By Bob Bonett
Closing in on one week since the “Cinderella” Patriots eliminated the men’s basketball team from the CAA Tournament in the quarterfinals, and all the chatter around campus still circles around the team.
Hey, Hofstra, what about the ladies?!
Sure, men’s sports receive more press than women’s sports. However, it is no secret at all that the Hofstra Women’s Basketball team is turning heads not only in the Colonial Athletic Association this year, but also across the nation.
Closing in on Hofstra’s first round game in the CAA Tournament, it certainly appears to be the time to lend some attention to Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey’s crew. A crew that is currently sitting at a pretty 23-6 on the season.
Those 23 wins are a record for the women’s program, one of many impressive statistics that the team dons on the season.
For example, of those 23 wins, an astounding 12 have come on the road. Those 12 wins, which include a victory against nationally accredited Michigan State, are tied for most in the nation with the likes of Tennessee, Middle Tennessee and Coppin State, three other teams that are either locks or probables for the NCAA Tournament.
More importantly, though, the Lady Pride shouldn’t only impress the nation. They should be earning some respect across the campus.
The main knock on the men’s team this year was the lack of an inside presence. Chris Gadley and Mike Davis-Sabb weren’t necessarily the formula for the greatest rebounding tandem in the nation.
On the women’s side of the ball, Lizanne Murphy is averaging an extremely impressive 9.1 rebounds per game, with Vanessa Gidden and Lana Harshaw each averaging more rebounds than any member of the men’s team as well.
If you think the names Stokes, Rivera and Agudio draw fear among opponents, the attack from the women’s side has daunted opponents all year as much, if not more. Cigi McCollin has just hit her stride as the postseason nears, seeing her points per game average skyrocket to nearly 15. Complementing McCollin is Vanessa Gidden, currently averaging 14.4 points per game, and Murphy and Harshaw, both averaging just over 11 points per game.
Perhaps bringing up the academic ineligibility of Greg Washington is your personal rationale for the men’s struggles. Few recognize, however, that the women had to overcome the loss of a star themselves, as point guard Jeanell Hughes lost her spot on the team midseason. And as opposed to Tom Pecora’s unsuccessful backup plan of Gadley and Davis-Sabb, Kilburn-Steveskey slotted sophomore Niki Williams into the starting lineup. Williams has done her job and then some, as well, orchestrating an experienced frontcourt to a fourth place finish in the conference.
Sure, the Hofstra men needed to play in what some may feel is one of the deepest mid-major conferences in the country. Tournament hopefuls VCU, Old Dominion and Drexel are four teams that any team in the country would have problems with.
However, the women’s conference is without question more impressive than the men’s. Delaware, Old Dominion and James Madison are also basically locks as eight or nine seeds in the tournament. And if Hofstra can either win the conference, or gain a more-than-possible at-large bid, the women’s version of the CAA will send four teams to the Big Dance.
That’s right, four teams. More than the Big Ten, more than the Mountain West, and more than the Atlantic 10. The women are participating in one of the five or six best conferences in the nation, and have 13 conference victories to show for it.
Obviously, the women will never receive nearly as much hype as the men do at Hofstra. However, it seems apparent that in the national spotlight, the Lady Pride are on the cusp of becoming the Gonzaga or Creighton type of team that men’s basketball has; a mid-major that can compete with the nation’s elite.
Thus, don’t expect Hofstra’s women’s program to make the early, untimely exit the men made this year. Sure, it will be difficult to win one of the deepest conferences in the nation. With continued excellence in the frontcourt, though, and the consistency that has been there all year from the point, don’t be surprised to see the women dancing in the field of 64, while the men settle for that ever so disappointing National Invitation Tournament in March.
When it comes to celebrating in March, there is no doubt about it that in 2007, Cigi McCollin and the Lady Pride will do it best.