The Saint Joseph’s Hawks made it all the way to the Atlantic 10 Championship final a season ago and with a trio of top performers now having departed the program, the expectation has not changed. The transformation of productivity between returners and new players is a process already well under way, however.
“Looking forward to a great season with the Hawks, we certainly look a little different this year but with players like Gabby Casey and Aleah Snead, I think we are going to surprise some people,” Hawks head coach Cindy Griffin stated.
Griffin understood that when everything is put together, there is a desire to play faster and that backcourt play is more of a strength this season.
“That’s going to entail a lot of pushing the ball up the floor and getting more perimeter shots and not losing sight of the post presence that we’ve had,” explained Griffin. “We’ve got to bring those younger players along a little bit more.”
Here is a look at the Hawks:
Coach- Cindy Griffin - 25th season
Last year- The Hawks went 24-10 overall and 12-6 in A-10 play, good for a double bye in the Atlantic 10 Championship. St. Joe’s outlasted Rhode Island in overtime and top-seeded Richmond by a single point before falling to George Mason in the finals. Saint Joseph’s advanced to the WBIT second round where it fell by two points to Villanova.
They’ll miss- Laura Ziegler (17.5 ppg/10.4 rpg/42.5% FG/145 assts/84.7% FT), Mackenzie Smith (14.4 ppg/46.3% FG/67 3’s), Talya Brugler (13.1 ppg/5.3 rpg/51.9% FG/81.3% FT)
Impact returners- Gabby Casey (7.7 ppg/4.4 rpg/40.2% FG), Aleah Snead (6.4 ppg/51.9% FG), Rhian Stokes (5.7 ppg/40.4% FG)
Newcomers of note- Cecilia Kay (11.5 ppg/41.3% FG at American), Faith Stinson (9.2 ppg/5.3 rebs/44.9% FG at IU Indy), Jill Jekot (Penn State)
Reasons to be optimistic: Casey and Snead are close friends and a dynamic returning duo that Saint Joseph’s expects a lot from.
Snead is the reigning sixth woman of the year and was voted onto the preseason all-conference second team and Casey the third team.
“I think she filled a great role for us,” Griffin said of Snead. “Anything we asked her to do whether it was play against the best perimeter player, maximize on a mismatch, be the top of our press, create steals and opportunities for herself and her teammates.”
Casey has been challenged by the coaching staff to fulfill more of a scoring role. Between her own work ethic in the gym and additional efforts from the coaching staff, it is clear that growth is present, not just in scoring, but personally as a leader as well.
Griffin has asked her players to play a bit faster and make the transition game a strength, both of which excite Casey.
“It's easy because when you have somebody that can put the ball in the basket in different ways such as Gabby, you have to look at Aleah’s experience from last year being sixth player of the year,” observed Griffin. “You’re looking at two perimeter players that can score in a lot of different ways and being complemented by some speed, athleticism and some skill.”
X Factor- When it comes to newcomers on the team, Griffin brought up one name: Faith Stinson, an IU Indy transfer who started all 30 games a season ago.
“She’s had a lot of playing time and so we’re looking for her to fill some big shoes,” Griffin summarized. “From the post position she’s able to shoot the three, able to stretch the floor out like we like to do. We like all five women out on the court to be able to shoot the three so that we can space out the floor and get some inside touches whether it be with post players or exposing mismatches.”
Circle the date- Griffin desired to throw her team into the fire and see just what it was made of. Nov. 20 is one of those contests, a road tilt against a Columbia team which won its First Four matchup in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Other notable opponents include Cincinnati, Penn State, Penn and Drexel.
Bottom line: Griffin understands that a season ago the big takeaway was a chance to get a taste of both the Atlantic 10 Championship finals and postseason play.
It is important for her that the standard continues as things continue to gel on and off the court.
“Just because numbers have changed on the back of the jersey and who’s going to be starting and playing out there, the goals are still the same,” finalized the 25th year head coach. “We want to win the Atlantic 10 Championship, we want to be playing in the postseason, and we want to represent St. Joe’s and this league the best that we can.”
It is Casey’s desire to keep a longer-term memory so that this season’s goals can be met.
“That feeling we had walking off that floor in Richmond, we won’t ever forget that.,” she promised. “That has fueled us for this season and we’re just looking to get back there.”