Nov. 14, 2006

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's basketball travels to Springfield, Massachusetts to take on American International College, last year's NCAA DII runner-up, in its season opener tomorrow night in its season opener tomorrow night as part of the ECC/NE-10 Challenge. Adelphi is 0-5 in its all-time series with AIC, falling, 78-76, in their last meeting on November 15, 2003.

The Adelphi University women's basketball team has a different look for 2006-07. Primarily it's the addition of eight new players that has Head Coach Kelley Watts, "building a new foundation" for which to set the success of her program on. Now in her fifth year at the helm of the Panther program, Coach Watts has seen her roster fluctuate, but she has now settled on a comfortable 14 players to take Adelphi to the next level.

In each of the past two seasons the Panthers have finished 15-13 advancing to the first round of the East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament. The team goals are to not only win the conference title but they have also set their sights on advancing past the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The biggest change in the program this season is the amount of experience with leadership in the frontcourt and the guard position. Senior captain Betty Mendieta (North Bergen, N.J.) is joined by Division I transfers Valentina Ionova (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Dana Petersen (Staten Island, N.Y.) in the backcourt. "This takes some pressure off the post players where in the past I have had to rely on them," Watts explained. "Our philosophy hasn't changed but the bulk of scoring will come from the guards instead of post players."

Junior captain Gianna Smith (Hempstead, N.Y.) is the team's veteran post player and will help acclimate the younger, less experienced players into the team's philosophy. With four returning starters and an influx of eight new players, the Panthers have added depth at every position. "We have a deep bench this year and this second rotation allows us some comfort and ability to maintain a better game for 40 minutes," Watts explained. "With some experience and with our leaders, the younger players will only get better."

Front Court
The frontcourt returns all but one player from last season, but there are big shoes to fill. Two-time First Team All-ECC and 2006 All-Met Division II Player of the Year Carlyshia Hurdle graduated as the second all-time leading scorer in Adelphi history. She averaged 15.6 points per game and led the squad in rebounds (8.1 rpg) and blocks (36). This fall Hurdle headed to Portugal, becoming the first female basketball player to sign an international pro-basketball contract.

Junior Gianna Smith

Smith is now the veteran post player for the Panthers and she will be called upon to put up some big numbers this year. Smith improved upon her freshman year by averaging 12.5 points in addition to 5.6 rebounds/game. "Gianna is more of a finesse post player than a power player," Watts explained. "We will take advantage of her quickness and allow her to run the floor more. We need consistent double-doubles from her this year."

Sophomore Serita Lee (Freeport, N.Y.) saw limited action last season after joining the Panthers at the midway point. "Serita is all heart," Watts commented. "She is a guard in a post player's body and she will play down low for us. She is a good defender and a tremendous rebounder who goes after every loose ball with passion."

Joining the frontcourt is 6'3" junior transfer Ashley Andrews (Hempstead, N.Y.). "Ashley will be a defensive presence for us in the paint. She is a good shot blocker who we will rely on to finish around the basket and to rebound."

Complimenting the Panther bench are freshmen Hunter Marek (Ipswich, N.H.), Megan McDonnell (Swansea, Mass.) and Caitlin Wetmore (Newtown, N.J.). Coach Watts sees Marek as a good compliment to the style of Smith and she could see some minutes off the bench. "Hunter is also a finesse post player with strong fundamentals and can get up and down the floor well," Watts added.

"Caitlin is a very driven individual and tough player who has worked very hard in the preseason and in practice," Watts stated. " She is not so much a power post but more of a perimeter player who can run the floor and rebound." McDonnell is another 6'3 center who brings great size for the Panthers. "Megan can finish around the basket and will be a defensive presence in the paint," Watts added.

Backcourt
Mendieta, the team's lone senior, is positioned to be a starting guard for Adelphi this season. She averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and led the team in assists. For the past two seasons, Coach Watts has relied on her to fill in at the point position, but now with the addition of graduate students Ionova and Petersen, the Panthers have the luxury of pulling other players to the point position and free her up to move to her natural position. "Betty is our leader on and off the court and developed into one of our 'go to players' at crunch time," Watts explained. "She is an awesome defender who we always put on the opponents best offensive player. She consistently shuts them down, keeping them below their average.

Petersen, the team's third captain for 2006-07, comes to Garden City by way of St. John's University and former Adelphi head coach Kim Barnes-Arico. She played three years for the Red Storm as team captain appearing in 68 games. She was also a four-time Big East Academic All-Star.

Junior Mary Lepore

Described by Coach Watts as a quiet person off the court, her tenacity comes out at game time. "Dana has the knowledge and ability to play with such poise and her Division I experience is definitely a plus. She understands angles and where the ball needs to go," said Watts. She will see time at the point but can also score or defend when called upon. Ionova, a native of Cyprus, played at St. Francis College (NY) where she captained the team, averaging 16.2 minutes per game. She is the first international player that Watts has brought into her program and feels her physical play brings a different flavor to the game. Watts sees her as a good compliment to Petersen and Mendieta. "Valentina is persistent and has great determination. She automatically energizes the team and her intensity brings everyone's [game] to the next level," Watts said.

Junior Mary Lepore (Manhasset, N.Y.) will look to improve on her success from last season. Named a First-Team All-Met and Second-team All-ECC selection, she led the Panthers in scoring (16.1 ppg) and was second in rebounds (7.8 rpg). Lepore was ranked in the league in as many as ten different categories last season including, third in scoring. "Mary had a spectacular year last season. She has worked hard and come back in even better shape. She is becoming mentally tougher and needs to bring her game to a higher level. We need her rebounding ability."

Junior Jordan Gambino (Staten Island, N.Y.) should see more playing time this year as well. "Jordan is our utility player who does everything well. She is a selfless player that loves to pass. However this year we have players that can score, so if she's willing to pass we will all benefit. Although we will ask her to score a little more."

Rounding out the returning guards is sophomore Lisa Manetta (Glendale, N.Y.) who had a solid freshman campaign. Starting in 17 of 28 games played, she led the team in free throw percentage (.825). She garnered her second ECC Rookie of the Week nod when she drained 11 of 13 free throws to secure a win against Mercy College. "When it comes to real pressure situations, Lisa has to be on the floor, especially in the last five minutes of the game. She brings an understanding of truly handling pressure either on the foul line, hitting the three or playing the point."

New to the line up are sophomore Jasmine Travers (Gaitersburg, MD) and freshman Christine Rivera (Bellerose, N.Y.). Travers is a transfer from Montgomery Community College where she earned all-region honors. "Jasmine is very athletic and very quick. She is focused and has tremendous determination to succeed. She listens well and should be an impact player over her career at Adelphi."

Rivera is a product of St. Mary's High School, where she was a three-time team MVP. Christine is a tremendous talent. She has the fundamentals to develop into a solid point guard in the conference," Watts said.

Schedule
The Panthers are in for another competitive season in the conference and Northeast regional games. "This year's tough schedule really helped us prepare for this year which should be just as intense," Watts said.

Head Coach Kelley Watts is in her fifth year with the Panthers.

Including AIC, the Panthers face four schools that made NCAA appearances in 2005-06. One of which is St. Rose, who they host in their season home opener on November 18. The conference schedule kicks off on November 29 at Woodruff Hall against NYIT. This season, Adelphi travels to San Diego, California for a two-day holiday tournament featuring Elite Eight qualifier Shaw University along with Bentley College and Shippensburg University.

The new year will bring with it a non-conference road game at Caldwell College on January 6 before the league schedule gets underway with a home roust against ECC Champions the University of New Haven on January 10. The Panthers finished third in the league with a 14-6 record, sweeping or splitting with all its opponents with the exception of the Chargers.

The theme of building a foundation is already underway and the goal of winning a conference title and a NCAA bid are within reach. "We will try to get the most out of our players and still have some fun," Watts proclaimed.