the offense from the point along with returning senior Allie Bagnell.
"Our strength is our perimeter play with the return of Amanda, Nicolle, Allie and Kerri," stated Swanson. "The key to our offense will be to get some scoring punch and rebounding from our inside post players. We need to find someone to step up and be that third scoring option for us in the paint."
Pape's freshman campaign went down as one of the best in school history. The Stamford, CT native became the first player to lead the team in scoring as a freshman when she averaged 15.1 points per game. She also led the team in steals with 75, helping to give SHU, what proved at times, stifling full court defensive pressure. Pape proved no slouch on the glass either, pulling down 6.4 rebounds a game, including a team leading 79 offensive caroms.
Her efforts never went unnoticed by the NEC as she the earned league's rookie of the week award on six different occasions as well as the Rookie of the Year award at season's end. She became just the second freshman in league history to earn a spot on the All-NEC team with her second team selection.
"Amanda will start and has added an outside game with a jump shot off the dribble to her repertoire," said the head coach. "We will look for her to try and beat people with the pass also this year."
Rubino will start at the small forward position this season and is coming off a solid effort last year where she avoided the dreaded "sophomore jinx". Averaging 11.5 points per game to go with 80 assists and 56 steals, both improvements over her freshman rookie of the year numbers, show that Rubino's game is headed in the right direction. The Port Jefferson Station, NY native also improved her long range shooting last year, burying 35.2% of her three's (44-125).
"Nicolle will start at the three where she will be our main threat shooting the ball," stated Swanson. "Nicolle and Amanda bring are the real energy of our team. We should see increased scoring and rebounding from Nicolle with our style of play."
The point guard position will be locked down by Burke and Bagnell this season, both having the big shoes of departed senior Ashley Kohl to fill. Kohl ran the offense for the past two seasons and was the team's premier three-shooter.
"Kerri will start the year for us with Allie is still fighting her way back from her knee injury," commented Swanson. "Kerri is a different kind of point guard. She's explosive and can give us some scoring as well as keeping our offense moving forward."
Burke averaged 16 minutes a game off the bench in a back up role last season while averaging 5.4 points and passing out 50 assists. She also showed the knack for knocking down a three, hitting 39.1% (18-46) from behind the arc. Bagnell is still battling back from season-ending knee surgery suffered midway through her sophomore season. The senior guard will see her share of minutes and be counted on to provide leadership on the court throughout the year.
Also back is sophomore Mary Rush, who will also see some time at the forward position. Rush played in 28 game as a freshman averaging 3.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. She also was one of the team's top free throw shooters, finishing the year 33 of 43 (.767) from the line. The addition of freshman Lisa Moray, a 5-10 shooting guard out of Roy C. Ketcham High School, will give Pape a back-up at the two guard spot. "Lisa Moray will step in and fill a back up role with Mary Rush also seeing time at the swing guard position," said the head coach.
The key to this season could rest on the Pioneer's fortunes on the block and inside the paint. With so much offense returning on the perimeter, Sacred Heart will need to find some scoring punch in the middle to put opposing defense in match-up problems. Leading the way are seniors Colleen Duggan and Colleen White along with sophomore Jasmine Walker. Added to the mix are Mikara Cimmino and Jocelyn Kelly, freshman who can give the Pioneers needed depth in the paint.
"We head into the season with a two-headed tandem at the center position in Colleen Duggan and Jasmine Walker with Colleen White starting at the four spot," said Swanson. "The center position will be the X-factor for us this season if we can get the kind of scoring we are looking for. Our two freshmen, Mikara and Jocelyn, will give us added depth and strength in the middle."
Duggan is coming off a season where she started 26 of the 29 games she played in. The senior center was third on the team in scoring at 7.2 points per game while shooting 52.5% (83-158) from the field. Duggan can also provide an intimidating force defensively after leading the NEC in blocked shots a year ago. She turned away 50 opponent shots last season and still holds the school record for swats in a game with seven against Lafayette in 2002.
Walker was a solid contributor off the bench for SHU last season, averaging 5.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She will be counted on heavily to increase her offensive output this season. White played in 26 games last year and posted career high career numbers in points (95), rebounds (53), assists (16), blocks (14) and steals (15). Cimmino and Kelly, both 6-2 forwards, both are capable of stepping in and providing minutes off the bench.
If the Pioneers are to post their fifth-straight winning season and 10th-straight with at least a .500 record, they will have to successfully navigate one of the toughest 27-game schedules they've seen in years. "This is the toughest non-conference schedule we have ever had in my tenure," stated Swanson. "We will have our hands full facing teams from the Big 12, Big East, Atlantic 10, CAA, MAAC and Ivy League. This level of competition will get us ready for the tough NEC battles that follow."
The season tips off on November 19th with a trip-up I-95 to face Yale University and continues on to Lawrence, Kansas for a date with the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas just before Thanksgiving. Dates with Rider, Columbia, Hofstra, Iona, Richmond, Syracuse and Brown will round out this year's non-conference slate. The NEC schedule gets underway on December 4th at Mount St. Mary's. SHU will play each team twice throughout the season with the exception of Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson.
