Women’s basketball season preview 2004-05:

UMass Dartmouth women’s basketball team heads into new season looking to build on past success

 

(Dartmouth, MA) – In his first season as the head women’s basketball coach at UMass Dartmouth, Mick Klitzner enjoyed a banner season.  Prior to his arrival, it had been ten years since a Corsair woman’s basketball team had more than ten wins in a season and as many years since the Corsairs had hosted a Little East Conference Tournament game at the Tripp Athletic Center.

 

Heading into his second season with the Corsairs, Klitzner will be looking to build on his first season’s success. UMass Dartmouth is coming an 11-16 overall record, a fourth-place regular season finish in the LEC, a conference tournament victory and a spot in the LEC Tournament semi-finals.

 

The main challenge facing the Corsairs this season will be replacing last year’s captains Amy Satkevich and Kelly O’Neil. Satkevich was the Corsairs top scorer and rebounder and UMass Dartmouth’s only LEC First-Team all-star. As a senior co-captain, O’Neil was one of the team leaders. The loss of guard Bridget Bowes to a season-ending injury in the pre-season is another roster spot the Corsairs need to fill.

 

For the 2004-05 season, Klitzner will build his team around a pair of returning starters from last year, a handful of players who saw some action last season and several newcomers to the program. 

 

Senior co-captain and point guard Casey Ridge (Quincy, MA) is coming off an outstanding season last year. She finished sixth nationally in the NCAA Division III and led the Little East Conference with 182 assists (6.63/game). She also led the LEC in steals (86, 3.19/game) to go along with 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

 

“The key to our team is going to be Casey Ridge at point guard,” said Klitzner, who will work with assistant coaches Cash Griffith and Jessica Corwin.  “We are going to go as far as she can take us.”

 

With the loss of Bowes at the shooting guard position, one option Klitzner was considering was using junior guard/forward Kerri Augenstein (East Greenwich, RI) at that spot. Coming off the Corsairs’ bench last season, Augenstein averaged 6.3 points per game and 4.5 rebounds.

 

Klitzner could also use sophomore guard/forward Katie Lunnin (South Boston, MA) into the spot or in the front court.  Last season, she was the third Corsair to average in double-figures, scoring 11.2 points per game (11^th LEC) and adding 3.8 rebounds.  Lunnin was the Corsairs’ top three-point shooter, making 67-187 (.358) and was 89-275 (.324) from the floor. Lunnin was second in the LEC in three-pointers made per game (2.52) behind Bowes (2.55). First-year guard Ashley Chard (Burlington, CT) could also be another option along with sophomore Lauren Goggin (Rockland, MA) at the shooting guard spot.

 

The loss of Satkevich will hurt the Corsairs in the front court where senior co-captain and forward Maura Armstrong (Worcester, MA) will be the only returning veteran. As a junior last year, she led the LEC in blocked shots with 38 (1.73/game) and chipped in five points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench.

 

“The loss of Amy Satkevich is significant because she was a scoring and rebounding machine,” said Klitzner.  “We’re missing a lot of points from last year with her. We were able to score a lot of points, going over 80 three times. This year it won’t be so easy.”

 

Among the players Klitzner will be using are several first-year players, including forward Lindsay Marsh (Bristol, CT), Vicky Palantzas (Brockton, MA) and Lisa Satkevich (Quincy, MA). Also attempting to find some playing time in their first season with the Corsairs will be Joya Davis (Bristol, CT), Susan Dawson (Peabody, MA) along with sophomores Elizabeth Fitzgerald (Danvers, MA) and Meredith Morgan (Easthampton, MA).

 

On tool Klitzner has entering this season is building on the team’s success last year.  After averaging slightly more than five wins per season for the last decade, the Corsairs enjoyed a taste of success last season. How to build on that success in his second season is one of the challenges facing Klitzner.

 

“Our success was that now I think we know that we have some respect and we’ve got the feeling that we can win games,” Klitzner said.  “This year we are stressing that we have to compete in every game and in every practice in order to improve as a team.”

 

What makes the prospects for continued success challenging for the Corsairs is the high quality of play in the LEC. With Southern Maine annual ranked among the top Division III programs in the country, the bar is set very high in the LEC.  With an eye towards last season’s improvement, the LEC coaches picked UMass Dartmouth to finish sixth in the conference in the annual pre-season poll, up from the eighth spot a year ago.

 

“Our league is very strong. I tell our team that if we don’t come ready to play every night you can lose to anyone,” Klitzner said.  “The top teams in the LEC compete at such a high level that you have to play mistake free to beat them. The are no nights off in the LÉC.”

 

Given the hard work and determination that went into the Corsairs’ 2003-04 season, Klitzner doesn’t anticipate his team will be taking any nights off during the upcoming season. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Last Updated On: 9/1/06



 Last Updated On: 5/5/04