Women’s Notebook – Are Early-Season Games Harbingers or Mirages?
By Stephen Zerdelian
Every team has played at least once this season and there have been a few potentially vital talking points during the opening stages of the 2023-’24 East Regional campaign. Sometimes, early results can have a significant effect on the region while other outcomes don’t matter quite as much as they initially seem to by the end of the road. So, how do we sort through the morass?
Whether these games/storylines ultimately have a telling bearing on the season will only be known down the line. But, for now, they could be signposts which guide the season while telling us a tale. Thus, some early-season things to ponder…
Is Katie Wall the region’s best - or at least most explosive - player?
Well, she certainly has blazed to a fast start! Wall scored 66 of Mercy’s 115 points (57%, to be exact) as the Mavericks began the season with wins over Saint Anselm (62-58) and Southern Connecticut (53-43) at the SCSU season-opening classic. A graduate student known for exemplary all-around play, Wall popped in a career-high 40 points (12-20 FG, 4-6 3FG, 12-14 FT) and grabbed eight boards in the win over the Hawks and followed it up with a gritty 26-point and 7-carom effort against the host Owls. Incomplete records at Mercy cannot confirm that the 40-point effort is a program standard but it’s the most by a Maverick since at least 2012. Wall had a tougher night in a slugfest against Bloomfield (8 points in a 51-48 victory) but bounced back to notch 24 points and 5 picks in a win over Adelphi. If she keeps up even a modicum of this scoring rate the Mavericks, off to a 4-0 start, could surprise in the East Coast Conference.
Who else has been among the best in the region to this point? (NOT intended to slight anyone…)
Marina Callahan (Assumption) - Topped her career-best by seven points by dropping 26 against Post while adding 13 boards and 7 helpers and then collected 16 points, 13 boards, 6 assists and 4 rejections against Southern Connecticut. Also racked up a 20-point, 6-board outing against Felician. A triple-double this season isn’t out of the question for the elastic Callahan.
Tatum Forbes (Saint Anselm) – The exciting sophomore transfer from the University of Hartford has been the Hawks best option early, potting three 20-point games in Saint Anselm’s first four contests.
Lindsay Hogan (New Haven) - 52 points in the Chargers’ opening pair of games (both wins), highlighted by a 30-point outing (10-11 FG, 5-5 3FG, 5-5 FT) in an 81-21 battering of Wilmington. Hogan had a tougher night in a loss at powerful Bentley (8 points) but is still off to a notable start.
Jahnel Lewis (Caldwell) – The 5-3 freshman began her Cougars career with a bang, scoring 17 and 22 points at the Pace classic as Caldwell split two contests, and popped in 18 points in a tight defeat to Franklin Pierce.
Haley Meinel (Jefferson) - A typically efficient 44 points as the Rams started the season with two wins at the Molloy classic and added 29 total points in victories over Shippensburg and Kutztown. Also, incredibly disruptive at the defensive end of the floor - still the region’s standard-bearer.
Anna Badosa Soler (Franklin Pierce) – 48 points for the Ravens in their 2-0 start at the Staten Island classic (including 24-27 at the line), a solid 11-point, 11-board effort against Southern New Hampshire and 40 points and 21 rebounds as FPU beat Caldwell and Dominican this weekend.
Taneshia Tucker (Bloomfield) – A stellar start to the campaign for Tucker, who had three excellent games (27 points and 11 boards against Queens; 18 points against Adelphi; and a career-high 30 points against Pace) among the Bears’ first four game this year.
Some unheralded teams are off to good starts - can they sustain it?
Several teams that were under the radar in the pre-season got out of the blocks quickly, including UDC. The Firebirds (4-0) beat Goldey-Beacom (68-52) and Wilmington (72-46) at the GBC classic thanks to balanced scoring to open 2-0 and followed it up with a 64-60 decision at Chestnut Hill and a 98-73 rout of Bowie State. Scoring hasn’t been a problem for UDC as they take aim at the ECC summit… Mercy is another 4-0 team out of the ECC, led by the dynamic Wall (see above), Jackyn Stanavich and Kayla Halvorsen… AIC rode Kayla Robinson’s 28 points and 7 assists to a win at St. Thomas Aquinas in the STAC classic, 82-73, and grad transfer Briana Lee racked up 25 points and 10 boards as AIC followed that up with a tough 69-66 victory over quietly solid D’Youville a day later. The fun came to an end in a loss to Adelphi, but the Jackets must be pleased with the start… Fellow NE10 outfit Franklin Pierce picked up two wins at the College of Staten Island classic (64-51 over Holy Family, and 71-58 against Bridgeport) behind Soler before losing a tough battle at SNHU. Then they won back-to-back games last weekend over Caldwell and Dominican (they’re 4-0 against the CACC) to regain the momentum… Roberts Wesleyan is off to a 2-2 start with victories over Felician (81-75) and Clarion (93-86) sandwiched by losses to Bentley and Mercyhurst. Marianna Freeman, Georgia Haverlock, and Danielle DiCinito are all in fine form for the Redhawks as they look to bounce back from a miserable four-win campaign last year. Time will tell how important these early results will be but for now these teams will all revel in strong starts.
Heavyweights hold their ground amid early tests – is the race to host the NCAA regional already on?
Defending regional champion Assumption blew out Post in their opener, 80-59, with the veteran duo of Callahan (see above) and Molly Stokes (24 points) leading the way. AU then routed Southern Connecticut, 77-59, with Callahan and Stokes (20 points) again shining, and gutted out a win over Felician to start 3-0… The team the Hounds knocked off in last March’s regional final, Jefferson, rolled to two wins at the Molloy classic, bettering Queens (67-53) and the host (81-59), then smoked Shippensburg, 84-49, and got past Kutztown (68-62). Meinel, Sam Yencha, Cassie Murphy and Morgan Robinson, the Rams veteran crew, are doing their thing yet again… Always dangerous Bentley dealt Daemen (76-61) and Roberts Wesleyan (92-57) defeats at the RWC classic, opened their NE10 slate with a 59-48 victory over New Haven and smacked St. Thomas Aquinas on the road, 67-50, to begin with four straight wins. Ella Thompson and Maggie Whitmore bring experience while rookie Niya Morgen has been an eye-opener... Southern New Hampshire received big games from Jess Knight (19 points, 18 boards). Meaghan Gordon (18 points, 10 caroms) and Adriana Timberlake (18 points) in kicking off their campaign with a win over Franklin Pierce… Pace (see below), Mercy and UDC (see above) are the other unbeaten teams in the region to this point, so don’t overlook them. And keep an eye on Daemen and Holy Family (both 3-1) while you’re at it. Starting quickly and stacking up wins never hurts for teams with designs on reaching/hosting/winning the regional, as is the case here.
The Northeast-10 continues to reign over the region - could there be an epic race in that loop?
Every season the NE10 seems to stay steps ahead of their regional competitors and their start this term (19-6 so far in non-conference play) says they mean business. Only four times since 1988 (not including the no-NCAA tourney season of 2020) has the league not represented the region at the Elite Eight (2002, Saint Rose; 2013, Dowling; 2017, Queens; and the COVID-scarred 2021 season, Daemen) and the conference is throwing its weight around right away this year. Internally, the NE10 race is shaping up as a dandy, with most teams reasonably eying a first-round home game (by virtue of finishing in the top four). Do that, and an NCAA bid is almost assured. It’ll be fun for fans but probably Maalox time for the coaches in the league as the competition heats up.
The most compelling classic of the first weekend was in Pleasantville, New York
Pace hosted a thrilling opening weekend quartet of games and managed to come out of it 2-0 (they improved to 3-0 with a 63-56 win over the College of Saint Rose a few days later). The Setters slipped past much-improved Bloomfield, 72-69, to get things going and followed that up with a comeback win against Caldwell, 69-66. In the latter match, the Cougars led by ten points with 7:40 left but couldn’t hold on. Arianna Stockinger’s (17 points) basket with 24 ticks left put Pace ahead to stay, 67-66, and the Setters closed it out at the line. Caldwell already had a win on the board by then, having bested Adelphi in an air-tight encounter (75-70) featuring 14 ties, 20 lead changes and a separation of no more than five points all day. Bloomfield, meanwhile, nabbed a 71-64 victory over Adelphi, leaving the Panthers as the hard-luck 0-2 team in the bunch. All told, the four contests were decided by a total of 18 points and saw an NE10/CACC split. If only all classics were as closely contested!
Disappointing starts for some, however…
With the good comes the not-so-good, as has been the case for a few well-regarded clubs that haven’t come out of the gate as successfully as they would’ve liked. St. Thomas Aquinas dropped non-league games to AIC, Holy Family and Bentley while beating another slow-starting team, Dominican. Sarah Ericson has led the way for the Spartans (1-3), as expected, but STAC will need to get a few wins against good teams to avoid an AQ-or-nothing scenario… Dominican lost twice at the STAC classic, against the host team and D’Youville, and then squandered an 18-point lead in a setback to Franklin Pierce, so the CACC North favorite (0-3) has some digging out to do… Southern Connecticut beat Georgian Court to open their slate but then fell to Mercy and Assumption, so the Owls (1-2) need to reverse that trend quickly to stay in touch in the rugged NE10.
We are aware…
As some of our readers may have noticed, our website is missing some game results and box scores early in the season, so records and regional statistics haven’t been updated as thoroughly as usual. Without getting into the inner workings of the site there are some compatibility issues which have led to results and box scores not being available to us. We are working hard to try and find a way to rectify this matter, so please bear with us. We will do whatever we can to be as complete as possible. Thanks for your vigilance!
Happy Thanksgiving to all – more next week!
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That’s it for now - until next time, enjoy the games!