After a 2010 campaign that put it on the map, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team heads into the 2011-12 season with more experience and cohesion as a unit, gearing its players for a big year on the court.
Last year, the Bearcats made a name for themselves by posting a record of 19-12 (11-5 America East), finishing third in-conference during the regular season and advancing to the semifinals of the America East tournament.
Excluding guard Jackie Ward, who graduated last year, all but one player from last year’s squad will be returning to suit up for the Bearcats in 2011. The biggest question posed to Binghamton entering the season, however, will be the status of star and senior guard Andrea Holmes.
After leading the team in points per game, 3-pointers per game, assists per game and steals per game in 2011, Holmes went down with a torn ACL that caused her to miss her team’s entire postseason. The team played well without her during the conference tournament, but as Binghamton’s true leader and floor general, Holmes’ recovery over the offseason has been the most pressing storyline leading up to opening day.
“A big part of this whole process has been my mental state,” Holmes said at the team’s annual media day last month. “I think for the most part I’ve been pretty confident. I know it’s the physical part that I have to work more on, though. I’ve been running a little bit, jumping a little bit, a lot of basic things just to try and get back to the flow of basketball.”
For the second consecutive year, Holmes has been selected to America East Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. But in order to return to her all-conference form, Holmes, an aggressive competitor on the hardwood, has had to slow things down during her recovery.
A key, she said, has been the support she has received from her teammates, coaching staff and training staff.
“After something like this happens, you kind of have to force yourself to slow down and take it easy,” she said. “I think the people around me have done pretty well with monitoring that and making sure I’m monitoring myself. I have a lot of people around me consistently concerned about my well-being and my progress with the whole thing.”
Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl knows Holmes is the foundation of her team, but rushing her back hasn’t been a part of the plan.
“If she’s got confidence and she’s feeling good out there, you know what, it’s her senior year and I want this to be the best senior year that she could possibly have,” Scholl said. “Non-conference is going to be about getting her ready to play for conference. That may mean starting off playing two minutes at a time and building up to 20, 25, 30 minutes. It’s been a new experience for all of us but I think, overall, I think everyone’s handled it really well.”
Holmes isn’t the only all-conference player Binghamton boasts. Senior forward Viive Rebane, who led the team in rebounds, blocked shots and field goal percentage last year, earned second team all-conference honors last season.
Fellow starters sophomore forward Jasbriell Swain and junior forward Kara Elofson also bring plenty to the table for the Bearcats. Swain was named America East Rookie of the Year last year while Elofson finished in the top five on the team in points per game, free throws made per game and minutes per game.
Seniors Orla and Sinead O’Reilly played an instrumental part last year during the conference tournament when Binghamton was short handed. The 6-foot-1-inch twin sisters will look to duplicate their 2010 efforts this season, either off the bench or in the starting lineup.
Binghamton’s bench is another one of its strong points. With an arsenal that includes sophomore forwards Julia Barac and Kyra Aloizos, sophomore guards Stephanie Jensen and Vaneeshia Paulk, junior guard Mallory Lawes and junior forward Simone Thomas, the Bearcats know that their depth is something they can count on.
The 2011 Bearcats also add freshmen newcomers Gintare Surdokaite, who was a four-year starter in high school, and Sherae Swinson, who scored over 1,000 points during her high school career.
“You saw us last year and we’ve got everyone back pretty much,” Scholl said. “You saw the team we were in the tournament last year without Andrea. And we’ve been building on that. We’re expecting in the beginning that we may not have [Holmes]. So we’ve had to make some adjustments and the players are ready for that, both mentally and physically.”
In the preseason poll, Binghamton was picked to finish fourth in the conference behind University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Boston University and University of Hartford.
The Bearcats are scheduled to tip off the 2011-12 campaign with an exhibition game at home against Mansfield University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Events Center.
Binghamton’s regular season is set to begin on Nov. 11 against Mount St. Mary’s University. It will be the first of 13 non-conference games the Bearcats play before starting AE action on Jan. 2.