CHC women won with reduced roster
by TOM UTESCHER
A year ago, the women’s basketball team at Chestnut Hill College
won the Atlantic Women’s College Conference and appeared in the
NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in the history of the
program. The 2005-2006 Griffins didn’t attain those lofty goals
but, given their circumstances, their achievements were just as impressive.
There have been numerous studies documenting the high incidence of knee
injuries among female athletes, and this year’s CHC squad could
have provided plenty of corroborating data.
As the team was preparing for the start of practice in October it was
learned that Keara Clauss, a junior guard out of Plymouth Whitemarsh Senior
High School, would be unable to play due to a chronic knee problem. Then,
in the Griffins’ very first game (played on the road on November
28), senior center Amy Ciaburri (Bishop McDevitt) and junior guard Aubrey
Saylor (Lansdale Catholic) both left the floor with what would prove to
be season-ending knee injuries.
Chestnut Hill not only won that game, beating Trinity University (D.C.)
in overtime, but went on to finish third in the AWCC and attain an overall
record of 17-8 with an eight-woman roster.
“We could’ve buckled, but we didn’t,” remarked
second-year head coach Jackie deMarteleire. “The girls knew other
people had to step up, and that they’d have to take on additional
responsibilities on the court. They stayed together and worked hard as
a team to come through with a winning season.”
With Ciaburri sidelined, shooting guard Bethanne Castone was the only
senior suiting up for the local franchise, and because of Saylor’s
absence, her role in the offense changed, as well.
“Instead of receiving the ball on the wing, sometimes she had to
be the one distributing the ball,” deMarteleire pointed out.
This enabled the coach to give an occasional breather to junior point
guard Judy Parise, who averaged just under five points a game and led
the team in assists, with 120 for the season. Castone still emerged as
the team’s top offensive weapon, putting up 14.3 points per game
and ending her career as the Griffins’ second all-time leading scorer,
with 1161 points.
“Bethanne had an outstanding senior year and did a great job of
leading our team,” deMarteleire stated. “She knew what I wanted
from her all the time, and she worked as hard as anyone possibly could.”
Lafayette Hill native Kate Quintus, a junior power forward, has been
one of Chestnut Hill’s most reliable players over the past few seasons,
and she came through this winter with 13.8 points and nine rebounds per
game. Swing player Lindsay Tornetta, also a third-year Griffin, provided
12.7 points and close to five rebounds per game for CHC.
Another member of the team’s strong junior class, power forward
Andrea Carter, became a consistent, powerful presence in the paint this
season, and almost averaged a double-double with 9.8 points and 11.4 rebounds.
“She was a force to be reckoned with inside, and just dominated
with her rebounding,” said deMarteleire. “She put in a lot
of hard work last summer and it really paid off for her.”
Two young swing players also played an important part in the team’s
success. Sophomore Tara Walsh averaged 8.2 points and almost six rebounds
per game and earned a starting spot in the second half of the season,
while freshman Marianne Finfrock scored close to seven points per game
and was no longer playing like a rookie once February rolled around.
Walk-on Courtney Hogges was CHC’s eighth player for most of the
winter, and in the last few weeks of the season that role was assumed
by Krista DeFlaviis, better known as a goalie for the Chestnut Hill soccer
team.
In the 87-80 loss that ended the Griffins’ season in the semifinals
of the AWCC tournament, rival Mary Baldwin nailed more than 65-percent
of its field goal attempts in the first half to go up 40-25 by the break.
Although they ultimately fell short, the locals made a game of it in the
second half.
“The game came down to the last minute,” deMarteleire related.
“Our second half was probably the best basketball I’ve seen
this group play together.”
Another contest that stood out in deMarteleire’s mind is one CHC
hosted in mid-February, when the Griffins avenged an earlier road loss
at Maryland’s College of Notre Dame by thumping the Gators, 73-42.
“The girls played with a real sense of confidence and team unity,
and we dominated the game from start to finish,” she recalled. “That
was also when Bethanne scored 1000th career point. I’ve seen situations
where there’s some jealously with other members of the team over
something like that, but our team kept running plays for Bethanne and
playing very unselfishly. That really showed you how much they respect
her as a player and like her as a person.”
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