Bryan Whitten hopes the trend continues. Mount St. Mary's improved by six games during the head coach's second season in Emmitsburg, posting the program's highest win total (14) since 2000-01. The Mountaineers' scoring defense (58.2 ppg) showed drastic improvement as well, allowing 8.3 points per game fewer than the prior season when it ranked ninth of 11 NEC teams. "Hopefully we have continued improvement," Whitten said looking ahead to his third season in the NEC. "The goal is always to be the best team we can be and be better than we were last year. Hopefully that will show in wins."
Four of the Mount's five starters are back with the lone loss coming with the graduation of leading scorer Brianna Gauthier (12.6 ppg). Her ability to effective play the point guard position will also be missed, but Whitten sounds confident in the possibility that freshman guard Selina Mann can contribute there. "She has played very well in our preseason and is doing some wonderful things for us," said Whitten of the Virginia native.
The Mountaineers' balanced attack features three returnees - Hassanah Oliver, Leah Westbrooks, and Mary Dunn - who all averaged in excess of 9.5 points and 32 minutes per game last season. "We're still going to be a team where we only have 10 on our roster and all 10 have the ability to come in and play." Three-point shooting extraordinaire Lauren Howell is one of those 10. Averaging 22.4 minutes and 7.2 points per contest, she sank 53 threes last season one year after she tied the NCAA all-time record for consecutive three-pointers made (14).
The Mount bolstered its frontcourt with the addition of freshman Jamie Halloran. "She's a big, strong player at 6'1" who gives us another low-post scoring presence," said Whitten. Westbrooks will likely again be a primary option up front after averaging 9.8 points and a team-high 7.8 boards per game as a sophomore.
Overall Record (Past Four Years)
Last Year: 14-16
Last Two Years: 22-38
Last Three Years: 34-55
Last Four Years: 46-71
NEC Record (Past Four Years)
Last Year: 8-10
Last Two Years: 14-22
Last Three Years: 24-30
Last Four Years: 33-39
RPI Nat'l Rank/Conf. Standing
2008-09: 245/7th
2007-08: 283/7th
2006-07: 224/6th
Leading Returning Scorers
Hassanah Oliver: 10.4 ppg
Leah Westbrooks: 9.8 ppg
Leading Returning Rebounders
Leah Westbrooks: 7.8 rpg
Mary Dunn: 7.3 rpg