Quick Facts: 2009-10 record: 27-7 (13-3 America East)
Letterwinners Returning: 8
Starters Returning: 0
Newcomers: 4
Head Coach: Lori Gear McBride (1st Season)/ 0-0 career record
After a tremendous 2009-10 season, which saw Vermont go 27-7
(13-3 America East), win the America East Conference championship and advance
in the NCAA Tournament to the Round of 32, the program finds itself in
transition. Following the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, women's
basketball coach Sharon Dawley left to become the head coach at the University
of Massachusetts. The Catamounts also lost two of the best players in school history,
as Courtnay Pilypaitis and May Kotsopoulos, both of who were America East
All-Conference First Team selections, were lost to graduation.
Following the departure of Dawley, Vermont named Lori Gear
McBride the women's basketball head coach. McBride, who won an NCAA
Championship as a member of the University of North Carolina team in 1994,
comes to Vermont following an excellent tenure as the head coach at Colby
College. While replacing the production of Pilypaitis and Kotsopoulos will be
practically impossible, McBride does have some very talented pieces on the
roster. Senior forward Tonya Young will be one of the girls that McBride plans to
rely on throughout the season.
"Tonya Young has the chance to be a really great player and
have a special season for us this year," McBride said. "She has taken on some
additional leadership responsibilities and has really come forward in the preseason
and established herself in terms of setting the tone of our team. Without
putting too much pressure on her, we think she is going to be a big piece of
our success this season."
Teaming up with Young in the frontcourt will be sophomore
forward/center Lauren Buschmann. Although she didn't play a ton of minutes last
season, Buschmann routinely showed glimpses of her vast potential whenever she
was on the court. With playing time now available, McBride is hoping that
Buschmann can continue to develop as a player.
"Lauren Buschmann emerged as one of the players that really
should be watched in our league," explained McBride. "I think she has a chance
to do some really good things this season for us. We are not going to put
unrealistic expectations on her, but at the same time, I'm really excited that
I'm going to get to coach her for three years, because she has shown some great
promise."
Instead of looking at the task of having to replace all five
starters as a burden, McBride is instead hoping that her team realizes that
this is an opportunity for some players to step in and make a huge impact. While
it will be difficult to avoid comparisons to the tremendous 2009-10 season, the
first-year coach is trying to keep all the focus on improvement and
competition.
"Having lost five starters, there is tons of opportunity,"
McBride emphasized. "I think that we are excited about some of the pieces and
the people that are looking to step into some of those roles. We want to get
better one day at a time and we want to compete in every game. We are not going
to try and duplicate last year's success. All we are asking for right now is to
work as hard as they can and get better every day."
It is hard to believe that the Catamounts won't experience
some sort of drop off from what was achieved last season. The task of replacing
all five starters, including two America East All-Conference First Team
selections, would be nearly impossible for any program. However, McBride does
have some quality young talent at her disposal and has great confidence that
this team will play hard and tough throughout the season. If some of the
players can emerge during a difficult non-conference schedule, this team could
prove to be a tough out once America East play begins.