A graduate assistant coach on ESU’s 1994-95 PSAC championship team, Smith was the head coach for three seasons at Seminole State College (Fla.) which included a 27-4 record in her second year. She also brings nine years of experience as a Division I assistant coach to ESU, where she is charged with a team that has had coaching turnover over the past three seasons.
The Warriors bring back seven letterwinners from last year’s squad that was guided on an acting basis by Justin Potts, the full-time assistant for the men’s basketball program. The 2009-10 season brought a 4-23 record, but also featured an All-PSAC East season by forward DeAnna Rayam and strong years from her fellow seniors, guard Mel Villano and center Alexa Detzi.
As the page turns to 2010-11, a solid core of returners bring experience to a team that was tied for seventh with Mansfield in the PSAC East preseason poll.
Sophomore guard Barb Borst (7.0 ppg) and junior guards Jennifer Scherer (5.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Cyara Woodridge (5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) will take on expanded roles this season after the graduation of Villano and Rayam, who both averaged more than 33 minutes per night last winter.
Borst came into her own over the final eight games of the season, averaging 12.1 points per game and shooting 59.5 percent (22-for-37) from the three-point line. She finished the year ranked 10th in the PSAC in three-point percentage (37.8) and scored a season-high 17 points in two of the final three games. She will be expected to make key shots, especially in transition as ESU looks to go up-tempo this year.
Scherer has two years of experience at ESU and has been named a co-captain as a junior. She may be the Warriors’ most versatile player and will be called on to bring continuity to the offense and a leadership presence. She was the team’s second-leading rebounder last season, third on the squad in minutes behind Villano and Rayam and started 24 of 25 games.
Woodridge, also in her third year in the program, was a part-time starter last season and will make the leap to full-time status this year. A dynamic guard, Woodridge should thrive in the open court and help the Warriors turn defensive pressure into points. She posted 27 steals a year ago and averaged just over 20 minutes per game.
At point guard, freshman Andrea Veres (Phillipsburg, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic) will replace Villano, who started 106 games and was a freshman on the 2006-07 PSAC East regular season championship team.
Veres will bring a scoring threat to the point guard position after hitting 158 three-pointers at Bethlehem Catholic, second-most in Lehigh Valley Conference history, and scoring 1,258 career points. She will be counted on to push the ball up the floor and supplement the offense as she continues to learn the point guard role at the college level.
Bench depth at the start of the season will be provided by redshirt junior Brittany McClain and sophomore Angel Gaffney. McClain is in her first full year at ESU after playing 16 games in the second half of the season and averaged 3.9 points per game. She has the ability to get to the basket and her court vision will assist the Warriors offensively.
Gaffney has been named a co-captain along with Scherer as a sophomore and should be one of the team’s top defenders. She played in 13 games last year and will fill an expanded role in 2010-11.
In the frontcourt, sophomores Kelly Sorber and Mia Waring are the top two returners and are joined by sophomore Arielle Williamson (Carlisle/Carlisle) and freshman Nicole Hill (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills).
Sorber and Waring both saw about 10 minutes per game last season and will be the leaders in the post offensively, defensively and on the glass. Sorber averaged 1.5 points and 2.6 rebounds and blocked nine shots, and will be counted on to block and alter more shots as she takes on more minutes.
Waring posted 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds as a freshman and should continue to develop as a strong offensive player. Hill is expected to be an immediate contributor, particularly with her defense and rebounding, as an inside presence with athleticism. Williamson, a walk-on, should also provide minutes as the Warriors enter the season with 10 players on the roster.
Smith’s goals for the season are for the Warriors to continue to improve as they learn a new system and come ready to play every day as they go through the non-conference schedule and get ready to compete in the PSAC East.
Playing smart and efficiently at the offensive end, aggressively at the defensive end and giving maximum effort, particularly in the transition game, will give the Warriors a chance to exceed expectations as they open Smith’s tenure at ESU.
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