WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sage women's basketball team ready for new season to begin
2009-2010 SAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON OUTLOOK AND PRE-SEASON INFORMATION (COMPLETE PDF FILE)
The 2009-2010 season marks the fifth season for Jackie Luszczek as well as her most optimistic season as her roster is filled with seven returning players, a pair of transfers and six talented newcomers. With high expectations for the squad, the Gator coaching staff is confident the team will make a run for a spot in the 2010 Skyline Conference Tournament at season's end.
Two years ago, the team finished the regular season tied for seventh place in the conference. The 2007-2008 and the 2008-20009 squads also earned the Skyline Sportsmanship Award along the way. Sage will replace four starters from the 2008-2009 season, but Luszczek is confident the returning and incoming student-athletes will pick up right where last season's team left off and keep moving forward.
Among the players expected to fill those graduation losses will be junior guard Liz Donk (Phelps, NY/Midlakes), who averaged 8.9 ppg and 5.8 rpg last year and was the team's high scorer on seven occasions, including 24 points in the season finale. Elected a team co-captain for the coming season, Donk started 15 of 22 games last season and handed out a team-high 103 assists, good enough for a 4.68 per game average, which was third best in the Skyline Conference last year. She also ranked 10th in the conference in free throw percentage after hitting 81-of-126 (64.3%). She is expected to be the team's floor general this year in the point guard spot after playing an average of 32.4 minutes a game as a sophomore. She can create off the dribble both for herself and her teammates.
Another returning veteran expected to carry the load this year will be senior Carlin DeMarinis (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs). The team's leading scorer a year ago with a 10.5 ppg average, DeMarinis was the leading scorer 10 times as a junior and ranked 18th in the conference in scoring, while ranking eighth in the league with her accuracy from three-point range as she shot 32.9% and was fourth in the conference averaging 2.24 three-point field goals per game.
A three-year letterwinner, Amber Muir (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons) returns and should provide the Gators with experience at the forward position. She may be undersized, but uses her quickness and footwork to get around defenders on the block. She returns this year after playing in 21 games a year ago, while averaging 5.1 ppg with 5.4 rebounds per contest. She led the Gators with 11 blocks and was a leader on the floor, shooting 40.3%. She is expected to be a go-to person for the team this year.
Tapped as the squad's most improved player as a sophomore, she started 11 of 25 games that year with a 4.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg average and has now played in 53 games as a Gator.
Senior co-captain Amanda Crans (Watkins Glen, NY/Watkins Glen) returns for a final campaign after earning three letters. She was a nine-game starter a year ago at the guard spot and has now played in 57 games with Sage. She is coming off a strong season where she averaged 3.6 ppg while playing 17.4 minutes a game.
Now a junior, Jaime Handford (Berlin, NY/Berlin) returns and should see considerable time as a guard-forward for Sage. She played in just 11 games a year ago with a pair of starts. A two-sport athlete at Sage, she has good skills and should help the Gators this year.
As a rookie, Kelsey Frament (Waterford, NY/Catholic Central) made six starts and played in 21 games as a forward. She averaged 16.9 minutes a game and finished with a 4.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg average. She has a good shot from the floor, shooting 40.0% (34-85).
An All-Conference pick in soccer at Sage, sophomore guard Rebecca Marszalek (Adams, MA/Hoosac Valley) comes to the basketball court after an impressive run on the pitch. As a rookie on the court a year ago, she started six games with 21 appearances. She added 4.2 ppg with 23 steals and shot 68.4% from the free throw line.
Among the key newcomers the Gator coaching staff is exciting to watch play will be junior guard-forward Jessica Byerwalters (Coeymans Hollow, NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkink). A transfer from SUNY-Cobleskill, she was a two-year letterwinner and a team captain for the Fighting Tigers. She started two of 26 games played and chipped in 3.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg last year. She is extremely athletic and should make an impact right away for Sage. Look for her to get time at the three guard position and for her to pose a match-up threat to opponents with her height.
Rookie forward Kara Hackett (Peru, NY/Peru Central) comes to Sage after scoring 1,000 points in high school. She has the ability to score with her back to the basket and gives the Gators height at five-foot-eleven inches. A team captain and MVP as a senior, she will be looked to this year for her play at the post as a rookie.
Addition players that should contribute as forwards this year will be junior women's soccer goalie, Brittany McDonald (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont), who arrives on the court after leading Sage to post-season play and individual honors with her play between the posts. She is an impressive athlete and will help Sage with her size. Look for newcomers Ashleigh Nelson (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), a former two-sport athlete in high school, excelling in field hockey and basketball to push for time as a guard as well. She is joined by newcomers Corinne Bieskza (Whitesboro, NY/Westmoreland), Kendell Wilbert (Boonville, NY/Adirondack), Carly Vallee (East Greenbush, NY/Catholic Central), and Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany Central). Bieskza earned 10 varsity letters in high school, excelling in soccer, basketball and softball and is a two-time MVP, while Vallee earned a pair of varsity letters in basketball at Catholic Central. Ingalls starred in three sports at Oriskany Central and helped lead her basketball team to the Section III final four, while earning a pair of MVP awards in basketball after serving as a three-year team captain.
All told, the Gators need to apply pressure defensively and create opportunities this year. They need to be able to also force turnovers and get out and run in transition. The team possesses quickness and considerable athleticism that may surprise some opponents. Sage has extensive depth and a high talent level giving the Gators a real edge over last year's squad. While the team may be young, they do have many talented student-athletes that benefit from considerable experience and playing time a year ago. With all that said, look for this Gator team to make a push for the Skyline Conference tournament, a program first.
A highly competitive schedule awaits the 2009-2010 Sage women's basketball team. The team travels to Hartwick College for the season-opener on November 15, before non-conference foe, Southern Vermont College visits campus on November 17 in the team's first double-header with the arrival of men's basketball at Sage.
The Gators will call two venues home this season with the addition of the Kahl Campus Center. Sage will host four games in the Neff Athletic Center in Troy, while they will take to the hardwood in the Kahl Campus Center six times in the coming year.
Sage will also face some stiff competition in the opening week of the season as they will travel to Buffalo State College for a tip-off tournament taking on the host in the opening round of play.
Additional non-conference opponents on the schedule include Skidmore College and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
The 2009-2010 Skyline Conference schedule has the Gators taking on defending league champions, Mt. St. Mary College in the last game before the end of the first semester on December 9, while the Saints will visit the Neff Center on February 3. The league's runner-up a year ago, Farmingdale State College will mark the program's first Skyline Conference Doubleheader when Sage hosts the Rams in the Kahl Center on December 5.
A year ago, the Skyline Conference Champion, Mt. St. Mary advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, while the league was represented by four teams in the ECAC Metro Tournament, Purchase College, SUNY College at Old-Westbury, Farmingdale State College and the College of Mt. St. Vincent. With that type of excellence in the league, Sage will find a tough test ahead of them every time they take to the court, a challenge this team is ready to accept and meet, all with hopes of making a post-season run of their own.
