Women’s Notebook
There haven’t been that many women’s games to date in this wacky season but a few things do stick out…
Only five teams have actually played a game thus far but it’s clear Daemen is the best of the lot. The Wildcats picked up a trio of wins, defeating Mercyhurst (which was 5-0 coming into their game) and D’Youville twice (both ECC games). Even in a normal season this Daemen unit was set to be among the region’s best and to this point, they stand above the rest. Tiara Filbert scored her 1,000th career point against Mercyhurst, becoming the 25th player in program annals to do so, while Katie Titus and Caroline White (both working their way to the 1K level) have lent strong support. The Wildcats have won nineteen straight home games, another big plus in their column. I’ll be curious to see who can really push them in the region.
Congratulations to D’Youville for getting their feet wet in Division II despite less than ideal circumstances. The newly branded Saints dropped a pair of games to western New York rivals Daemen to start things off but for them the goals are longer-term. They do boast a pair of talented guards in Sara Pfieffer and Danielle Hore, who head coach Dan Glover will rely upon as they navigate the campaign and Division II integration.
AIC swept a pair of non-league games against St. Thomas Aquinas over the weekend to kick-start the season for both teams. The Yellow Jackets (44-41 and 57-35 winners) and the Spartans are both in varying stages of rebuilding, so take the results with a grain of salt. Destine Perry and Nora Young showed out in for AIC while Alexa Huertas was STAC’s best option in these clashes - both clubs are still trying to find their identity. Perry decided the first game with three foul shots in the last 49 seconds while AIC piled up huge point-off-turnovers edge (26-5) to help them gain the sweep.
Roberts Wesleyan is off to a 2-2 start, dealing setbacks to Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) and Clarion while absorbing losses to Mercyhurst and Gannon. Thus far, the Redhawks have received nice work from veterans Taryn Wilson and Dimitra Gkizani along with senior transfer Paige McCormick (UMass.). The latter joined her sister Madison in the RWC starting five and both have played well as the team gets their feet. Look out also for freshman Toni Neely-Primus, who tossed in 14 points in her debut against Bryant & Stratton. (Add in Gannon game Tue).
CACC league play starts this week with two games tonight. Pre-season favorite Dominican visits Georgian Court and Nyack travels to Bloomfield. Caldwell, originally scheduled to host Felician, had their first two games postponed, a typical sign of this fractured season.
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Just over twenty-five years ago, I had a somewhat chance encounter with one of the greatest women’s coaches of all time and it has resonated with me ever since. As time goes on, I am ever more appreciative of the time I spent with Darlene May that December day and recognize how fortunate I was to enjoy her company.
During the holiday season of 1995-‘96, I was in San Diego visiting friends and managed to find a six-team Division II women’s tournament going on in the area. Naturally, I attended the whole thing (three days, nine games) and on the first day, I settled into the upper part of the bleachers to watch. One of the teams on the floor was Cal Poly Pomona, a program that was among the best in the nation for the first decade-plus of Division II play. As the game started, I noticed a woman to my right, about ten feet away, intently watching the contest alone and seeming to live and breathe it along with the teams. The curiosity in me grew and at halftime, I casually said something about the game to her. Within two minutes, we were talking in depth about the game and the state of women’s basketball. That was my first interaction with Darlene May.
May had retired after the 1993-’94 season because of a diagnosis of terminal breast cancer (which I didn’t know at the time) but her love of the game and Cal Poly Pomona persisted. Her career was simply amazing, posting a 519-119 record (.813 winning percentage!) in twenty years and winning three national titles (1982, ’85 and ’86) while also being recognized as one of the world’s best referees. She started the Broncos program in 1973 and guided it with her steady hand into a national power and, even after a forced retirement, she was as dialed in as could be.
For whatever reason, we found common ground that day and chatted between all three games and halftimes about basketball in general. During play, especially during the Cal Poly Pomona game, May was locked in and I didn’t want to disturb her. Her intensity, even in that setting, was impressive. Once a game reached halftime and/or ended, she was the nicest person and spoke freely about her past, the game and her current situation. It was humbling for me to be in the presence of somebody who had accomplished so much but lived purely in the moment. I still don’t know exactly why we bonded so quickly but we did and it was an enriching day for me.
Darlene May passed away about eleven months later. Upon reading her obituary, I was crushed. I know the impact she had on me and I can only imagine how much she influenced her players over the years. Losing one of the coaching icons in Division II in the prime of her career must have been so difficult for those who knew her well, let alone somebody like me, who met her once. But sometimes once is enough. May’s presence and kindness remains engrained on my consciousness all these years later.
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For any regional women’s basketball follower undecided about which team to support in the upcoming Super Bowl, let me advocate for Tampa Bay. It has zero to do with the results on the field but rather with a staff member of the Buccaneers.
Maral Javadifar was an excellent player for Pace about a decade ago (graduating in ’12) and has since gone on to a career in the medical/training field. After her time at Pace (where she played in a trio of NCAA tournaments), Javadifar received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from New York Medical College and was named as Tampa Bay’s assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2019. Her expertise in the field and connection to Bucs players has helped her establish herself and flourish in her chosen career.
The Flushing, New York native is a rare trailblazer in a field that has traditionally been slim on female involvement. That’s changing, though, and she is among the pioneers helping to affect that change. So, if you’re not sure which team to support, why not give Maral Javadifar a thought and root for the Bucs. She’s earned it.