Garden City, N.Y. – Steady improvement has been the trademark of Adelphi University women's basketball since third-year Head Coach Heather Jacobs took over in 2010, and this year's squad aims to keep the tradition alive.
 
Last season, the Panthers played to a 9-17 overall record and 7-15 clip in the Northeast-10 Conference, marking the team's highest overall and league win totals since 2009. This year, Adelphi returns three starters and seven letter winners while adding six newcomers to fill out a roster well-equipped for a run at the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
 
The Panthers will miss the hot shooting hand of graduated senior Amanda Campusano, who averaged 10.3 points per game and posed the team's biggest threat from 3-point land. However, a trio of returning starters will fill the void and then some as they take the court a year older, stronger and wiser. Juniors Sade Jackson and Jessica Kitrys and sophomore Kelly Mannix accounted for nearly 56 percent of Adelphi's scoring last year and will be counted on for continued leadership by this season's deep supporting cast. Jacobs adds that their offensive firepower, along with improved defensive skills, will be key to Adelphi's success.
 
“It is evident that our core of returners has improved,” Jacobs said. “Their experience alone will help us. However, because of their work, they are stronger and smarter.”
 
Kitrys returns as the team's leading scorer and rebounder after averaging 15.8 points and seven rebounds per game in 2011-12. An NE-10 All-Conference Third Team selection, All-Met Division II Second Team pick and seven-time NE-10 Weekly Honor Roll member, Kitrys finished seventh in the league in scoring and fourth in field goal percentage by shooting 55.6 percent from the field – a mark good for the third-best single-season mark in program history. Adelphi's main inside presence, Kitrys scored in double figures in 23 of 25 games and posted 20-plus points seven times. She finished the season with four straight 20-point games including a career-high 23 points against Assumption on February 11, averaging 21.5 points over that span.
 
“Jess continues to dominate inside,” Jacobs said. “She is growing as a
leader and has increased her range to add to her already deadly inside game.”
 
Jackson had a knack for the dramatic in 2011-12, shining through as Adelphi's go-to player in the clutch. The crafty guard sank a pair of game-winning shots, lifting the Panthers over Saint Michael's with a buzzer-beating put-back on January 7 and draining the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left against Le Moyne on February 18. Jackson averaged 10.3 points per game, finished second in the NE-10 with 140 assists and 5.38 assist per game, and led Adelphi with 49 steals and 29 blocks.
 
“Sade's leadership has already proven to be an additional asset,” Jacobs said of the junior captain, who could see expanded ball-handling duties.
 
Mannix emerged as one of the top freshmen in the region, earning the ECAC Division II Rookie of the Year award and landing on the NE-10 All-Rookie Team last year. She finished the season with 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and her four double-doubles tied for the most on the squad. Her 24-point performance against Le Moyne on February 18, a 65-64 Adelphi win, was the highest single-game total for any Panther in 2011-12.
 
Juniors
 
Along with Jackson, junior Shannon Flynn will don a “C” after earning the honor of co-captain this off-season. After missing half a dozen games last season due to an ankle injury, Flynn returns ready to step into the role as the go-to sniper from long range. Her signature 3-point shot from the corner gives Adelphi an opportunity to swing the momentum in its favor at any given time.
 
Completing the junior class is a pair of transfers in Melanie O'Brien and Ifeanyi Ofili. O'Brien is no stranger to the program after redshirting last season, and is eager to officially take the court for the first time since leading Nassau Community College to the 2011 NJCAA Region XV Tournament. Ofili also joins the Panthers from the junior college circuit after playing a pair of seasons at Briarcliffe College. A 1,000-point scorer and former Nassau County Player of the Year down the road at Uniondale High School, Ofili will be “the most athletic player on the court,” Jacobs said.
 
Sophomores
 
Adelphi's four sophomores won't endure much in terms of growing pains after making significant contributions as freshmen. Mannix's award-winning year often overshadowed the grunt work of Brenna Gonsalves, Jenna Halaby and Samantha Milhaven, who combined to play over 900 minutes as rookies.
 
Gonsalves missed the first nine games of last season due to a sprained finger, but promptly dove into the regular rotation and played the second-most minutes per game of any freshman. In 16 games, Gonsalves averaged five points and shot 33.3 percent from behind the arc while coming up big in a pair of Adelphi wins, dropping 13 points on both New Haven and Le Moyne.
 
Halaby was one of just four players to play in all 26 games last season, earning 10 starts and averaging 16.8 minutes per contest. Like Kitrys, Halaby has expanded her repertoire and will be a threat both under the hoop and from behind the arc. 
 
Milhaven showed plenty of promise last season by shooting .408 from the field in 16 games, and her season-best 15-point performance against New Haven looks to be the norm rather than the exception in 2012-13. “Samantha has added new skills to her already existing intangibles,” Jacobs said. “You will see a great improvement from her and she is going to surprise people.”
 
Freshmen
 
Jacobs brings in a crew of four talented freshmen, the majority of whom she says will compete for minutes right away in Adelphi's battle for an NE-10 postseason spot.
 
Grace Elliott, a 6-2 center from Detroit, MI, stands the tallest player on the roster and greatly expands Adelphi's ability to compete with the height and inside presence of other NE-10 teams. Her impressive basketball IQ and superior passing skills will make life difficult for opposing defenders.
 
Elliott is joined by three first-year guards in Tara Flynn, Lauren Nuss and Kristen O'Brien.
 
Flynn, who led Bayonne High School to three consecutive New Jersey state titles, can play both point guard and off-guard, and will have opponents shouting “shooter” whenever she touches the ball.  
 
A Garden City native and product of Christ the King Regional High School in Queens, Nuss has plenty of range on offense and length on defense. Her sharp shooting from downtown makes her a tight fit in Adelphi's offensive system.
 
O'Brien hails from Bellmore and was a 1,000-point scorer, three-time All-County selection and 2011 Nassau County Conference Player of the Year at Mepham High School. Coming off a knee injury over the summer, O'Brien has been active in her recovery process and her midrange game has improved since returning to full strength.
 
Schedule
 
Much like last year, the Panthers play a single non-conference game before charging into league play. Adelphi opens the season on Saturday, November 10 against cross-town rival LIU Post before hosting Southern Connecticut in the NE-10 opener on November 14. A home contest against New Haven on November 20 completes a three-game home stand and segues into a pair of road contests at Mercy and Saint Rose.
 
The Panthers return home for back-to-back games against NE-10 powerhouses Assumption and Pace, predicted to finish second and third in the league, respectively, according to the NE-10 Preseason Coaches Poll. On December 8, the team heads to Le Moyne for the last league game before winter break and hosts Concordia in a non-conference tilt on December 14.
 
An escape from winter cold will send the Panthers to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a non-league game against Eckerd College on December 30. The New Year then gives way to the heart of Adelphi's NE-10 slate, beginning at American International on January 5. Key matchups down the stretch include back-to-back home games featuring Franklin Pierce and defending NE-10 Champions Bentley on January 19 and 23. Consecutive road trips to face Assumption and Pace a second time will test the endurance of the Panthers, and the final home game of the season will feature Le Moyne on February 23. Finally, Adelphi heads to Southern Connecticut to close out the regular season on February 26.