Page 8 The Lion’s Eye December 7, 2000 Women’s Basketball BM Donoghue looks to reinforce Penn State Delco’s winning tradition By CHARLES REED Staff Writer In basketball, the possibility of a shutout seems as remote as the frozen atmosphere of Neptune. But on Monday, Nov. 20, the Delaware Valley was hit by its first arctic blast of the season, and for the first five minutes of their game against Keystone College, the Delco Lady Lions made a shutout seem possible. And then the air inside Delco’s basket- ball arena, along with Keystone’s shooting hands, heated up. After running off seven straight points to start the game, Delco lapsed, allowing Keystone to run off eight straight of its own, and well, at least it was a game. For a few minutes, anyway. Freshman Jill Giosa, who's so accurate from downtown her middle name should be changed to Main Street, nailed a three to briefly return the lead to Delco, but after that it was all Keystone. Keystone brought a bench that tripled the size of Delco’s, and as the energy drained from Delco’s limbs, Keystone began to take control of the prime real estate in and around the key. No matter how good a team is from the Sports Final Rebuilding year for basketball foul line, regardless of its passing accura- cy, and despite its abilities from beyond the arc, a team stands little chance if it can’t hold its own in the paint. A team must be able to rebound. And against the sequoias that Keystone planted around the net, Delco had little chance. Early in the second half, with Delco’s players fatigued and unable to speed to the outside, Keystone’s guards began to hit from three-point land with ease, sealing its case for victory. Delco had its moments, with freshman Ryan McCarthy burning Keystone’s defense with a crossover that would shame Allen Iverson, with freshmen Sue Fagan and Carolyn Hilden making nice moves to score, and with Coleen Kelly hitting con- sistently from the free throw line. But overall, it was a disaster. And overall it was fun to watch. Despite the towering opposition, Delco’s players never gave up, playing with a heart that seems absent from University Park’s “win-at-all-costs” mentality. In the next game against Commonwealth rival, PSU Mont Alto, on Nov. 28, the heart that Delco displayed lifted the team to a 20- point victory, and in the process lifted its record to 2-3. Led by McCarthy's 26 points, the team was back to its winning ways. Delco’s fiercest opponent this season has been its own injuries. Only seven healthy players from its usual 1l-player roster made the Keystone game, and just six showed up against Mont Alto. “Our biggest problem is with all the injuries,” said sixth-year head coach Brian Donoghue. “A lot of players are playing a Did You Know... In the last 30 days, 58.5% of Penn State Delco students refused an offer of alcohol or other drugs. So if you think you’re alone, you're not. DON’T DRINK! *Information provided by the Core Alcohol and Drug survey — Form 194 Ad created by Anteia Consorto, A.J. Santini, and Paul Butler. lot of minutes in many positions. Not only are we short two point guards, but we're switching our best forwards to cover, so we've actually ended up being short at two positions.” Missing from action is junior point guard Sharena Robinson, who's recovering from knee surgery, and freshman Kelly Goodwin. Sophomore point guard Danielle Flain has also missed time due to ineligi- bility (transfer), as has junior and return- ing starter Lauren Joner, who has been forced to miss games because of a con- flicting academic schedule. They'll all be back with the new semester, though, and the look of the Lions should be vastly different. “We're a good team, with good size and talented players,” explained Donoghue. “Once this team gets healthy, we should be very competitive in the CCAC. Our players really haven't had the opportunity to play together yet, but once the new semester opens, we should be very good.” Donoghue was making points, not excuses. His demeanor adds to the impression that he isn’t the type of person who would wax optimistic in the face of failure, and despite Delco’s slow start, he’s still coach- ing with a flowing, good-natured ease. The approach has worked for him in the past. In his first season with Delco, Donoghue inherited a team that slithered to a 1-17 record. Since then, he’s built up the program to a competitive level, and the last two seasons he led the Lions to the CCAC championship. In 98-99 his team won the title, and last year it lost a nail- Men’s Basketball Women’s Schedule: Dec. 9 vs. Manor College (1 p.m.) Jan. 10 at Penn College (6 p.m.) Jan. 13 vs. PSU Berks (1 p.m.) Jan. 20 vs. Northampton (1 p.m.) Jan. 22 at Philadelphia CC (6 p.m.) Jan. 24 vs. Delaware CCC (6 p.m.) Jan. 27 at PSU Abington (1 p.m.) Jan. 29 vs. PSU Mont Alto (6 p.m.) Feb. 1 at Keystone College (6 p.m.) Feb. 3 vs. PSU York (1 p.m.) Feb. 5 at Manor College (6 p.m.) Feb. 10 at PSU Berks (1 p.m.) Feb. 11 vs. Penn College (1 p.m.) Feb. 14: EPCC Playoffs begin (TBA) Feb. 17: EPCC Tournament begins (TBA) biter to PSU Abington in the final game, completing the season with a 17-6 record. The successes of the last two seasons allowed Coach Donoghue’s winning repu- tation to spread, and for the first time in its history, Delco’s women’s basketball team was able to recruit talent from area high schools, rather than solely from its own student body. (Delco’s first recruits are McCarthy, who's averaging 17.5 points per game, and Fagan, who's pulling down 12 boards to go along with her 14 points per contest.) Now, if only Donoghue could convince that student body to come out and watch some games, he will have conquered his last opponent. Despite the promise of suc- cess, Delco’s stands are mostly empty dur- ing home games. “Come on out,” kidded Athletic Director Tiz Griffith before the Keystone game. “You have your choice of seats.” Raw Freshmen Have Difficulties Adjusting to the College Game By CHARLES REED Staff Writer Former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight never had to deal with a full squad of unmotivated freshmen, but one has to wonder how big the explosion would have ‘been if he did. There’s doubt that he would have han- dled it as smoothly as Delco’s head coach, Bill Wiley. For Wiley, who grumpily watched his players slack back and forth across Delco’s court during a recent practice, it must seem like countless years and countless players since his perfect (24-0) 1992-1993 sea- son At 1-2 (0-2 in the CCAQ), Delco’s young season is far from perfect. Wiley, along Charles Reed with his fiery Delco’s men get a third-year assis- workout during prac- tant coach, tice. Frank Farnese, knows it. “You guys are doggin’ it!” Farnese shouted in an attempt to be heard over his team’s pounding feet. The players were running laps in the gym, punishment for a lackluster practice. At this point, Indiana's former coach might have been on his way to Mexico, run- ning from various murder charges. But Delco’s head coach stood in the center of the gym, muttering inaudibles and solemn- ly dribbling the ball as his players trudged around him. “You guys are jogging!” he shouted. “We can be here all night if you want to!” Of his 12-man roster, only two players picked up the pace. “I've pushed all the buttons with these guys,” grumbled Farnese. “They like to play games, but not practice.” Neither Wiley nor Farnese can afford to be too harsh with the players. No one is obligated by scholarship to play, and as Farnese said, “This isn’t a group that takes constructive criticism” too well. That's to be expected, considering the competitive nature of athletes. But the play- ers must start taking lessons from their coaches, or the season will be gloomy. Because of the allfreshman squad, it has been particularly difficult for Wiley to get his messages across. Without returning starters to bolster his reputation, Wiley must start his player-coach relationship from scratch, and these things take time. “They're feeling me out, I'm feeling them out,” Wiley said. “We have the potential to be a good team,” he added, “if everybody gets on the same page, and binds with what we want to do. I hope the close loss fires ‘em up.” Wiley was referring to the 71-70 loss to PSU Mont Alto on Nov. 28. “Once January hits and they play and practice every night, things should turn around,” said Farnese. Farnese went on to discuss his plans for building a confident team for January. As far as player disci- pline goes, it’s a “huge transition from high school to college. We're trying to get [the players] in shape. We just need five guys on the court to work together.” Bright spots for Delco are forward Ed Corliss (23 points per game), guard Renaldo Cooper (13 ppg), and Mike Morales (11 ppg). Men's home games Jan. 11 vs. Valley Forge Junior Coll. (7 p.m.) Jan. 13 vs. PSU Berks (1 p.m.) Jan. 15 vs. Delaware CCC (7 p.m.) Jan. 20 vs. PSU Wilkes Barre (1 p.m.) Jan. 24 vs. PSU Scranton (8 p.m.) Jan. 29 vs. PSU Mont Alto (8 p.m.) Feb. 3 vs. PSU York (3 p.m.) Feb. 15 vs. PSU Hazleton (7 p.m.) Feb. 22 vs. PSU Abington (7 p.m.)
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