Pioneers 2nd in Preseason NEC Coaches Poll; Pape Named Preseason All-NEC
11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2005
FAIRFIELD, CT (November 3, 2005) - The Northeast Conference announced its 2005-06 Preseason Coaches Poll Thursday afternoon via media teleconference and the Sacred Heart women's basketball team was picked to finish second behind Robert Morris. The Pioneers were voted to finish second while receiving four first place votes in a poll conducted by the league's coaches.
In addition, junior Amanda Pape (Stamford, CT) was named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference Team for the second straight year. Pape, an All-NEC pick at the end of last year, joins reigning NEC Player of the Year Sugeiry Monsac of Robert Morris, Niamh Dwyer of Monmouth, Gabriella Guegbelet of Central Connecticut and Tiffany Green of Mount St. Mary's as this year's selections.
Pape returns as one of the top all-around players in the NEC. As a sophomore, she helped elevate Sacred Heart to a second-place finish in the regular season standings by pacing the Pioneers in scoring (14.9 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and steals (79).
The 2005-06 Pioneers return a wealth of talent to the court led by Pape and senior Nicolle Rubino (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and junior Kerri Burke (Saugus, MA). Burke had a breakout season as a sophomore, averaging where she took hold of the point guard position and finished second on the team in scoring. Burke averaged 10.8 points and 4.24 assists per-game last year while playing 36.6 minutes per game, second only to Pape. She also became a major-threat from behind the three-point arc, burying 34.6% (52-143) from downtown. Rubino enters her final Pioneer season just 36 points away from the 1,000-point plateau. She finished 2004-05 averaging 10.2 points per contest while handing out a career-best 102 assists and making 54 steals. She also grabbed a career-high 125 rebounds on the season (4.5 rpg).
The front court will be bolstered by the return of Junior Jasmine Walker after a strong sophomore. Walker posted five double-double games last season and averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds on the year. She was seventh in the NEC in rebounding and also blocked 23 shots on the year. The junior forward spent much of the early part of last season battling her way through illness. She returned to the starting line-up in game 12 and led the Pioneers to a 13-3 record the rest of the way.
The Pioneers open the 2004-05 season on Friday, November 18th at Providence College, tip-off slated for 7:00 pm.
2005-06 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll 1. Robert Morris (6) 2. Sacred Heart (4) 3. Monmouth 4. St. Francis-PA (1) 5. Quinnipiac 6. Mount St. Mary's 7. Central Connecticut 8. St. Francis (NY) 9. Long Island 10. Fairleigh Dickinson 11. Wagner (#) - First Place votesxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
