BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport Women's Basketball team has a new leader in charge heading into the 2015-16 season with Head Coach Corinne Jones as Brockport was able to lure her away from the Division I ranks to help transform a program with potential.
Brockport returns a collection of players from its 2014-15 roster including its top four scorers Olivia Suhr, Hannah Rehbaum, Faith Welch and Marissa Pike who all averaged more than eight points per game.
"Our identity is definitely emerging. We are a resilient, tough and competitive team. We don't give up," informed coach Jones when asked to describe her preseason impressions of the team. "Our leading scorer is back and we have high expectations for (Olivia) Suhr. She's going to do really big things this year."
Expectations are high for Suhr who was a force to be reckoned with last season in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). In her first year with the Golden Eagles after transferring from Monroe Community College, Suhr was named First Team All-Conference. She averaged 17.5 points per contest ranking second in the league and 8.7 rebounds per game which was good for third in conference. Suhr was the most efficient scorer in the SUNYAC with a shooting percentage of .479.
"Rehbaum has been a leader from the jump," added coach Jones. "Since I was hired, she has been asking questions of X's and O's. From the start she was on board."
Rehbaum worked her way to the free throw line, more so than any other Golden Eagle teammate attempting 108 free throws last winter. She converted 74 of those attempts finishing the season 10th in the SUNYAC with a free throw percentage of .685.
Welch meanwhile was one of the top ball handlers and athletes within the conference as she averaged 4.2 assists per game which was second in the SUNYAC. She also possessed a quality assist per turnover ratio of 1.2 which cracked the top five in conference.
"Welch has great potential," noted coach Jones. "She is very athletic and is our third leading scorer. She has great things ahead of her."
Erin Cunningham finished second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per contest and will welcome the additions of Alyssa Wagner and Becky Rossier to the lineup adding some much needed height to provide rebounding depth in the frontcourt. Also welcoming the frontcourt additions will be Pike, who can now focus more on her team leading .353 shooting percentage from downtown.
Rossier is the tallest Golden Eagle on the roster at 6' 1" and showed great promise during Brockport's scrimmage versus Utica snatching a ridiculous amount of rebounds in limited time. Wagner is 5' 9" and is not afraid to attack the rim getting into the paint.
Coach Jones is also excited with the possibilities of freshmen guards Hannah Spencer and Schlyer Laux. Spencer handles the ball extremely well and will likely start the season as the point guard while Laux figures to be utilized as more of a two guard considering her shooting acumen.
Senior Lisa Yacovoni demonstrated her shooting range against Utica and has emerged as a leader on the roster. Coach Jones raves about the leadership qualities of both seniors Yacovoni and Cunningham, saying they are doing all the things asked of them – leading the team by example.
Also returning for a second season with the Green and Gold is Alyssa Rusinko. In limited time played as a freshman last season Rusinko showed a great knack for hitting open shots from behind the arc.
Other new coming Golden Eagles include guards Megan Anagnostopulos and Jenna Lividini. The guards will work predominantly with assistant coach Margeaux Gupilan, whose decorated career at the University of Buffalo saw her go down in school history with the sixth most assists.
All of the guards bring something different to the table as coach Jones credits Anagnostopulos as an extremely hard worker and good communicator while referencing Lividini as a threat from beyond the arc.
Bianca Jones will add some insight to the forwards development as a volunteer assistant. Jones joins the staff after previously playing a season under the tutelage of head coach Corinne Jones at Genesee Community College before captaining Division II Roberts Wesleyan her senior year.
Tiye Davis will assist in the management of practice and game day operations after holding a similar position as a student at Niagara. She played a big role in coordinating this weekend's alumnae game.
"We're pretty excited to have around 20 alumnae come back," replied coach Jones. "We're going to honor the 2004-05 team who got an automatic bid from the SUNYAC Championship and the 1994-95 team that got an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament. It's a great way to start the season by honoring those young ladies who worked hard at Brockport and won games. It'll be great for our players to see them, they put in hard work and they still care a lot about our program."
Brockport opens the season on Friday Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. in the Tip-Off Weekend home opener against Morissville with the alumnae game scheduled for Saturday. The Golden Eagles also host D'Youville College on Sunday at noon. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
