Coming off a successful 2003/04 season where they finished 2nd
in the NYCAC and won the Eastern College Atlantic Conference Championship,
the Lady Colonials are ready to battle the odds for a NCAA playoff
berth – they not only lost four seniors to graduation but
also several top recruits with the news that Southampton’s
undergraduate program will be transferring to sister College C.W.
Post next year.
But, despite these setbacks they are still considered a threat
in the NYCAC with the preseason poll ranking Southampton 5th.
Coaching staff have had to rethink their game plan since the
end of last season when, they had a team with seven players over
6’. This year’s squad’s lack of height and power
will be countered by playing a lot of half court and full court
press with an emphasis on running and gunning. Look for early
and often called substitutions.
Leading the way will be sophomore Leah Getz, NYCAC rookie of
the year last year and a preseason first team pick this year.
Known as Miss Consistency, Getz lead the team with a 13 point
scoring average, while averaging six rebounds per game, adding
3.1 assists per game and massing 100 steals for the year.
Recruited guard Natalie Desanctis, from Howard Beach, New York,
will be called upon to back up Getz and in the pre-season showed
she should fill this role very well. Along with fellow freshmen
Danielle Castelli and Nikki Stiefel, Desanctis showed she is a
fast learner; an attribute that is a must for the Lady Colonials
success this year.
The 5’ 10" Castelli from Long Island’s Valley
Stream High School, will play a big role in defense and will also
surprise many defenses as she likes to take the ball inside.
Stiefel, who came from Washington Township High School in New
Jersey, has a reputation as a tough defensive specialist but showed
she can shoot the ball as good as anyone by winning both men’s
and women’s three point shoot out at this year’s Midnight
Madness.
Australian junior import, via stints at Southern Connecticut
University and Converse College, Sophie Hoffenberth, will add
to the Lady Colonial’s firepower. She averages in the upper
forty percent from beyond the three-point arch.
Returning to the court this year is junior shooting guard Amber
Gooden, who red shirted last year due to a season-ending ankle
injury. Gooden average 17 points in her sophomore season and will
sharpen the colonial offense with coaching staff predicting she
will be one of the better players in the conference
The 6’ 2" returning senior captain Jenn McLaughlin
will be taking over the center mantle from last year’s star
Nyree Frazier. McLaughlin and 6’ forward sophomore Shola
Aladejebi will be looked at to control the paint at both ends
of the floor, supported by listed guards Sarah Mahan and Kiley
Lapointe. Lapointe, a senior captain, has the experience to provide
leadership and the court skills to lead by example. Mahan who
can play any position, will be asked to fill many roles and has
shown she is more than capable of doing that.
Aladejebi’s explosive power and jumping ability will be
much needed in the type of game that coaching staff will be asking
the Lady Colonials to play in the last season of the Southampton
Women’s basketball program.
