Introduction:
The Bloomfield Lady Deacons are coming off another successful campaign in 2007-08 that took them one step away from the CACC finals. The Deacons had their best season since 2005-06 posting an overall mark of 15-14, and a 2nd place regular season finish in the CACC North with a record of 11-6. The Deacons would host Caldwell College in the opening round of the CACC tournament and come away with a 72-59 victory. The women would see their season come to an end by the eventual CACC tournament champ Holy Family in the semi-final round by a score of 70-47. The Lady Deacons are looking to get out of the gate in 2008-09 the same way as last season, winning 10 of their first 13 games.
Letter winners returning(6):
The Lady Deacons returners include 1 senior, 3 juniors, and 2 sophomores. Seniors Ashley Crenshaw and Renee Vales are set to lead the Deacons in their push for a conference title. Crenshaw is the Deacons leading scorer returning from last year’s squad at 8 points per game and also finished second on the team in 3 pointers made with 25. Vales is set to run the point this year after having her 2007-08 season cut short due to a season ending ACL injury. As a sophomore Vales started 22 games for BC finishing 2nd on team in assists and averaged 5.1 points per contest.
Junior Emily Horrocks averaged 27 minutes per game last season and was second on the team in assists with 54. Horrocks is also one of the co-captains on this year’s squad. Tiffany Musgrove appeared in 28 games for the Lady Deacons last season and her experience will be counted on. Jaleesa Coleman saw plenty of action in 07-08 after transferring from California University of Pennsylvania. Coleman appeared in 26 games for the women, averaging 5.1 points per game while pulling in 77 boards. Alexis Sweeney made 9 starts, averaging 4 points per game while dishing out 38 assists.
The Lady Deacons bring back 2 sophomores in 2008-09, both of whom saw significant time in their freshmen campaigns. Center Tiffany McDaniel started 16 games last season and was fifth on the team in points per game, averaging 6.9, while finishing second on the team in rebounds with 142. Robyn Burton saw action in 24 of BC’s contests and racked up 10 steals. Nicole Hawkins looks to get back onto the court after redshirting last season. Hawkins has the potential to be a major inside threat.
Newcomers(7)
The Bloomfield women welcome 7 new faces to the 2008-09 squad, featuring 1 transfer, 2 redshirt freshmen and 4 true freshmen. Junior transfer Milani Malik will be looked to for immediate contribution. Malik, a transfer from Stoney Brook University in New York, is also one of the team’s co-captains.
2 sport athletes Vanessa Lamision and Cherricka Minnigan look to begin their Deacon basketball careers after redshirting in 2007-08. Lamision is a member of cross country team and Minnigan started over 20 games for the women’s volleyball team this fall.
The Lady Deacons freshmen class provides depth at every position on the floor. Ashley Keels is a capable point guard with a great upside, and Shakiyrah Bishop has proven herself to be a very talented guard since arriving this fall. High School teammates F Erica Rassman and C Jamila Garrett make their way to Bloomfield from Egg Harbor High School, and both are expected to be mainstays at the BC gym floor for the next four seasons.
SCHEDULE:
Bloomfield will encounter 16 CACC contests with home and away series versus Northern Division opponents Caldwell, Dominican, Post, Nyack, and Felician. The Deacons have single games against every team in the Southern Division: USP, Wilmington, Holy Family, Goldey Beacom, Chestnut Hill, and Philadelphia University.
The non-conference schedule is made up of 5 games against very talented Northeast-10 schools. The Lady Deacons begin their season with 2 trips, the first to Massachusetts for the Stonehill College tip-off tournament. The Deacons will then travel to Virginia to participate in 2 games at the Virginia State Classic.
The Deacons are set to play a very difficult schedule, including games against NE-10 regular season champion Stonehill College and a rematch with CACC tournament champion Holy Family.
Quoting Coach Jerry Wimberly:
“Last year was a difficult season for us as we were set back by injuries the entire year. 2007-08 was a good year, but it was not the year that we expected. There were several nice milestones for Ciera Darby, and we will definitely miss the presence of Seniors Marissa Franklin and Shantae Barnes. We’ve added a lot of depth to last year’s team and our expectations for what we can achieve is very high. Our goal is to be the best defensive team in the conference, and if we can do that than everything else should fall into place.”
Summation:
The 2008-09 version of the Lady Deacons appears to have a very high ceiling in what they can accomplish. Returning 6 players who gained tremendous experience last season and adding 7 newcomers that are ready to make an immediate contribution, it seems possible that this year’s team has the potential to take home a CACC conference championship.
The Deacons were picked to finish 2nd in the North Division in the CACC coaches poll, receiving 3 first place votes . Bloomfield opens up the 2008-09 campaign with a trip to Stonehill College for a kickoff tournament this weekend. The Lady Deacons have their first home game November 22nd versus UMass Lowell at 1pm.