Women's Basketball Selected Seventh in Preseason Poll, Opens Season Saturday
PRESEASON POLL
The Anna Maria College women's basketball team has been selected to finish seventh in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. The AMCATS, who did not make the tournament last season, will look to finish in the top-eight this season for tournament qualification.
The AMCATS open the 2014-15 campaign this Saturday as they travel to Nichols College for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference game.
Anna Maria will face a competitive schedule this season, as they will take on Trinity (Conn.) and Middlebury of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) throughout the season. The team will also a play a number of local schools, including Becker and Clark. The team will host the first game of 2014-15 at the Fuller Activities Center next Saturday, Nov. 22nd, against Elms College.
OUTLOOK
The AMCATS return the 2013-14 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year in senior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.). Warburton averaged 9.4 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game in addition to scoring nearly 17 points per game.
In his second season at the helm of the program, head coach Kevin Bigelow led Anna Maria to a decade-best 11 wins last season and a 4-7 record in GNAC play. The AMCATS will use the experience of eight returners to build upon this success.
The team will have to achieve their goals without Taylor Walker '14. Walker started all 25 games a season ago and averaged team second-bests in points per game with 13.2 and rebounds per game with 9.1.
RETURNERS
In addition to Warburton, the AMCATs also return senior guard Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.). Pryor played in 22 games last season, averaging 10.7 points per game. Warburton, Pryor, and junior guard Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass.) will serve as team captains this season. Bond started in 24 games last season and averaged 5.4 points per game.
Alongside Bond, the junior class also returns forward Antoinette Jean-Louis (Avon, Mass.) and guard Brandi Pasternack (North Brookfield, Mass.). Jean-Louis played in 23 games in her first season with the team last year, while Pasternack averaged 12.6 minutes per game last season.
Sophomore guards Deja Taitt (Jamaica, N.Y.) and Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) will return for second seasons. Taitt contributed 7.4 points per game in her rookie season, while Gauvin added 6.0 points per game. Also returning to the sophomore class is forward Emily Capstick (Worcester, Mass.), who saw action in 12 games last season.
NEWCOMERS
Coach Bigelow welcomes three newcomers to the team this season in sophomore Tia Conteh (Worcester, Mass.) and freshman Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) and Kayla Odegaard (Milton, Mass.). Conteh is a graduate of Doherty High School, while Russo comes to Anna Maria from South Windsor High School. Odegaard, also a member of the AMCATS' cross country team, is a graduate of Fontebonne Academy.
