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The Mitchell College Women's Basketball program is entering its first season of competition in the new New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). The team has high hopes for the season, as they return five players and have added nine recruits to the roster. The future looks bright for the program with only two juniors and no seniors on the squad.
The team will rely heavily on returning junior point guard and starter Jenn Iglesias (Sacred Heart, Waterbury CT) who averaged 19.4 ppg and earned second team All Independent Team honors(AD3I). Jen is a top performer and team player, and she was named captain for the second straight year. A highlight from last year was her 42 point performance against Albertus Magnus.
Other returners who will see considerable action this season are sophomores Kailee Hyde (Derby, CT/Derby High School) and Brittany Smyth (Winsted, CT/The Gilbert School). Hyde, a forward, averaged 4.1 points per game last season. Smyth averaged 6.7 points per game last year as a guard, and she earned All-Conference team honors in cross country this past fall. Junior Miah Manning (Baltic, CT/Putnam High School) should contribute to the offensive attack as she scored 7.1 points per game a season ago. Marjorie Oliveira (Waterbury, CT/Kennedy High School) also returns at the guard position. This is a young, but solid and close-knit, group of student-athletes who will guide the new recruiting class to form one of the top teams in the NECC.
Highlighting the recruiting class is transfer-student Alix O'Neil who played locally at New London High School and then for one season at Centenary College. Big things are also expected from Allison Peck, an all-conference performer at Bacon Academy who then went on to play at American International College. The talented freshman class is led by post player Destiney Harris (Bristol,CT/ Bristol Eastern High School) and Bianca Young, a versatile athlete who played for state champion Kolbe Cathedral High School in Bridgeport,CT.
Rounding out the freshmen class are Ashley Chestnut (Bridgeport, CT/Bassick High School), Brittany Shortell (Ansonia, CT/Ansonia High School), Kim Uihlein (Westbrook, CT/Westbrook, CT), and Tania Gee (West Haven, CT/West Haven High School). These recruits were solid performers for their high school teams and will provide the necessary depth to this year's team.
The team is anxiously awaiting the season opener at Smith College on November 15th and competing for the NECC conference title this season. The first priority for this young team is to develop team chemistry and gain confidence playing with one another. With limited height, the squad will look to use their speed and quickness to play a fast, transitional game with solid pressure defense.
