Women’s Hoop at Top of GNAC South Division in Preseason Poll
2021-22 REGIS COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
WINTHROP, Mass. – The Regis College women's basketball team received nine first-place votes to finish atop the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South Division in the preseason coaches' poll, announced Wednesday by the league office.
The Pride ended up with 87 total points, 10 points ahead of Albertus Magnus, the recipient of the other four first-place votes. Johnson & Wales finished in third place with 62 points, followed by University of Saint Joseph (45 points), Lasell (41 points), Elms (28 points), and Dean (21 points).
Starting this season, the GNAC is split into two divisions for basketball. In the GNAC North Division, Emmanuel emerged as the favorite with nine first-place votes and 74 total points, just ahead of Saint Joseph's College with 69 total points, including four first-place votes. Norwich (49 points) landed in third place, followed by Colby-Sawyer (39 points), Anna Maria (25 points), and Rivier (17 points).
Regis welcomes back seven players from the 2019-20 squad that reached the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament, led by captains Shannon Kelley (Quincy, Mass.), Marissa Prall (Hopkinton, Mass.), and Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Searcy earned Third Team All-GNAC recognition after averaging 10.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game, while Kelley and Prall will provide veteran leadership to the squad.
Also returning to the Pride is 2019-20 GNAC Rookie of the Year Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.), the team leader in scoring at 13.5 points per game, rebounding at 8.7 boards per contest, and steals with 2.5 steals per game. Seniors Yvelande Donis (Randolph, Mass.) and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) as well as junior Erica Regan (Sterling, Mass.) contribute additional collegiate playing experience as the team returns to the court.
The team is led by a new coaching staff with first-year head coach Samantha Crough and assistant coach Leah Spencer, both with significant collegiate playing experience themselves. In addition, Crough spent time as an assistant coach at Carnegie Mellon University, Williams College, and Emerson College, accumulating the tools she believes will help her become a successful head coach.
Regis begins the season next Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Bridgewater State, followed by a home game on Veterans Day (Thursday, Nov. 11) against UMass Dartmouth. The Pride will also face WPI, Eastern Nazarene, and University of New England in non-conference action in November before starting the conference schedule in December.
The Pride will play 18 GNAC contests, facing each South Division foe twice, both home and away, as well as one game against each North Division school. Regis will host Saint Joseph's College Wednesday, Dec. 8 and will travel to Emmanuel Monday night, Jan. 24. The Pride and the Falcons of Albertus Magnus meet twice in the span of a week in early February, first facing off at Higgins Court Thursday, Feb. 3, before the rematch in New Haven, Conn., Wednesday, Feb. 9.
The top four teams in each division will qualify for the GNAC Tournament, with cross-divisional quarterfinals Tuesday, Feb. 22. The semifinals will take place Thursday, Feb. 24, followed by the championship game Saturday, Feb. 26, to determine the conference champion and recipient of the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Regis ended the 2019-20 season with a 15-12 overall record, including an 8-3 league mark to finish in a tie for third place, just one game behind Emmanuel and Saint Joseph's College at 9-2.