By Nick Pipitone
Talent has never been a question for Pride women’s basketball. Going into this season the Pride had three players who received preseason All-CAA honors, the most for any team in the conference.
The mental aspect of the game is what has been questioned. This past summer, however, four members of the Pride were involved in high-end competitions that, judging by its solid start this season, have given the team the mental attributes it seemed to be lacking.
Juniors Vanessa Gidden and Cigi McCollin represented Long Island in the New York-wide Empire State Games, winning the team’s first gold medal since 1985. Junior forward Lizanne Murphy competed for the Canadian Development Women’s National Team in the World University Games in Turkey and Jack served her second stint as an assistant coach for USA under-19 Women’s Basketball at the World Championships in Tunisia. Jack’s team put together a perfect 8-0 record and enabled her to capture her second gold medal.
Jack and her players said their experiences have played a role in the Pride’s successful start this season. After splitting a road trip this past weekend with a loss at William & Mary and a win at UNC Wilmington, the team is 12-8 overall and 7-4 in the conference. The start is the second best in program history since joining Division I.
“They [McCollin, Murphy and Gidden] went out there and believed they could win and they did. They competed and they made their respective teams,” Jack said. “Now they get here and they know when it gets tough. The mental part of their game has improved tremendously.”
In working together over the summer, McCollin and Gidden also developed a strong relationship on the court. The Empire State Games, which were played over a four-day span, forced the team’s two leading scorers to work in intense conditions, forging a bond that has been integral this season for the Pride.
Gidden said the two have developed non-verbal cues on the court and that she can determine whether or not “McCollin is on” or about to sink a three-pointer just by looking at her. McCollin echoed those sentiments.
“Me and Vanessa jelled more and we’ve grown together,” she said. “We’ve understood that playing elsewhere and bringing the knowledge back here can help elevate this program.”
Although Murphy’s Canadian squad finished 11th out of a 20-team pool, McCollin and Gidden’s Long Island team and Jack’s USA team both brought back gold medals in their respective competitions. The winning experience is one they said is invaluable and can be passed on to the Pride.
“Winning was very important,” Gidden said. “It was the first time I’ve won a gold medal and it was good to experience that feeling of winning.”
Murphy added that the experience has also reinforced the idea of summer basketball. Already, the team is looking to get Gidden involved with her Jamaican National Team this summer as well as Murphy with the Canadian team and McCollin with more extended work.
Overall, Murphy said the games jump-started the season and instilled more confidence into all three players. Jack has noticed the “sense of urgency” they have brought to the team to “every practice and every game” and their aptness to be more vocal on the court, two things that had been lacking last season.
However, Jack cautioned, “It’s never going to be about us four,” saying the credit for this season’s accomplishments should go to the entire team.
“I think that it was great that we did something for other programs,” Jack said. “But, in order for it to really matter to me and to us, we have to really come together and make it matter by putting some wins together and winning something significant enough to tell our story.”