Women’s basketball hopes to rebuild

By Hanae Wada

The Roger Williams University women’s basketball team is back and hungry for a championship this season after a moderately successful season last year.

“It’s no secret that we want to win a CCC Championship this year, but our focus is on the process,” said head coach Kelly Thompson.

Last spring the women’s basketball team was one of the best teams of the school. After the success of the women’s soccer and volleyball teams taking home championships, they looked to build onto that success. Last season, the team had a record of 17-10 overall and received the number three seed for playoffs. The girls got to the semi-finals but suffered a hard fought loss to CCC rival Western New England University, who they had already defeated previously in the season.

It was a sad loss, but right after the season ended for the team, the girls immediately started thinking about next season, and working on how to fix the problems and come out strong next season.

“Last season we were talented, but we didn’t have a constructive culture and the chemistry on the team was very reactive,” said senior team captain Bridget Quilty. “Everything was great when we were winning, but started to fall apart when the game or practice wasn’t swinging our way.”

This upcoming basketball season includes a fresh start for the Roger Williams women’s basketball team. It gives the team a chance to see all of the improvements they have made during the offseason. While the team said goodbye to some of their key players, such as Angelica Ariola and Rachel Battista, the team has added six new freshmen who look to earn a spot in the starting lineup this season.

“The one thing that is really hard for a freshman to transition into is the level of communication needed on and off the court,” said Quilty. “All of our freshmen have been great with talking while we are playing and when we are giving input on where the plays need to be made.”

Some of the new freshmen to look out for this season include 6 foot 5 inch freshman, from Kigali, Rwanda, Sinclair Imondo.

“She has some potential and it is very interesting to talk about her life from back home. Not only is she adjusting to college life in America, but she is balancing basketball and a demanding architecture major,” said senior captain Emma Klis.

Another freshman to keep an eye on as the season progresses is Sam Leone. She shows a lot of potential as well. Leone is a tall, long guard at 5 feet 9 inches, who drives the ball to the rim well and is a great defender.

The team as a whole consists of fifteen players, most of them being experienced third and fourth year veterans who look to lead the team to an even stronger performance than last season.

While the team’s expectation for the season is to take home a CCC championship, their ultimate goal this season is to change their culture for the good. They are excited and anxious for the games to start up again, and have worked hard on team culture so far this year. They will look to keep that strong culture throughout the season.

Come support the women’s basketball team this season at their first home game against CCC rival Curry College on December 3 at 1 p.m. in the upper gym.