West Windsor,
N.J. - Women's basketball coach Mike Tenaglia is satisfied with
much of the Lady Vikes' season - but not the ending. "I was
disappointed with our loss in the regionals," says Tenaglia,
whose team was defeated 64-59 by Burlington CC in the quarterfinal
round. Just
two weeks earlier, the Vikings had beaten Burlington by 20 points.
Still, Tenaglia,
who completes his 20th season with the Vikings, is proud of his
team's 21-9 final record. Leading the effort were freshman forwards
Alexis Sweet, who averaged 21.8 points per game, and Azaria Crews,
with 13.5 points per game, and sophomore forward Samantha Foley,
with 12.7 points per game.
"We knew
going in that these three would be our main scorers and they delivered,"
Tenaglia said. He adds that guard Samantha Cobbs and forward Kiara
Boone also played well, showing significant growth over the course
of the season.
Sophomore forward Jennifer Casper was injured in the Vikings' very
first game. "That was probably our biggest loss," Tenaglia
said.
The team's peak came between mid-January and mid-February when the
Vikings had 12 victories and only one loss. "There were many
good moments," Tenaglia recalls, noting that community college
players must make a rapid transition from high school to college
level ball and his squad showed real improvement as the season progressed.
He was especially pleased that Samantha Foley, who was injured during
her first year, remained injury-free this season. "That means
she did the hard work in the weight room during the off-season,"
Tenaglia said.
Sweet, who was
ranked in the Top 10 in scoring in National Junior College Athletic
Association Division II, was named to both the Region 19 and Garden
State Athletic Conference first teams. She was joined on the GSAC
first team by Foley, while Crews was selected for the second team.
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(Back
row from left) Coach Mike Tenaglia, Alexis Sweet, Marelys Williams,
Kiara Boone, Samantha Foley, Lauren Diveglio, Azaria Crews, assistant
coach Leslie Maurer, and Jennifer Casper; (front row from left)
Showana Paul, Ja'Neice Worley, Amanda Tereby, Samantha Cobbs, Laruie
Regan and Chelsea Lawson.
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