It is 2:30 on a Friday afternoon at Northeastern University’s Solomon Court. A persistent squeaking pervades through the area as the women’s basketball team practices their free throws.
In one corner, guards Lindsay Mansi and Lizzie Demor work on their shot. As Mansi, a freshman, takes a shot during the drill, the basketball becomes tangled in the net. Head coach Willette White notices her player staring at the hoop, and asks her why she had not yet retrieved the ball with the adjacent latter. Mansi’s response was simple.
“I’m afraid of heights,” she responded.
Mansi took a breath, and proceeded to climb up the ladder before an assistant recovered the leather sphere for her.
Mansi could be forgiven for being fearful; she is new. She was not here last season, when the 2001-02 squad went 6-22, with a 4-12 mark in league play. It was ravaged by injuries, so much so that members of the crew and volleyball teams were employed for bodies. She did not witness the numerous second half collapses after steady play in the initial stages of contests. Finally, she was not at Vermont in the America East Tournament, when NU held a 45-44 lead with a little under six minutes remaining only to lose the game on the strength of a 13-3 UVM run to close out the Huskies’ season.
Still, the season was not without its highlights. Junior captain Melissa Kowalski established herself as one of the premier bombers in the conference, leading the AE in three-point conversions with 69. Francesca Vanin was named to the league’s All-Rookie squad after finishing ninth and 11th in rebounding (6.9) and scoring (11.6). Another captain, junior swingman Joi Jefferson, complemented the shooting and low-post play of Kowalski and Vanin with her ability to attack the basket.
Much has changed since last season. The team has grown much, both figuratively and literally. Karoline Alexander and Joy Gorham have recovered from their injuries. Toughened by last season’s tribulations, that inexperienced team is now one year older. The undersized and undermanned squad has been upgraded by the addition of six new players, five of which stand at over six feet tall. Vanin’s role in the offense figures to involve more play away from the basket.
“We’re deeper and better basketball players,” White said. “Hopefully our recruits will give us a rebound edge.
White has been pleased with the progression of all of her new players, most notably Michelle Decerbo, a 6’1” forward for Connecticut, and Maralene Zwarich, a 6′ sharpshooter from Merriam, Kansas.
“Michelle is great around the glass and is an aggressive defender. Z[warich] is a flat-out shooter that still needs to do work on her defensive energy.
“Katarina [Andersson], Erica [Sheppard], Lindsay [Mansi]
