The Women’s Basketball team split their last two games of the season with a narrow win against SUNY Brockport and a loss against SUNY Geneseo last weekend.
The overall 6-19 Lady Hawks ended the 2013-14 season with a SUNYAC record of 4-14.
This is the first season Head Coach Jamie Seward, who has been the head of the program for eight seasons, has has not led led the Lady Hawks to post season play. Knowing the team had not made the SUNYAC Tournament, the season came to a calm end rather than an abrupt halt, Seward said.
The Lady Hawks came back from a ten point deficit entering halftime with the Lady Golden Eagles Feb. 21, and with two capitalizing free throws from second-year Captain Goldie Harrison to end the matchup, edged Brockport in a 55-54 victory.
The team couldn’t end the season on the same note the next day though, losing to the Lady Knights 61-58. With a 10-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game, Seward said the loss shows that the team can compete with a competitive Lady Knights squad that will be returning every member on the team roster next season.
“This team has been enjoyable to coach,” Seward said. “We’ve gotten a lot better and the players, to their credit, despite from the outside looking in having little to play for, believed we had a lot to play for and we came and practiced well and really continued to improve throughout the end part of the season – which is hard to do even when you’re having a great season let alone when you’re struggling.”
The Lady Hawks will be losing a lone fourth-year in Captain Jeanette Scott, who Seward said has been an integral part of the program the last four years.
“It’s bittersweet,” Scott said. “I’m sad I’m not playing anymore. I’m also happy I made it through the four years, because I’ve seen a lot of people come and go and not make it until the end.”
Scott said although the team had a challenging season, she expects great things from the Lady Hawks next season.
“Know the feeling that we felt this year, and know what it takes to be the best team,” Scott said on what advice she would give to the returning players. “They know what it is to work hard and get better everyday, that they know, but now they know they have to work that much harder because it’s not easy.”
Third-year Captain Shannan Walker said although it is disappointing the team didn’t make the SUNYAC Tournament, the improvement and wins generated in the second half of the season illustrated the type of basketball the team is capable of playing.
“The off-season is all about getting better individually, so we’re going to be focusing a lot on improving our skills and getting stronger,” Walker said.
From a coaching standpoint, Seward looks to increase his ten women roster by five to encourage a level of competition that that he didn’t have this year, while building a depth around a strong core of returners.
“No matter what, in a way you start all over every year,” Seward said. “We’re looking for not just great players, but the right people, to help grow what we already have started here.”