City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
__

Though the preseason expectations within the La Salle and St. Joseph’s women’s programs already felt optimistic, it became clear on Tuesday at Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Virtual Media Day external expectations are raised as well.

The Explorers were picked to finish second in the league behind Massachusetts — last season’s conference tournament champion — and the Haws were slated just a few spots below at sixth.

It’s a significant bump in expectations for both programs after La Salle was picked eighth and St. Joe’s 10th heading into last season. 

“Our first year here we were basically last in the preseason polls and now we’re in second,” La Salle graduate forward/guard Kayla Spruill said. “I think it’s one of those full circle moments, and it’s really exciting.”

UMass and reigning A-10 Player of the Year Sam Breen were the unanimous favorites in the preseason poll with all 15 first-place votes and 225 points. Bunched behind them were La Salle (188), Rhode Island (184) and Fordham (183) followed by VCU (152) and St. Joe’s (140).

“Preseason polls are what they are,” La Salle head coach Mountain MacGillivray. “The reality is if you look at this conference, the teams that were picked two through nine could have easily been picked second. It’s nice of the coaches in the conference to think that’s where we belong, but I’m sure that voting was really, really close with a lot of teams and UMass is the one with the bullseye on their back for sure. … We’re going to be ready to manage those expectations to the best of our ability but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and the end of the season.”

The Hawks finished tied for 12th in the league in 2019-20, tied for ninth in the league in 2020-21 and jumped up to seventh last season. It looks like they are ready to take another jump this season.

“We’re definitely excited with the sixth pick,” Jekot said. “We have been lower in the past, but as coach says we’re not too worried about where we are now but where we finished, so we’re focusing on the end of the season, finishing higher than we were picked.”

Both programs were well-represented on the A-10 preseason teams as well. To no surprise, Spruill, a first team All A-10 selection, was back on the first team preseason team after averaging 15.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg. 

Explorers’ senior guard Claire Jacobs (10.3 ppg, 3.2 ppg) earned second team honors along with Jekot (9.6 ppg, 4.8 apg). Hawks’ sophomore forward Talya Brugler (10.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg) earned third team honors after having a spot on the all-conference rookie team last season.

Jekot was one of the few players with experience last season on a Hawks squad with a number of freshmen in the rotation and now has multiple starters back in the mix with her, including Brugler.

“She is the person that runs the show as far as being the point guard, telling people what to do and where to go,” St. Joe’s coach Cindy Griffin said. “She’s experienced a lot of relief in the fact that she doesn’t have to tell them everything all the time this year. That they understand and it allows her to play her game as much as lead from a point guard standpoint.”

The Explorers return five starters and their top bench option from a squad that finished 16-12 (9-6 A-10) last season and tied for fourth in the conference before dropping its A-10 tournament opener.

Along with Spruill and Claire Jacobs, La Salle also returns fifth-year point guard Molly Masciantonio (6.9 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.4 rpg), junior guard Jaye Haynes (8.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg), senior guard Amy Jacobs (5.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and senior forward Gabby Crawford (11.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg), a Morehead State transfer who became eligible halfway through the year.

The expectations are new not only for McGillivray, in his fifth year, and his players, but also the program, which hadn’t broken into the top half of the league since tying for fourth with a 9-6 A-10 mark last season — La Salle’s best conference record since 1996-97

“I definitely feel like we’ve grown so much since we first got here as a team,” Masciantonio said. “We just want to accomplish way more. Like coach Mountain said, ‘It’s just the preseason poll.’ We kind of have to prove a lot to ourselves and others that we can actually win and do everything we are capable of.”

The optimism around the Hawks is fueled by the youth movement that took place last season. Brugler and fellow A-10 All-Rookie team selections Julia Nystrom (4.6 ppg), and Mackenzie Smith (9.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg) took some lumps early in their freshman seasons, starting off with a 1-6 record that included six straight losses in Games 2 through 7.

The group built some momentum by the end of the season, making a run to the conference tournament semifinals with two wins.

“I think we showed a lot of resilience last year,” Griffin said. “It was pretty rough to start out the season. We were very young in a lot of spots, so we went through a lot of growing pains. We are looking forward to getting off to a really good start this year. It’s going to be very important for this group to experience success early and maintain that level of intensity throughout the season.”

Jekot and that sophomore class are part of the core group returning that adds junior forward Paula Marina, a second team All-America East selection last season at Hartford who averaged 13.9 ppg and 3.9 rpg.

The Hawks haven’t had a winning record in the league or overall since 2017-18 and have eyes on breaking that trend this season.

“Our biggest strength is the communication and the buy-in on this team,” Brugler said. “Everyone has the same goal, and we’re all willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.”

~~~

2022-23 American Athletic Conference WBB Preseason Poll
1. Massachusetts (15 first-place votes, 225 points)
2. La Salle (188)
3. Rhode Island (184)
4. Fordham (183)
5. VCU (152)
6. Saint Joseph’s (140)
7. Davidson (135)
8. Richmond (125)
9. Duquesne (109)
10. Dayton (99)
11. George Washington (82)
12. Saint Louis (73)
13. Loyola Chicago (41)
14. George Mason (38)
15. St. Bonaventure (26)

Preseason All-Conference First Team
Anna DeWolfe, Sr., G, Fordham
Kayla Spruill, Gr., G/F, La Salle
Sam Breen, Gr., F, Massachusetts 
Sydney Taylor, Sr., G, Massachusetts 
Addie Budnik, Jr., F, Richmond
Sarah Te-Biasu, Jr., G, VCU

Preseason All-Conference Second Team
Elle Sutphin, R-Jr., F, Davidson
Asiah Dingle, Gr., G, Fordham
Claire Jacobs, Sr., G, La Salle
Destiney Philoxy, Gr., G, Massachusetts
Katie Jekot, Gr., G, Saint Joseph’s
Brooke Flowers, Sr., F/C, Saint Louis

Preseason All-Conference Third Team
Tess Myers, So., G, Duquesne
Mayowa Taiwo, R-Sr., F, George Washington
Tenin Magassa, Jr., C, Rhode Island
Emma Squires, Gr., F, Rhode Island
Talya Brugler, So., F, Saint Joseph’s
Kyla McMakin, Sr., G, Saint Louis

Preseason All-Conference Defensive Team
Megan McConnell, So., G, Duquesne
Asiah Dingle, Gr., G, Fordham
Mayowa Taiwo, R-Sr., F, George Washington
Destiney Philoxy, Gr., G, Massachusetts
Brooke Flowers, Sr., F/C, Saint Louis