The women’s basketball team has had a shaky 2012-13 season, winning no more than two games in a row all season.
The Lions are 9-9 this season, and 4-7 in conference play. With seven games left, ENC is currently in 7th place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
On Jan. 5, ENC celebrated a 61-51 win over rival Gordon College. However, senior and captain Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) reminded the team to look forward in the season.
“Gordon is our rival, but it doesn’t matter who we play. The outcome is determined by how we play.”
Coach Santimano agrees with Carradine.
“Every game is our rival game. Each night that we play a conference team, we treat it as such.”
Preparing for conference games is not easy, though — especially with eight freshmen on the team this season.
Since their win against Gordon, the Lions are 2-6 in conference play.
The Lions have three players nearing 10 points per game, with Presley Neufeld – a newcomer this year – leading the team with 9.8 points per game. But, they are still young and learning how to play together.
“Freshman year is a huge learning curve for a lot of players … there are always growing pains,” noted Carradine.
Offensive plans need to change constantly to adjust to the large amount of new players, Santimano notes, but defensive techniques remain the same. The team continues to look forward and to try new things.
Captains Carradine, senior Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.), and junior Abbie Tonello (Bourne, Mass.) have confidence in the team’s talent and focus on winning and continual improvement.
The women take on Nichols at 5 p.m. tonight in the Lahue PE Center.