Oct. 18, 2004

PHILADELPHIA - The 2003-04 Saint Joseph's women's basketball team featured four senior 1,000-point scorers in the lineup. In the history of the NCAA, only eight teams had produced such a quartet of scorers during the same year. The problem facing fourth-year head coach Cindy Griffin, however, is that all four seniors, and two more whose value couldn't be quantified in the box score, have graduated and taken over 80 percent of last year's offense with them.

The solution is a youthful group that have been biding their time and learning from the players in front of them for the past two years. Juniors Faith (Gross) Schutte, Maura McBryan, and Kelly Springman, along with sophomore Ayahna Cornish, will be counted on to provide scoring, but also the valuable leadership that the largest senior class in program history provided last season.

"I think the biggest question for us is who our scorers will be," Griffin said. "The kids that haven't had a whole lot of playing time, because of who they were playing behind, it's their time to step up"

Cornish returns as the team's leading scorer after tallying 5.2 points per game during her rookie campaign. The explosive guard can slash to the basket and has an improved outside shot to complement her dynamic first step. A terror defensively, Cornish added 46 steals and will be asked to again stop the opponent's best guard.

McBryan has seen the most time of any returnee, starting 39 games in two seasons, but unselfishly deferred to her teammates on offense. The team's leader in taking charges, diving for loose balls and collecting floor burns, McBryan is a tireless worker and natural leader that will be asked to play both the small and power forward positions in 2004-05.

The Hawks' Most Improved Player last winter, Springman has fought back from another knee injury to secure the starting point guard spot. Playing behind All-Atlantic 10 point guard Erin Brady for two seasons, the Norristown, Pennsylvania native has learned the tools of the trade and is primed for a career year on Hawk Hill.

"Kelly and Maura have been great leaders for us in a subservient role, but now are going to provide us a lot of different things both on and off the court," Griffin said.

Another junior who has benefited from playing behind an all-conference performer is Schutte (Gross). Expected to see time at both the power forward and center slots, Schutte (Gross) guarded Stephanie Graff for two years and has shown glimpses of her vast potential. Strong and athletic, the junior will be asked to be an option on the block and control the boards.

Always a contender in the Atlantic 10 and Big 5, Saint Joseph's may not be among the favorites for the first time in recent memory. With a young team that lacks a single senior, the goals have changed from years past.

"I think the goals are different," stated Griffin, who has led the team to two A-10 Championship games in her three years at the helm. "I'd like to see us improve every time we step on the court. I would also like to have more of a running game--to play quicker and defend quicker."

Once again, the focus will be on defense. Last season, SJU led the conference in scoring defense and Griffin hopes to see the Hawks atop that perch again this year. "Our personnel has changed and our experience is different, but when you play defense, you're in every game. We're going to continue to do that."

While the non-conference slate does not feature the defending national champion as it has the past two years, the schedule is challenging nonetheless. The Hawks will square off against 10 teams that made postseason appearances last year.

The season starts off early with a November 12 tilt against Boston University in the Preseason WNIT. A December 30 matchup with Kansas State highlights the schedule, while games against NCAA Tournament participants Boston College, George Washington, Maine, Pennsylvania, Temple, and Villanova, as well as WNIT qualifiers Richmond, Xavier and Seton Hall also dot the schedule.

"We don't have a No. 1 or No. 2 on the list, but this schedule is tough. There are no sure wins," assessed Griffin. "We're going to continue to schedule as competitively as we always have."

For the first time in a while, the Hawks won't be the A-10 East favorite. But a hungry group of underclassman looking to make their own mark in Hawk lore will allow the Crimson and Gray to surprise some people in a wide-open Atlantic 10 race.

Backcourt
Having graduated the program's all-time three-point threat in Amra Mehmedic and a two-time All-Big 5 performer in Brady, SJU turns to Springman and Cornish in a young backcourt.

Springman, the steady and consistent floor general, was named the team's Most Improved Player last year after a breakout season backing up Brady. The redshirt junior increased her scoring from 0.7 to 2.3 (in only 11 minutes per game) and improved her outside shooting, leading the team in three-point percentage (16-43, .372). More comfortable in a half-court set, Springman will have to change her style to fit Griffin's up-tempo game this year.

One of the A-10s most explosive freshman last winter, Cornish returns as the team's leading scorer and will guard the shooting guard position. Showing glimpses of her potential early on with 17-point efforts against Lehigh and Virginia, the Philadelphia product gained valuable experience coming off the bench as a rookie. Also the team's best on-the-ball defender, the 5-9 guard will be asked to shutdown the opponent's top scorer.

Sophomore Whitney Ffrench saw spot duty in a reserve role at the point in her rookie campaign and will fight for more minutes this year. An athletic point guard, Ffrench has the innate ability to get to the foul line, attempting 19 free throws in only 51 minutes. She must improve on her 42.1 percent shooting from the line, but her versatility gives Griffin another look at the point.

Junior Christen Scanlon is the lone walk-on and has shown improvement over her first two seasons. A former rower on Hawk Hill, she has good size and possesses a nice touch from the perimeter.

Frontcourt
Schutte (Gross) and McBryan are penciled in to start at the forward positions, leaving the fifth starting spot open to some fierce preseason competition.

McBryan is a fundamental 6-0 forward that has improved her all-around game in two seasons on Hawk Hill. The scrappy Narberth, Pennsylvania native brings an infectious energy to the lineup, one that her young teammates would be smart to copy. McBryan averaged 3.8 points per game during her sophomore campaign, shooting 86.8 percent from the foul line. A tireless worker, McBryan will shoulder more of the offensive load in 2004-05.

An extremely athletic 6-1, Schutte brings more speed to the frontline in her junior season. Facing off against Graff in practice for two years has allowed the Phil-Mont Christian product to perfect the post moves that made her predecessor so successful. Schutte will be asked to control the boards in her first season of expanded playing time.

Red-shirt freshman Erica Pollock will compete for a starting role in the frontcourt after using her first season to improve individually. A talented all-around athlete, Pollock averaged a double-double at Riverdale Baptist in Maryland.

Newcomers
Four fresh faces hope to compete for immediate playing time in Griffin's rotation, while infusing the squad with fresh energy and athleticism. The group includes two true freshmen, Timisha Gomez and Krista Hutchison, sophomore Zoya Pavlovskaya and junior-college transfer, Christine Roth all who hope to make an impact in their rookie seasons.

Gomez, a two-time honorable mention All-American by Street & Smith's at Long Reach High School, is the Hawks most highly-touted recruit and will vie for the final starting position with Ffrench and Pollock. An explosive combo-guard, Gomez was an honorable mention All-Met selection in 2004 and owns the Long Reach career scoring mark. She averaged 16.0 points per game as a senior and was a four-time all-county pick.

Hutchison is a shot-blocking 6-3 center from Stafford, Virginia that will compete for time in the frontcourt. She averaged nearly a double-double during her senior year and added 2.5 blocks per game in earning Academic All-Area honors.

Roth is a long-range threat from Genesee Community College that will serve as the team's zone-buster. An honorable mention All-Western New York Athletic Conference pick, Roth shot 42 percent from beyond the arc and averaged just under 10 points per game. She helped lead Genesee to a 26-3 record.

Pavlovskaya, a 6-5, center, will help add depth to the Hawks' front line.

Schedule
With ten games slated against teams that qualified for postseason tournaments on tap for 2004-05, including probable Top 25 teams Boston College and Kansas State, the Hawks' schedule will again be demanding. The youthful Hawks gained valuable experience last season by playing eventual national champion Connecticut and at the hostile Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State.

The season starts early by hosting former Penn coach Kelly Greenberg and Boston University. Should the Hawks come out victorious, they'd face either Bowling Green or Ohio State in the second round. After a visit to city rival Drexel, SJU hosts former Hawk mentor Theresa Grentz and Illinois. In late November, Saint Joseph's travels to Maine for its Thanksgiving Tournament which includes Mississippi State, Maine (NCAA), and Loyola (Chicago).

After meeting Lehigh at home, SJU embarks on a stretch of five straight games against teams that made trips to the postseason. Saint Joseph's hosts NCAA qualifiers Pennsylvania, Villanova and Kansas State and makes visits to Seton Hall (WNIT) and Boston College (NCAA).

Ranked eighth out of 32 conferences nationally, the competitive Atlantic 10 slate is highlighted by matchups with NCAA qualifiers George Washington and Temple, along with WNIT participants Richmond and Xavier. In addition to those games, SJU will also meet three other A-10 Western Division foes--Duquesne, Dayton, and La Salle. The Hawks will also take on the A-10 East--Massachusetts, Temple, St. Bonaventure, Fordham, and Rhode Island--in home-and-home contests.