Women's Basketball
2007-08 Season Recap
Although the 2007-08 Clark University women’s basketball campaign did not produce the results they had hoped for, the Cougars experienced many successful moments and revealed flashes of promise for next year. The 8-17 (4-9 NEWMAC) team captured its 11th Worcester City Tip-Off Title in the past 12 years and 18th total championship with a 57-47 victory over WPI. Junior Sarah Roderigue earned the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player honors, while sophomore Jillian Camilleri was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Clark also advanced to the University of Southern Maine Tournament championship game during winter break, where Camilleri earned her second All-Tournament team nod. Following the semester vacation, the Cougars posted victories in two of its first three conference games and won twice more in league play to earn the seventh seed in the tournament. However, Clark was knocked out in the first-round after a 56-43 loss to second-seeded Coast Guard Academy.
Individual highlights included Roderigue’s All-Conference first-team selection and her first D3hoops.com All-Northeast Region second-team appearance.
Earlier in the season, Clark hosted its first-ever Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) “Think Pink” campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer. The squad donated $150 to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
2007-08 Season Preview
With the return of 13 letter-winners and four starters, it’s safe to assume that the Clark University women’s basketball team will look for leadership and experience to play a key role in the 2007-08 campaign.
“We went from being a young team to a pretty experienced squad in one year,” said long-time head coach Pat Glispin. “A few of our key players got thrown into the fire of the game last year, but now they are more prepared and understand what’s expected this time around.”
After posting a subpar 12-13 overall mark last year, the Cougars staged a late season comeback to win seven of its last nine New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games for an 8-5/5th place conference finish and a 12th straight trip to the NEWMAC tournament. Although a last second shot put an end to Clark’s year, Coach Glispin knows that one season does not make or break a team.
“We play a very tough non-conference schedule, so we took some lumps early on,” Glispin said. “But, we played our best basketball late in the year and came within a few seconds of advancing in the tournament. We just have to build off of that.”
While the loss by the graduation of Ashley Auclair ‘07 hurts, Clark will develop the interior game around sophomore standout Jillian Camilleri (10.7 ppg). After leading the team in rebounding (8.4 rpg) last year, Camilleri will take over as the point player in the paint this season.
Along with Camilleri, the Cougars appear to have a solid front-line boosted by the return of junior tri-captain Sarah Roderigue (14.5 ppg), the team’s top returning scorer, and senior Katelyn Petty. Roderigue, who blossomed into a NEWMAC second-team all-star last season, gives Clark an inside-outside game, and Petty, a shot-blocker with size and versatility, will be expected to have a breakout year. Both players will be joined by sophomores Shinkwa James, Ruth Briggs and Blaize Denfield, also counted on to make an impact. While James’ low-post scoring ability will figure prominently in Coach Glispin’s plans, Briggs and Denfield, both excellent defenders, will add depth to the forward rotation.
Junior tri-captain Sara Hagstrom will run the offense for a second season from the point guard position, while graduate student Jess Lamothe, another tri-captain, will get the starting assignment at the off-guard spot. Coach Glispin will look to several other players to log minutes in the backcourt including senior Kristin Healy, who can handle both guard positions, and three-point specialists Nicole LeVecue and Katie McCloskey. Junior Catherine Hart and sophomore Emily Skelton will also contribute.
Coach Glispin also looks to blend the talent of several newcomers with the veteran roster. Ariel Feinstein, a freshman from Naples, Fla., will give the Cougars an offensive spark off the bench, while Hannah Lacaire, a transfer from Eastern Connecticut State University, is noted for her defensive intensity and Montclair, N.J., product Chloe Carden brings physical toughness to the line-up.
“In addition to Jess Lamothe, who has significantly more experience than others, we’ve got two juniors (Sarah Roderigue and Sara Hagstrom) and a sophomore (Jillian Camilleri) in really major roles this year,” Glispin said. “Those four have got to be the backbone of the team.”
Clark’s victories won’t come easy this year. On top of their already imposing schedule, the Cougars added to its strength with games against pre-season nationally ranked teams Bowdoin College and the University of Southern Maine. “If we are going to continue to grow, we have got to be challenged,” said the veteran coach. “We have worked extremely hard in the pre-season, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together on the court.”
About the Program
The women's basketball team ended the 2005-06 season winning eight of the last 11 games and reached the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) finals for the second straight year. Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Cougars defeated fourth-seeded Coast Guard 66-57 in the quarterfinals and the top-seeded team, Mount Holyoke, 57-53 in the semifinals. The Cougars' season came to an end with a 79-59 loss to Springfield in the finals.
Success is not new to this Cougar team; it has enjoyed national prominence for well over two decades experiencing extraordinary success at both the regional and national levels. During the 1999-2000 season, the squad earned its 13th 20-win season en route to a 21-9 overall mark, as the Cougars advanced to the NCAA Northeast Sectional and competed in the Sweet Sixteen round. In 1988-89, Coach Pat Glispin's squad posted a perfect 26-0 regular season record, winning the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and playing into the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. The Cougars set an NCAA Division III record with 36 consecutive wins dating back to 1988. And in 1982 and 1983, the team reached the NCAA Division III Final Four Tournament.
In the last 21 years, the Cougars have compiled a 400-172 overall record. In regional tournament play, Clark is one of just two squads (along with Colby College) to win the ECAC New England crown three times (1988, 1990, and 1996); and the Cougars won Massachusetts Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (MAIAW) state titles in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1982.
For more information about Clark University Women's Basketball, please contact head coach
Pat Glispin at (508) 793-7628 or by email
at pglispin@clarku.edu
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