Quick Facts: 2009-10 Record: 10-20 (7-9 America East)
Letterwinners Returning: 10
Starters Returning: 4
Newcomers: 4
Head Coach: Michele Cherry (4th season)/ 24-66 career record
After opening the 2009-10 season with a 2-10 record in the
non-conference portion of the schedule, it seemed as though Stony Brook was on
its way to a difficult season. However, the Seawolves used their early season
struggles as motivation for America East play, and rebounded in impressive
fashion. Head women's basketball coach Michele Cherry helped lead her young
team to the #4 seed in the America East tournament after going 7-9 during
conference play. Stony Brook advanced to the America East Championship
semifinals for the first time since 2006, and in doing so, set a tone for what
could be a tremendous 2010-11 campaign.
One of the reasons there is so much optimism surrounding the
program heading into this season is the return of 10 letterwinners, including
four starters from last season. Leading the way for this experienced team is
senior forward Kirsten Jeter. Jeter, who was named to the America East
All-Conference second team last season, is a versatile player who can score
from all over the court. Despite her strong performance last season, Cherry
still sees plenty of areas where Jeter can improve.
"I think that both she and I would like to see an
improvement in her shooting percentages," explained Cherry. "Her shooting percentages
went down in conference and I think that's because she got more attention as we
got into conference. I think we have more depth this year, which should really
help her. I'd also like to see her play a little more on the perimeter. We do
move her around quite a bit offensively, but I think getting her out on the
perimeter more might free her up."
With the return of senior guard Misha Horsey, the Seawolves
have one of the better inside/outside combinations in the America East. After a
season in which she led the America East with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.58,
Cherry believes that Horsey will provide the leadership that is necessary for
this team to compete for a conference championship.
"Misha, being our point guard, she is an extension of me on the
floor," the fourth-year coach said. "Her leadership is extremely important to
our success. I think she has improved every year. She is such a good
ball-handler and I think her decision making has gotten better as the years
have gone on. She has got to have my voice on the floor and she has to run our
team. I think with the experience she has, with three years as the starting
point guard, I think she is ready to take another step up and have a great
senior season."
While the individual talent and experience throughout the
roster is impressive, Cherry knows that this group must play together as a team
in order to achieve the lofty goals surrounding the program. If this group can
put together a consistent effort every night, competing for an America East
championship should be realistic.
"We have to have a contribution from a lot of different people,"
emphasized Cherry. "It has to be a total team effort. Kirsten has carried us a
little bit. She has carried the load offensively in particular the last couple
of years. Our defense has been pretty good. But now we have to work on getting
contributions on the offensive end from a lot of different people. If we can
get consistency game-in/game-out from a lot of different people, I think we
will take that next step."
There is the expectation around the Stony Brook program that
this is the year that the team competes for an America East championship. With Cherry
finally having the type of players that best fit her system, it seems that the
program is heading in the right direction. If this team can generate momentum
during the non-conference portion of its schedule, there is no reason why it
shouldn't be considered one of the favorites to win the conference.