Women's Basketball Looks to Continue Winning Ways, Opens Season Friday

In 2008-09, the Southern New Hampshire University women's basketball team enjoyed its best season in nearly two decades.  The Penmen posted an 18-11 record, marking the program's first winning season and highest victory total since 1991.  SNHU was regionally ranked for most of the season and posted its first-ever Northeast-10 Tournament victory since joining the league in 2000.

The work that SNHU head coach Karen Pinkos has put into building the Penmen program over her first four seasons has been noticed, as Southern New Hampshire was picked sixth in the Northeast-10 preseason poll.  With 11 returners, along with three talented freshmen, SNHU appears poised to climb closer to the top of the NE-10 heap.

"As we head into the season, our team is ready to compete at a higher level," said Pinkos.  "Over the past four years out staff has taken great strides to improve to quality of the program both on and off the court."

"We have a core of experienced players mixed with inexperience.  Our success this year will be dictated by how quickly the inexperienced players gain confidence and can contribute," added Pinkos.

A pair of Granite State products will serve as captains this season, as seniors Julia Houghtaling (Franconia, N.H.) and Jenny McDade (Derry, N.H.) will assume the role. 

Houghtaling, entering her second season as captain, ranked second on the squad in scoring (9.7 ppg) and led the team in rebounding (6.9 rpg) while shooting over 45% from the field.  She was one of two players to start all 29 games last year and reached double figures in scoring 15 times.  McDade, in her first season with the program after spending the first two years of her college career at the University of New Hampshire, averaged 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while connecting on 17 three-pointers.  She had six double-figure scoring efforts, including a career-high 15 points in a win over Dowling.

Southern New Hampshire also returns three additional seniors in forwards Ashara Carrington (Marblehead, Mass.) and Stacey McCullough (Proctor, Vt.) and guard Andrea Lozeau (Pelham, N.H.).

Carrington did an excellent job as SNHU's "sixth man" last season, as she came off the bench in all but one of her 28 appearances.  She ranked second in the Northeast-10 in field goal percentage (.539) and ranked third on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) while finishing second in rebounding (5.8 rpg).  She had a career-high 24 points in just 23 minutes at Assumption and totaled 15 points and 15 boards in a win at Mercy. 

McCullough appeared in a career-high 10 games as a junior and scored in wins over Dowling and Southern Connecticut.  Lozeau appeared in 26 games, primarily in the backup point guard role, and scored a season-high six points at nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce.

The junior class consists of guards Libby Cullerot (Henniker, N.H.) and Magdala Johnson (Sandown, N.H.) and forward Megan Smith (Smithfield, Maine).

Cullerot, formerly a standout at John Stark Regional HS, appeared in five games as a sophomore and in 14 games over her first two seasons.  Johnson, in her first season at SNHU in 2008-09 after starting her career at Maine, appeared in 19 games before being sidelined at the end of January with an injury.  She averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, pouring in a season-best 15 points in a road win at Southern Connecticut.  Smith played in all 29 games with 17 starts, shooting 51.8% from the field and averaging 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.  She reached double figures in scoring in six games, including a career-best 17 point, seven rebound effort in a win over Dowling.

A trio of guards make up the sophomore class.  The most experienced of the three is Christine Duffy (South Boston, Mass.).  As a freshman, Duffy started all but two games and averaged 5.0 points and 3.6 assists per game while knocking down 21 three-pointers.  She finished with a season-best eight assists in a win over Dowling and had career-best 14-point efforts in wins over New Haven and Assumption.

Erin Baldwin (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Megan Spanarkel (Tinton Falls, N.J.) will both look to play a bigger role this season with the graduation of guards Stephanie Houghton, Alyssa Whitney and Megan Shay.  Spanarkel, a former standout at Red Bank Catholic HS, appeared in 14 games last season, while Baldwin, a product of Fairhaven HS, played in a total of nine contests.

Southern New Hampshire added three freshmen to the roster in 2009-10 and all three will look to make an impact right away, guards Debroah LaValley (Rochester, N.H.) and Morgan Munson (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) and forward Sloane Sorrell (Berwick, Maine).

LaValley spent four years at Spaulding HS and led the Red Raiders to their first Class L tournament appearances as a junior and senior.  She averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists as a senior en route to All-State honors.  Munson was a five-time team MVP at Rockhampton Girls' Grammar School and was a five-time All-League selection.  She also has experience with the Queensland State Team.  Sorrell was a finalist for Miss Maine Basketball as a senior and averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Noble HS.  She finished her career as the second-leading scorer in Noble history with 1,195 points.

Southern New Hampshire opens its season with three games at the Disney Division II Tip-Off, the first time the Penmen have participated in the prestigious tournament.  After opening with North Alabama, SNHU faces a pair of PSAC institutions in Shippensburg and Gannon, with Gannon being ranked No. 19 in the WBCA Division II preseason poll.

SNHU's home opener is set for November 15 when the Penmen entertain Mercy College.  Three days later the Penmen open Northeast-10 play by hosting Saint Anselm.  One of the most competitive Division II conferences in the country, the NE-10 sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, with Franklin Pierce reaching the national championship game.  The league has had a team reach the final game in three of the last four seasons.