SAINTS BASKETBALL

 

The St. Lawrence University women’s basketball program has been an east-region, perennial powerhouse in recent years. The Saints took five consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1998-2003. Behind the leadership of third-year head coach Jennifer Kroll, the Sains are looking to return to post-season play in the 2007.

The program’s success has been both recent and extensive, with the Saints winning their first ever New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association Championship in ’98-’99. The victory gave the women’s basketball program their first NCAA Tournament bid since the 1983 season.

 

After a taste of accomplishment, though, the team wasn’t willing to settle for a mere appearance in the tournament; they wanted to compete for the championship. In ’99-’00, the Saints compiled a regular season record of 24-6, the best in school history. They won the first Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) tournament that same year, and battled their way to the NCAA “Elite Eight.”

The following season, the Saints opened the 2000-2001 season winning 17 out of 18 games, finishing the regular season 21-3 as the top seed in the UCAA. Their overall record and strength of schedule would earn them their third straight NCAA berth as an at large entry, but the Saints would drop a 62-60 heartbreaker to the Cortland Red Dragons in the NCAA tournament to finish the year 23-5.

 

Seniors (left to right) Cara Barbierri, Meredith Eisenhut, Nicole

Leary and Jen Janeway pose with the NCAA Runner-up Trophy.

 

The Saints finished that season third in the nation in Division III in scoring defense, allowing a mere 48.4 points per game, and were second nationally in field goal percentage defense, allowing the opposition to hit just 30.5 percent of their shots from the field. Because of these stellar defensive efforts, the Saints also finished seventh nationally in scoring margin, winning by an average of over 21 points per game.

 

In the 2001-2002 season, the Saints continued their winning ways, carrying a 25-2 record into post-season play. The Saints never quit, and their efforts earned them a trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four in Terre Haute Indiana . The team won their semi-final game versus Depauw, and faced Steven’s Point for the NCAA Championship on March 16 th, 2002 . Trailing by two points with one second to play, senior Cara Barbierri intercepted an inbounds pass and heaved a last second bid from 30 feet away for the National Championship. Although the ball hit off the rim and on to the floor, the efforts of that 25-3 team equaled the best winning percentage in Saint history.

 

The Saints were led by guard Meredith Eisenhut ‘02, Mohawk, NY, who was the first player in Saints history to be named Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III Player of the Year in 2002. Eisenhut was no stranger to such honors, though, as she was also named UCAA Player of the Year, a two-time regional All-America selection, a first-team All East selection and a candidate for the Robbins-ECAC Scholar-Athlete Award.

 

With the 2006-2007 season on the horizon, Jennifer Kroll looks to keep the program’s tradition of winning alive. Regular season Liberty League Co-Champions in 2005-2006, the Saints are looking to return to the Liberty League Championship game for the third straight year. Behind a team will include four seniors, Jessica Smith, Brittany Gaetano, Chrisite Herbst and Andrea Muszynski, who will serve as the backbone of the 2006-2007 Saints team. Also on board is a talented group of juniors including Jamie Wolff, Kimberly Sikule, and Amy Fortener. The Saints open the season on November 18 th against Trinity at the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament.