Lady Bears Basketball 2006-07 Season Preview

“NEW LOOK” LADY BEARS EXPECT “SAME OLD” RESULTS – ANOTHER HUDSON VALLEY TITLE AND USCAA TOURNAMENT BID !

Lynette Reyes

The St. Joseph’s College Lady Bears Women’s Basketball Team has certainly enjoyed quite a successful run over these past six years, having notched an impressive array of regular season titles (5), conference championships (3) and consecutive national tournament appearances (6). So, although the faces have changed dramatically for the coming ’06-’07 campaign, the expectations still remain high for the Lady Bears on the basketball court. “While we have certainly raised the bar quite high for ourselves with our recent run of success,” explains Head Coach Frank Carbone, now in his 10th season at the helm of the Lady Bears, “we continue to stay focused and strive for excellence each and every time we step on the court – that is the common goal that remains constant throughout all of these years!” And so do the winning seasons. Since 2000-2001, St. Joe’s has won an amazing 122 games, an average of over 20 wins per year. Carbone, who recorded milestone victory #150 last season, remains ever the optimist about this year’s prospects as well. “We have a nice combination of veteran experience and youthful exuberance on this year’s squad – there’s loads of talent up and down our roster…if we stay healthy and gel together, we fully expect that our trend of success will continue again this season,” added Carbone.

Annamarie Ciorciari

The Lady Bears, who look to repeat as Hudson Valley Conference Champions in ’06-‘07, will be led by key returnees Lynette Reyes, Kaitlin O’Neill and Annamarie Ciorciari. Reyes, who topped the 1,000 point plateau last season and was the team’s leading scorer at nearly 16 points per game, enters her final year for SJC with high hopes for another title. “There’s still so much more that we can accomplish,” exclaimed Reyes, who combines a sleek, slashing style with a potent long range jump shot, “I’m really excited about our team and want to finish my career with another trophy.” Complementing Reyes tremendous all-around “smooth” game is fellow Senior O’Neill, whose fiery personality brings an element of intensity and passion to the St. Joe’s attack. “When K.O. gets that look in her eye, watch out,” cautions Carbone’s long-time assistant Kimberly McCorkell (SJC ’04), “she’s ready to turn up the heat and play !” While O’Neill’s prowess is certainly on the defensive end, she is capable of contributing on offense – and will be expected to produce as a full-time starter on both ends of the court. The lead guard duties will once again fall into the steady hands of Ciorciari (10 ppg), whose main task is to “be the straw that stirs the drink”. Now in her 3rd season directing the point and owner of over 270 career assists, her on-court saavy and veteran leadership will be critical if St. Joe’s is to contend both on the national and local level. Rounding out the upperclassmen are Desiree DeJesus and Svetlana Medvedeva, who will be anchoring the post area along with Tara Deahn and Melissa Velez who will provide key support in the backcourt.

Kaitlin O’Neill

As far as the newcomers are concerned, the addition of four new faces to the roster brings an exciting dimension to the Lady Bears arsenal. Topping the list from among the freshman are the one-two punch of Imelda Alston and Julia Serewko, who could bring a unique Stockton / Malone type of quality to the SJC attack. Alston, a product of Oxon H.S. in Maryland, has come a long way to Brooklyn in the hopes of continuing the tradition of fine guards that St. Joe’s has produced in recent years – most notably Mary Barry and recent grad Michelle Softy. “When I came to watch a game last year, I just knew this was the place for me,” gushed Alston, “I wanted to be a part of something special and I hope to play a key role in helping the LB’s this season.” Serewko, a highly touted post player from Mary Louis in Queens, offers St. Joe’s the prospect of finally having some size and strength in the middle. Adds fellow assistant coach Walter Sanchez, “Julia has the potential to be a dominant force for us at the center position – her work ethic and determination are unparalleled and will provide us with some options that we were never able to utilize in the past.” Joining the list of new faces to the Lady Bears are sophomore guard Danielle Kramer (Martin Luther) and freshman forward Alicia Houghton (Bishop Loughlin).

Tara Deahn

One additional challenge for the Lady Bears will be the prospect of yet another daunting regular season schedule. “I am a firm believer that a demanding, diverse schedule is the best way to prepare your team for a long run into the post-season,” commented Coach Carbone. “Our philosophy has always been to provide the very best experiences and opportunities for our student-athletes – and a key component of this involves facing tough opponents and challenging competition from around the country.” Some highlights of this year’s schedule include facing teams from a record 10 different states, including a January swing through 4 different cities in Georgia and Alabama and season-opening tournaments in Ohio (Muskingum) and Washington D.C. (Gallaudet). “That’s one of the truly exciting parts about being a Lady Bear”, added Junior sharpshooter Tara Deahn, “the travel allows us to meet so many people and compete against some great teams that other schools from NYC would never play – I can’t wait for the season to begin !”

Of course, the season wouldn’t be complete without the traditional rivalry games against the likes of Mount St. Vincent (11/28), Staten Island (12/2), Old Westbury (12/16) and the Apprentice School (1/21). As always, the Lady Bears home games will be played at the nearby “friendly confines” of Bishop Loughlin H.S., where the festive, raucous atmosphere has helped the Lady Bears win nearly 90% of their games in the past 6 seasons.

The question remains….can the 2006-2007 edition of the Lady Bears match the outstanding accomplishments of their predecessors ? “All I can say is that we are going to give it everything we have,” promises Senior Desiree DeJesus. “We have a great bunch of girls here who are talented and really fun to be around. It means a lot to us to continue the successful Lady Bears tradition.” Carbone realizes all too well from 10 years of experience that while the current group of Lady Bears is extremely talented, the keys to another successful campaign will be hard work, desire, staying healthy and of course, a little luck along the way ! “In reality, we are all aware that expectations are high,” said Carbone. “But fortunately, the Lady Bears very rarely disappoint us….”