Garden City, N.Y. – The new-look Adelphi University women's basketball team is five newcomers and two new assistant coaches removed from last year's tough finish, and single-digit win totals look to be a thing of the past if the Panthers and Head Coach Heather Jacobs have anything to say about it.
 
In their first season under Jacobs, the Panthers doubled their win total from 2009-10, but still struggled to adjust to life in the Northeast-10 Conference. Growing pains aside, a fresh start in 2011 begins with a sense of optimism brought on by the new coaches and players.
 
“We are optimistic and excited for the new season,” Jacobs said. “We have a group that is committed to improvement and to each other, both on and off the court.”
 
New Assistants Bring Long Island Know-How
 
Jacobs enters her second year at the helm of the program, and adds two new assistants to her staff: former Northeastern University assistant Bill Carpenter, and former Queens College assistant and Long Island youth basketball coaching legend Patrick O'Brien. Carpenter and O'Brien have nearly 50 years of combined coaching experience, most of which has been in the Long Island area. Carpenter will assist Jacobs with recruiting and post player development, and O'Brien will assist with the defense and guard play.
 
Carpenter most recently served an assistant coach for the Northeastern University women's basketball team, and has also assisted at Dowling College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Iona College and his alma mater, Long Island University. He helped steer the LIU Blackbirds women's squad to a Northeast Conference Championship in 2001 in the team's first of back-to-back championship game appearances.
 
“Bill has already been an excellent addition to our staff,” Jacobs said. “He can do a little bit of everything for us. He is a great recruiter, a tireless worker, and his winning history speaks for itself. We will continue to look to him to bring new, innovative and creative ideas to our team.”
 
O'Brien's involvement in youth basketball development in Long Island spans 35 years, and his storied history with the Catholic Youth Organization and Metropolitan Greek Orthodox basketball leagues helped the Hempstead native earn his way into the MGO Basketball League Hall of Fame in 2001 for his dedication to coaching youth basketball since 1976.
 
Most recently, O'Brien spent five seasons as the top assistant for the Queens College women's basketball team. He had a hand in helping the Knights to their first ever East Coast Conference Championship during the 2008-09 season when the squad went 24-7 and earned a trip to the NCAA Regional tournament.
 
“Pat has been great for our team, our staff and the overall department,” Jacobs stated. “His passion for basketball can be easily noted and his ability to teach the game is significant.”
 
Depth and New Faces Key to Success
 
Adelphi's roster features five newcomers and a host of returners who saw plenty of action last season. Each returning letter winner played in at least 15 games last season, while five returners played in at least 22 games and averaged 19 minutes per contest. That said, Jacobs assures that she can call upon any of her players when the time comes.
 
“As we stand today, the starting lineup is wide open and you can expect to see a freshman in there,” Jacobs noted. “All of our new faces add something new to this roster and as they each adjust to the college game they'll continue to contribute to our team. We have a very young group and we are looking for our depth to be one of our strengths.”


 
 
Go-To Guards
 
Junior Kara Tancredi sprinted out of the gate at a torrid pace last season, averaging 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Back at full strength, Tancredi will be a go-to player for the Panthers and help fill the void left by graduated senior and 1,000-point scorer Ashley Caiafa.
 
“Kara is a great player who presents a difficult matchup for each opponent,” Jacobs said. “Our system will allow her to play multiple spots and allow us to take advantage of her strengths.”
 
Amanda Campusano, the squad's lone senior, averaged 6.5 points per game last season. “She is growing from her role as a spot up shooter last year and emerging as an all-around guard,” Jacobs described. “She has proven this preseason she can attack and score off the bounce.”
 
Sophomore Marielle Duryea will be called upon to run the point and handle the bulk of the ball handling duties this winter. “Marielle is a tough and scrappy guard who will pressure the other team's point guard and lead our offensive attack,” Jacobs said.
 
Junior Samantha Perez will aid Duryea in transition offense, using her speed to beat opposing defenses. “Perez is as fast as anybody and we will look to her to move the ball in and advance it at a quick pace,” Jacobs said.
 
Junior Alexis Williams and sophomores Sade Jackson and Shannon Flynn make up a trio of sharpshooters who round out Adelphi's stable of guards. Jackson will play both the point guard and off guard positions, and Jacobs notes that her defensive improvements will create opportunities in the open court. Williams is a strong player who attacks the hoop well, and has worked on her outside shot this season, making her a tough player to guard. Flynn is another go-to shooter for the Panthers. “She is crafty and has a nose to score the ball,” Jacobs stated.
 
Fresh Forwards
 
Adelphi is far from the tallest team in the league, and with only two players over 6 feet tall the Panthers will rely on their speed to create scoring opportunities.
 
“We will look to take advantage of our speed and add quickness,” Jacobs said. “We also have new faces that can hit the glass hard.”
 
Those faces include sophomore Jessica Kitrys, who looks to replicate a strong rookie season that earned her a spot on the 2010-11 NE-10 All-Rookie Team. One of just two players to appear in all 26 games last season, Kitrys averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game with a .495 field goal percentage.
 
“We are expecting Jess to be a strong presence for us on the block this year,” Jacobs said of Kitrys, who is the team's leading returner in rebounding and field goal percentage. “She has developed counter moves in the post and is comfortable working out of the high post.”
 
Joining Kitrys is freshman Kelly Mannix, a 5-foot-10 Rhode Island native who scored over 1,000 points and grabbed over 1,000 rebounds at Barrington High School.
 
“Kelly has a great nose for the ball and goes to the glass hard,” Jacobs noted. “Both Kelly and Sam Milhaven will be able to help us improve our rebounding this year.”
 
Milhaven, a freshman out of Long Island Lutheran in Port Washington, N.Y., “knows how to win and is a blue collar work,” Jacobs said. 
 
Sophomore Ashley O'Connell continues to improve every day and is growing into a true force on the block, while freshman Jenna Halaby “is long and has a remarkable ability to get to the rim,” Jacobs said. First-year Brenna Gonsalves brings speed to the forward position and compliments the other post players with her ability to play the game at a fast pace.
 
A New Year, A New System
 
With “new” being the buzzword for the upcoming season, it seems only fitting that Jacobs will institute new offensive and defensive systems to improve upon last year's finish. The Panthers were outscored by almost nine points per game and out-rebounded 41.3 to 34.4 per game last season, but Jacobs has a plan to close those gaps.
 
“We have a new system and as we continue to work out all of the details we will immediately put more points on the board,” Jacobs said.
 
Adelphi will also aim to disprove the 14^th-place prediction the Panthers received in the NE-10 Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
“Every year there is a team or two that finishes in a place nowhere comparable to their pre-season poll,” Jacobs said. “This year, I believe we are going to be that team.”


 
The Schedule Ahead
 
The Panthers open the 2011-12 campaign when they host Bridgeport University for a non-conference contest on Saturday, November 12 at 1 p.m., and jump right into NE-10 play the following Wednesday with their conference opener at Southern Connecticut State University. Adelphi then hosts Long Island rival C.W. Post in its second of four non-league games.
 
A string of six NE-10 games in three weeks shuttles the Panthers into December and features contests against New Haven and Le Moyne, two teams who accounted for three of Adelphi's five conference wins last season.
 
Consecutive non-league home games versus Queens and Eckerd then give way to the heart of Adelphi's NE-10 schedule. The Panthers play 15 straight league games between the months of January and February, including tough back-to-back road games at the powerhouses of Franklin Pierce and defending NE-10 champs Bentley. Adelphi closes out the regular season with a home contest against Southern Connecticut on Wednesday, February 22.