Basketball looks to experience, depth

Danny Fahey Guest Writer

The 2005-2006 Vassar women’s basketball team has started off their season with a bang. On the weekend of Nov. 18, Vassar opened their season by winning the Stevens Tech Invitational Tournament. The women defeated host Stevens Tech in the first round of the tournament and Rutgers University Newark in the championship on Saturday.

In the tournament, forward Rachel Cerlen ’07 was a force inside with a double-double in each game—16 points and 11 rebounds against Stevens Tech; 12 points and 14 rebounds against Rutgers—on her way to being named the tournament Most Valuable Player. The success of the team was also driven by the performances of Natalie Serkowski ’06, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament, and point-guard Erin Harper ’06, who added 17 assists.

The result of Vassar’s first two games served only to increase the rising expectations for this year’s team. This year’s captains—Serkowski, Harper, Meredith McGair ’06, Lauren Rucker ’07, and Sarah Porter ’06—have been the backbone of the Vassar women’s basketball program over the past three years.

Yet the excitement that accompanies a 2-0 start was dampened on Nov. 22 when Vassar fell to the Hunter College Hawks, 60-49 at Walker Gymnasium. Hunter jumped out to an early lead, aided by early foul calls on Cerlen, who would have otherwise contributed a height advantage for the Vassar squad.

But Vassar fought back to cut the lead to four going into the second half with the score 26-22 Hunter. Lizzie Evans ’07, who scored 19 points while shooting five for nine from three- point range, was one of the bright spots in a game that turned ugly for the Brewers in the second half. Hunter held Vassar to six points in the first ten minutes of the second half, mounting a 43-28 lead over the Brewers. A barrage of three pointers by Evans late in the game could only make a small dent into the Hawks’ lead and Vassar fell by 11 points.

Despite the loss, the Brewers are showing a lot of potential. Evans’ return from a torn ACL that sidelined her last season represents a major part of the optimism for the women’s team. Cerlen also stepped up her off-season conditioning and entered practice this year in the best shape of her career.

The depth of the team, which was once a weakness, is now one of the team’s strengths. Vassar carries 15 players. The team’s depth will play into Vassar’s plan for the season, as they hope to utilize fresh legs against their opponents.

“We're really trying to focus on our transition game this year,” said Serkowski in a recent e-mail interview. “We have both skilled forwards and guards, and Erin Harper is always looking to push the ball up the court. We're hoping that we can both catch defenses off guard and wear them down by continually running on them.”

Vassar also has a strong inside-outside threat because of Cerlen’s early season dominant play and other emerging post players that could balance the team’s three-point shooting.
Much of the Brewers’ success, however, will hinge on their ability to hit three-point shots on a consistent basis. Besides Serkowski and Evans, Harper, Rucker, McGair, Alison McSheehy ’08, Chelsea Katzenberg ’08, Elise Okusami ’08, and Shannon Fuhr ’09 can all knock down the open three-pointer.

This year’s freshman class has given the Brewers a deep frontcourt as well. Both Meade and Sarah Ames ’09 will get minutes along with a core of returning post players, which is made up of Cerlen, McGair, Porter and Acacia O’Connor ’08.

The team has a 16-57 record since 2002. The tough competition of the Liberty League and a series of unfortunate injuries have contributed to the past struggles.

But this year’s team is healthy, experienced and refocused. What the team does next in the few non-conference games and in January when they begin playing Liberty League games will determine what path this year’s team will take. Much of this weight falls upon the five captains, who have all been important parts of Vassar women’s basketball during their careers.
“Each one brings something special to the table,” said coach Steve Buonfiglio in reference to his captains.

Serkowski is the team’s defensive stopper and is usually matched up against the one of the better offensive players on the opposing team. She is also a deadly shooting threat; she was second in scoring last season with 9.4 points per game and led the team in three-pointers made.

According to Buonfiglio, Porter has also been a leader off the court, creating a cohesive team unit, while also getting good minutes in the post.

McGair has led the team’s offensive output over the past two years, averaging a team-high 12.9 point per game since her sophomore year. McGair has also been named to the All-Liberty League Second Team in the past two years.

Rucker is by far “the most vocal player on the team,” said Buonfiglio, and has remained a spark off the bench, adding both energy and three-point shooting to the team.
Harper has held the mantel of Vassar starting point guard for the past two seasons and been the responsible for the smooth running of its offense. Harper also holds the single-season record for assists in a season with 135.

One of Vassar’s strengths, according to Buonfiglio “is that we have a point guard who can run all day.”

Harper has played in every single regular season game in her three-year career at Vassar. Not only does Harper appear in every game, she has averaged 31.8 out of 40 minutes per game in her career.

Considering this, there will probably be very few possessions this season that are not guided by the hands of Harper.

With the many strengths of this year’s women’s basketball team, it is hard not to be excited about what the women can do. It seems as if the pieces are finally being put together for a successful run by the team.

The seniors themselves are also hoping to make a statement with the games to come.
“It would be really personally satisfying for us to look back on our college careers and know that we worked our butts off and ended on a high note,” said Serkowski. “I know the seniors want to go out with a bang.”

When asked what he thought the legacy of his captains was for the past four years, Buonfiglio replied, “I’m hoping that the legacy is to be determined. They have gone through a many trials and tribulations, injuries, but they have always persevered. They always came back and worked harder and never accepted failure. It would be a great legacy to go out with a great senior year.”