',
2009-10 Women’s Basketball Season Preview
November 10, 2009
Junior Brittany Schrock returns as the teams leading scorer.
After failing to win the NEAC title for the first time in six years in 2007-08. Coach Dave Sweet’s team got back on track last season.
Not only did the Storm win the conference crown, but made its second trip to the NCAA Tourney in three years and assembled a 15-game winning streak en route to a 17-8 record.
Sweet’s 2009-10 bunch will definitely have a target on their backs after losing only one game against a conference opponent and bringing back the majority of his team.
Keuka’s strong junior class will highlight the list of returees beginning with Brittany Schrock (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Thomas Edison) and Nadia Madmoune (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy), who were both All-NEAC third team selections last season. Schrock, a shooting guard, led the Storm in scoring at 9.8 points a game while draining 45 3-pointers. Madmoune, a forward, averaged 6.3 points and 7.7 rebounds (176) while also finishing second on the team with 44 steals.
Senior guard Melissa Thurston (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) is back for her final year after leading the Storm with 90 steals in 25 games. Thurston was also fourth on the team in scoring (7.6) and rebounding (4.9). Junior guard Jessica Fink (New Oxford, PA/New Oxford) returns to the starting lineup after finishing third on the team in scoring (8.5). Fink netted a team-high 46 3-pointers.
Junior guards Nicki Zahn (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) and Mindy Buck (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) return and will help anchor the Storm defense. Zahn scored 113 points while Buck led the team in free throw percentage (.89). Junior forwards Heather Fish (Newfield, N.Y./Newfield) and Morgan Engelbert (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Thomas Edison) also return. Fish was third on the team in rebounding at 5.4 per contest.
Senior Joycelynn Crapp (Sylvester, GA/Worth County) and sophomores Elena Augustus (Geneva, N.Y./DeSales) and Alecia Steeves (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili) all will push for playing time.
New to the squad will be forwards Mariah Mouzon (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Elmira Free Acad.), Montana McDonald (Romulus, N.Y./Romulus), and Stephanie Strassner (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) as well as guard Latasha Santana (Rochester, N.Y./East). Mouzon (6′0″), McDonald (5′11″), and Strassner (5′11″) should provide immediate depth to the Storm’s front-court.
Keuka opens its season with an away game against the Herons of William Smith College on Sunday, Nov. 15 beginning at 2 pm. The Storm’s first home game will come the following Saturday (Nov. 21) against SUNY Canton beginning at 2 pm. The Storm will also host the first round of the Wendy’s College Classic on Tuesday, Jan. 12.
