p dge 8 - The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, November 7, 1996
Above the Rim
(The Brian Busey column
will run once a week
spotlighting either women’s
or men’s Behrend basketball)
This week’s guest is junior
forward for the Lady Lions
Emily Marini. Marini will
be one of only three
returnees to lead Behrend
this year. Marini was a
regular starter last year and
scored 8.1 points per game.
Brian Busey: Are you
excited to be back on the
court this year?
Emily Marini*. I’m excited just
to play. It felt good just playing in
the scrimmage and its good to be
back in gear. I’m looking forward
to the tournament. That’s always
fun.
BB: Emily, this year the
team will only have three
returnees. Only you and
Nicki Schultz had vast
playing time last year. How
can you help the team?
Marini: We’re basically helping
the team by explaining things. If
they have questions they ask us.
We also set examples for them.
BB: Does it bother you that
you only have three
returnees especially knowing
that Coach Fornari made this
schedule very tough
expecting more people to
return.?
Lady Lion
" Bchrend beat Pitt-Bradford next
before dropping to Nazareth and
then finishing strong at 4-1 -1.
“We played great start to finish
this season,” commented Pcrritano.
“This is another step for the
program with an improved schedule
this year.”
“I think we had a lot of talent and
everybody tried real hard,” said
forward Lisa Fox. “We weren’t as
consistent as we should have been
in some games but we never gave
up.”
by Brian Gregory
Co-editor Sports
The Penn State Behrend Lady
Lions finished off a successful 1996
campaign with a record of 11-5-1.
In the last six games they finished
4-1-1 with the only loss coming
against Buffalo State in the last
game of the year. •
“It was a thrilling year,”
commented Coach Perritano. “We
won many of our games late and we
competed well against everyone.”
“It was a very successful season,”
said Junior goalie Mary Anne
Rupp. “We gave a lot of good
teams a run for their money.”
The team began the season with
five consecutive victories, all
shutouts, before dropping two
straight to Keuka and Allegheny.
They then came back to beat
Fredonia in overtime before
dropping to St. John Fisher 2-0.
Roar Ilka a Lion, Sting Like a Bee: The Lion soccer team finished a tough season with an 11-5-2 Uon postseason report
record They won their last game 4-2 against the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. The Lions are still waiting |n n^t week>B pappr
to see if they will make the playoffs. Next week we will take a look back at their incredible season. K K
Marini: It bothered me at first.
But we have to make adjustments
and work with what we have for the
year. I’ve accepted that.
BB: It’s not really that
early anymore. How is the
team looking in practice?
Marini: We have a lot to learn,
but we’re progressing. We had to
start from scratch this year. From
last week to this week, it’s exciting
to see things changing as long as
we’re moving forward.
BB: I’ve seen you in action
here at Behrend for two
years. How has your game
progressed and changed over
those two vears?
Marini: My role has changed
from this year to last year as far as
being a leader. I’m still trying to
adjust to that. Creating shots is
more difficult and I’ve adjusted to
that. I also know what to do in
situations like if time is running
out, I know what play to call and
what makes sense. I’ve adjusted to
the college level...the defense is
much tougher.
BB: This is my favorite
question. They list you as
5’5” in the program, but in
many games you’re battling
girls that are 6’4”. How do
you go about out-rebounding
them and containing them.
What’s your secret?
Marini: (laughing) I step on
her feet. Seriously though,
“We had some games where we
played extremely well and utilized
everybody’s skills to compete at the
level of teams with more experience
than us,” said Lara Herrmann on her
third season here at Behrend.
The Lady Lions were strong
offensively this year scoring 40
goals. Coach Pcrritano attributed
this to the way they attacked.
’’Some (of our players) were not
traditional attackers but they
handled it nicely. We weren’t
...A*
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personally it takes me about five
minutes to adjust to (the person I’m
guarding). If she’s tall and skinny,
she’ll be quick. If she’s short and
heavy she'll be slow but take up
space. I also watch the flight of the
ball to see if it’s going to be a
brick or what angle it will come off
on. Then 1 get in position and box
out.
BB: Melanie Banas was
such a strong point guard.
How big of a loss is it for
her to not return?
Marini: We’re going to miss her
shot. It was great. We need
someone to be a pure shooter like
she was. When Mel was on a row
she’d make five, seven, eight in a
row.
BB: How deep does the team
go this year?
Marini: Extremely deep. The
freshman are all at the same level.
Coach Fornari can put in a fast
team or a team that handles the ball
well at any time. We have strong
forwards. The team will go about
twelve deep.
BB: Let’s talk about your
new freshman point guard
from McDowell. How is she
going to be in the short
term and the long term?
Marini: One thing about Carrie
(Nestor) is that she won’t give up.
She’s very persistent. When she’s
down she cheers herself up. She
may have a few rough games once
Soccer solid in 1996
overpowering but wc got clutch
goals in situations.”
Defensively the Lady Lions
played tough. They gave up
limited shots and Rupp only
allowed eleven goals on the season.
Coach Pcrritano said that there
was more to Rupp’s goaltending
that meets the eye. “Mary Anne
earned (her teammates) respect,
ability, and leadership. She is a
pleasure to coach and see around
campus.”
“I just came out to the games
fired up and I tried to get
everybody’s intensity level higher,”
responded Rupp to Perritano’s
comments.
“Wc performed well. We were
solid throughout the entire season,”
said Senior sweeper Michelle
Finch.
The Lady Lions had three players
tied at the top of the scoring charts
this year with sixteen points. Lara
Herrmann and Michelle Finch each
had six goals and four assists.
to < 1
\
in a while but she won’t give up.
She’s going to grow tremendously
this year. She’ll make a big
improvement from the first game to
the last game this year.
BB: What are the strengths
of the Lady Lions this year?
Marini: We’re quick and very
athletic. There are a lot of good
personalities on the team.
BB: Tell me some of your
weaknesses that you have
noticed in practice.
Marini: Inexperience. Basically
it all leads to it, the running of the
offense, creating shots, and defense.
BB: Tell me about your
team goals you have set for
the season.
Marini: We have not talked about
it yet. I’m not sure how much the
freshman know about our schedule.
We can battle with the local teams
like Washington and Jefferson and
Fredonia State. The team at the
beginning of our schedule are very
tough and we can learn from it and
move on.
BB: Emily, best of luck on
the long season you have
ahead of you. And good
luck with the first few
games. Next week in Above
the Rim, we’ll talk with
Jason Paloskey of the
Behrend Lions. See you
next time for more Lion and
Lady Lion basketball.
Laura Perry had led the team with
seven goals and two assists.
Michelle Finch won several
games in the last two minutes of
overtime. Finch won two of them
with last second goals. Perritano
“We were
solid
throughout the
entire season"
—Michelle Finch
“Those were special moments.
They may not appreciate them now
but in three or four years when they
get together they will be very
memorable,” he said.
r-^swa*. «Sk : '
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$• :# '% ■■■
- '&■
with Brian Busey
Eyes on the Prize: Emily Marini has her eyes on the basket
as she prepares to make a shot. Last year Marini was a starter at
the forward position and averaged 8.1 ppg and 5.8 rpg.
Coach Perritano and the Lady
Lions will begin to build on this
season within weeks. Perritano
will go to work with the Lady
Lions toward their spring season.
In that season, they play five games
and their win-loss record doesn’t
matter.
“In the spring we try to work to
build cohesion and style,” said
Coach. “We improve more
technically and functionally.”
In addition to the season,
Pcrritano is actively working
toward next fall by trying to recruit
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new players.
“Our successful program enables
us to recruit successfully,” he said.
Within the next couple of weeks
there will be more information
being released on MVP and other
awards. Perritano wishes to thank
Chanc “Mr. Everything” and Coach
Chuck Baranich for all their help
this year.
The Lady Lions gave the fans a
thrill this year and will be back
next year to do the same all over
again.
GREASE
RELIEF.