Senior guard Sara Ciotti attempts a free throw against Alfred State on Tuesday Dec. 3 while her teammates and opponents look on. The Knights defeated the visiting Saxons 68-51 (courtesy of Ally Koutsogiannis).
As the snow begins to build up on the sidewalks and Geneseo’s varsity sports schedule moves indoors, the women’s basketball team has been quietly accruing victories and climbing in the national Division III rankings. At the pace they’re going, Geneseo should quickly rise from their current No. 14 spot.
The Knights have begun their 2019-20 season with five straight wins, with all but one accomplished by a margin of at least ten points. Beginning in early November, Geneseo has proven to be a dangerous challenge to its opposition regardless of whose court their games are played on. The team won two consecutive road games, first against William Smith College on Nov. 12—by a score of 68-54—and second against Rochester Institute of Technology four days later—by a close score of 55-54.
The fast start to the season can partly be attributed to the preparation the Knights went through during the preseason. Senior guard and captain Sara Ciotti noted that the amount of work done by the team put them at an advantage before the first tip-off of the season even happened. “This preseason, the team was in the gym playing pick-up almost four times a week,” she said. “I think we came into the season being in much better shape than past seasons and it has really helped us be able to continue to run on teams in the final quarter of games, when the other team has run out of gas.”
In addition to simply being in better shape, Ciotti also mentioned that the team went through some growing pains after the departure of last year’s seniors and the arrival of this year’s freshmen. Although the new young players had a lot of catching up to do, they have already stepped up into prominent roles on gamedays, according to Ciotti.
Following their close win over RIT, the Knights returned home to Schrader Gymnasium and successfully defended their hardwood against SUNY Morrisville on Nov. 19 and Alfred State on Tuesday Dec. 3.
Led by junior forward Kerrin Montgomery’s 26 points, the Knights produced better results in almost every statistical category than Morrisville. Most notably, Geneseo’s 54.2 shooting percentage completely overshadowed Morrisville’s 30.8 percent. Also, the Knights managed to achieve a season-high free throw percentage of 76.7, helping them emerge with the 78-59 victory.
Much of the same came from the game against Alfred. Although the Saxons were able to end the first quarter ahead 15-10, the Knights knew not to become complacent in their playstyle. “We have the tendency to be in cruise control for the first part of the game and we do the same thing in practice sometimes,” Ciotti said. “But once coach tells us to kick it in the high gear, we make the decision as a unit that it is time to flip the switch and choose to do the little things, and we are a much better team when we do this.”
Following the kick from second-year head coach Alyssa Polosky, the Knights indeed flipped the switch and outscored Alfred in each of the last three quarters, winning the game 68-51.
The Knights’ stellar season up to this point is backed by the numbers, too. In the SUNYAC, the Knights lead the following categories: field goal percentage (46.9), three-point percentage (31.0) and assists per game (18.8). They are a close second in points per game (70.4) and rebounds per game (45.0). If they keep these numbers up and the team morale remains as high as it is, the women’s basketball team may very well be the next Geneseo team to raise a banner.
The Knights open their conference schedule at home against SUNY Cortland on Friday Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m.