Photo: Atlantic 10 Conference
BY: CARSON HAYEK, STAFF WRITER
St. Bonaventure senior guard Dani Haskell and head coach Jim Crowley represented the Bonnies women’s basketball team at the Atlantic 10 women’s basketball media conference today in Washington D.C.
Although the Bonnies went 4-26 (1-17 A-10) last season, there was still a lot to take away and learn from the year, said Crowley.
“Just the resiliency, by the end of the season we had seven kids gone and that was never an excuse,” said Crowley. “I thought we played pretty hard consistently and that has carried over into the summer with the folks that returned.”
Bonaventure is currently ranked 14th of 15 possible teams in the preseason A-10 poll. Even with that ranking, Haskell said she believes that the team is ready to take that next step up this winter.
“I think just playing for Coach Crowley shows the returners this year we’re ready,” said Haskell. “We have a lot of new players, and we are ready to build on [last year], and obviously improve.”
As for the newcomers, Crowley stressed that all of them will have their opportunity to contribute, but it’s about finding consistency.
“I’ll be honest with you, they’re all going to play,” said Crowley. “They’re going to get opportunities. You know one will stand out at practice Tuesday night, and another will stand out Wednesday morning. That’s normal with youth to find that consistency, but we’re finding a couple that are [getting] there.”
As for the returnees, Bonaventure has four fifth-year players. The Bonnies will look at redshirt senior guards, Nadechka Laccen and Isabellah Middleton, for large roles this season, according to Crowley.
“Nadechka is a very talented player and can do a lot of things,” said Crowley. “She can make plays, she’s a terrific guard and she’s been so open to correctness. [Isabellah] can just ball. She’s done a great job with embracing her teammates and being a vocal leader.”
The youth on the team will rely on Laccen, Middleton and other returnees as outlets to help gain experience and knowledge, said Crowley.
“[The returnees] ability to embrace [playing for me] helps even the younger players lean in,” said Crowley. “While the returning players haven’t had those four or five full years with me, they’ve embraced it so fast, and the young players see that. [The youth] have talked to the [returnees] when they’ve gone through some things.”
With the increase from 10 to 14 players on the roster, the level of competition has also jumped, said Haskell.
“You can tell each one of us really wants to win and the culture is just different,” said Haskell. “It’s really good to see that we all want the same thing to win, and it’s very competitive.”
Bonaventure’s first game of the season is an exhibition at home against Daemen College on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
hayekc24@bonaventure.edu
