WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army women's basketball team embarks on the 2009-10 season beginning Friday evening at Christl Arena. The Black Knights open against Wagner for the second year in a row. Head coach Dave Magarity's club will be looking to avenge a heartbreaking 59-58 loss at Wagner a year ago.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME
Television: None
Radio: WALL (1340-AM), Middletown, N.Y.
WEOK (1390-AM), Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Internet (Video & Audio):
www.goARMYsports.com | ITT Knight Vision
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Color Analyst: Bob Beretta
Live Stats: www.goARMYsports.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ArmyAthletics
THE COACHES
Dave Magarity, Army
at Army: 60-31 (.659), Fourth season
Career: 373-365 (.505), 27th season
Gela Mikalauskas, Wagner
at Wagner: 193-230 (.456), 16th season
Career: Same
THE SERIES
Series Record: Tied, 2-2
First Meeting: 1978-79 (Army, W 81-54)
Last Meeting: 2008-09 (Wagner, W 59-58)
Current Streak: Wagner, 1 game
QUICK HITS
• Army was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. Lehigh was picked to repeat as champions.
• Head coach Dave Magarity, who is in his fifth overall season (2005-06 as associate head coach) at West Point is just two wins away from his 375th career victory.
• Black Knights have a jam-packed November slate to include seven contests, three of which are at home.
ANTHONY NAMED PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE
Junior F Erin Anthony will begin the 2009-10 season with preseason all-league status already under her belt. A second team All-Patriot League pick last year, Anthony led the conference in rebounds (8.2 per game) and ranked second in blocked shots (1.9 per game) during a standout sophomore campaign.
NEW TO THE FOLD
With the graduation of two of the program's top three scorers over the course of the last two seasons - Cara Enright '08 and Alex McGuire '09 - the Black Knights will rely upon the development of its youth to thrive in 2009-10. This year's roster includes seven players that have not played a single minute of collegiate basketball. Five of those seven did spend a year a the USMA Prep School, however, including freshman G Liz Benedict who returns with a full four years of eligibility after suffering a season-ending injury and leaving the Academy last fall.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Without a single senior on this year's roster, junior F Erin Anthony was appointed to serve as team captain at the Black Knights' end-of-season banquet. She is just the eighth Army player to serve as captain in her junior season.
LIFTING THE LID
The Black Knights boast a 14-17 all-time in season-openers. Army has not won a season opener in three years and enters Friday's game hoping to avenge a heartbreaking 59-58 loss at Wagner in 2008-09.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
After defeating Army to open 2008-09, the Seahawks lost three of their next four games and finished the year with a 7-22 mark. Going 3-15 in the Northeast Conference, Wagner finished tied for 10th and did not make the NEC Tournament. The Seahawks were picked to finish 11th in the NEC Preseason Poll.
Senior G Andrea Reed returns as the team’s top point-producer, averaging 13.0 points per game last year. The 5-4 floor general also dished out 5.1 assists per game to top the NEC. She leads a group of three returning seniors, featuring G/F John’a Poole (5.6 ppg) and G Naomi Augustin (2.6 ppg). Junior F Ashley Olsen returns to anchor Wagner in the post, averaging 8.5 ppg and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game a year ago.
Under the direction of Gela Mikalauskas (Kean, 1977) in her 16th season with the Staten Island club, the Seahawks open 2009-10 against Army for the second year in a row.
THE LAST MEETING
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Andrea Reed hit a running bank shot in the lane with 2.9 seconds remaining to lift Wagner to a dramatic 59-58 victory over Army, Friday afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center in the season opener for both squads.
Reed proved too much for the Black Knights down the stretch as the 5-4 junior accounted for 18 of the Seahawks’ 30 second-half points en route to a career-best 22-point showing. Reed, who added four steals, scored 15 of Wagner’s final 18 points over the last 9:58 to lead the rally.
Army (0-1) led 40-34 with 15:23 remaining, but the Seahawks struck for six consecutive points to tie the score at 40-40 with 11:51 to play. The Black Knights responded with a mini 5-1 run to quickly reclaim the lead at 45-41, but Reed took over from there.
Erin Anthony led four Army players in doube figures with 14 points. Her five rebounds and three blocks also tied for team-best numbers.
COACHING MATCH-UP
Two veteran coaches are set to go head-to-head in Friday’s opener. Army’s Dave Magarity begins his 27th season as a collegiate head coach, 23 of which were spent in the men’s ranks, including an 18-year stint at Hudson Valley rival Marist. Magarity took the reins at West Point for the 2006-07 season and owns a 60-31 (.659) record in three years at West Point.
Wagner’s Gela Mikalauskas has spent all 15 years of her coaching career at Wagner. She has a 193-230 (.456) with the Seahawks. Mikalauskas, who took a 15-year hiatus in between two separate coaching assignments at Wagner, is the school’s all-time winningest coach.
PRESEASON NOTES
• Junior F Erin Anthony voted onto the Patriot League’s Preseason All-League team at the start of November. Comprised of three juniors and two seniors, the team also included Michelle Kirk (American), Briana McFadden (Holy Cross), Erica Prosser (Lehigh) and Alex Ross (Lehigh). The top vote-getter, Prosser was named the Preseason Player of the Year.
• Army was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason poll (see page 4 for details), while defending champion Lehigh was picked to repeat.
BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE
For the second year in a row, Army fans will have the opportunity to sit courtside for both men’s and women’s basketball games at Christl Arena. A courtside season ticket, which includes all men’s and women’s games, can be purchased for $198 per ticket. Single-game courtside seats run for $10 each. All fans with a courtside seat will be entitled to free food and beverage in the hospitality area.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
Over the last two seasons, Army has graduated two of the top three all-time leading scorers in program history. Cara Enright ’08 (1,719 points) and Alex McGuire ’09 (1,467) are second and third, respectively, among Army’s 14 1,00-point scorers.
HAWKINS’ HOT FINISH
With one of the hottest finishes in recent memory, junior G Nalini Hawkins exploded to average more than 20 points a game during the 2009 Patriot League Tournament, hosted by Lehigh at Stabler Arena. The Columbia, Md., native torched her previous career-high (17) with a 24-point effort, including a career-high five three-pointers, to lead all scorers in a 54-47 semifinal win over Holy Cross. Hawkins poured in 21 points the following day as the Black Knights ended their season with a 61-42 loss to eventual champion Lehigh. Based on her weekend performance, Hawkins became the eighth Army player to garner Patriot League All-Tournament Team status. She was also the only all-tournament team member not participating in the championship game between rivals Lehigh and Lafayette.
INSIDE-OUTSIDE
Junior G Nalini Hawkins returns for her third year running the point, while classmate F Erin Anthony anchors Army in the post, giving the Black Knights a strong inside-outside presence. The pair represent Army’s top two returning scorers from a year ago, averaging 12.3 ppg and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Anthony and Hawkins also boast the most experience of any returning player on this year’s roster. According to head coach Dave Magarity, “If you have a good point guard and you have a good center, which I believe we do, then that’s a good foundation on which to build.”
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Despite returning three starters and a total of four letterwinners from last year’s campaign, nearly half of Army’s 16-player roster has not played a minute of collegiate basketball. Seven freshmen join this year’s team, a number that includes five players that spent a year at the USMA Prep School (see note below). G Molly Yardley (Milford, Conn.) and Anna Simmers (Anchorage, Alaska) are the only two freshmen to come directly to West Point. G Liz Benedict (Cumming, Ga.), G Karleen Paulin (Summerville, S.C.), Kimberlyn Martin (Apopka, Fla.), Alison Grapevine (Lowellville, Ohio) and Megan Maurer (Hollsopple, Pa.) all spent a year at USMAPS -- the latter four in 2008-09. Originally a member of the Class of 2012, Benedict played the 2007-08 season at USMAPS and started her freshman year at West Point in 2008-09. A season-ending shoulder injury sustained during summer training kept her from competing. Benedict left the Academy and returned with a full four years of eligibility in 2009-10.
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