Women’s hoops optimistic about next season

The Geneseo women’s basketball team may have lost in the SUNYAC championship game on Saturday March 1, but that doesn’t mean that the season was lost. The Knights made it all the way to the final game of the tournament, something that, while always a goal of everyone on the team, was not unexpected.

“One of our former players once said, ‘It’s not a goal to make a run in the playoffs anymore; it’s an expectation.’ I find that very rewarding as a coach to hear a player talk about the team that way,” head coach Scott Hemer said of the weekend. “I simply want the group we’re working with to reach their full potential, and hopefully that puts us in a position to make a run in our conference tournament or the NCAA tournament.”

In the final, the Knights faced off against SUNY Plattsburgh. In a close-fought game, the Knights lost 57-52.

“We held the highest-scoring team in our conference to 57 points; I feel pretty good about our performance on Saturday,” Hemer said. “Even in general, throughout the year, that group found ways to step up and win.”

The Knights won eight games in a row heading into the final, their most recent loss being to the Cardinals on Feb. 8 at home. They had won 11 of their last 12 games and it appeared as though they would put up a tough match against anyone that they came across – which is exactly what they did.

Despite the loss, the team’s play in the championship game is very telling of what’s to come next season. The season looks promising for the Knights, who have no seniors leaving, meaning they will start with a strong foundation. This is something they will only be able to build on with their experiences from this season.

“We’re all very excited to have a group of young, talented, high-character players. Everyone’s excited about what’s ahead,” Hemer said. “Ultimately, each one of them will make choices about what they want their contribution to be, but we as a coaching staff want them to reach their full potential.”

“I think this group grew as much as any other that I’ve had in any of the seven years I’ve been at Geneseo,” he added. “I’m confident that they’ll be able to carry over the lessons that they learned to influence our record next season.”

Four-game win streak for women’s hoops

The Geneseo women’s basketball team earned its fourth consecutive victory in a 69-62 win over SUNY Cortland on Tuesday Feb. 18. The team now sits at third in the conference as it heads into the final weekend of the regular season, tied with SUNY Oneonta – the Knights’ opponent on Friday Feb. 21. Junior co-captain Shannon McGinnis can take a lot of the credit for this streak, averaging 16.5 points per game. Other traits of the team, not only on the statistics sheet, are also aiding in the Knights’ success.

“All three of our captains – [McGinnis], senior Biz Reinhardt and junior Katie Peterson – have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the nice part is that one’s strengths tend to be another’s weakness, so they do a nice job of complimenting each other,” head coach Scott Hemer said. He went on to say that the success at the end of the season reflects the players each finding their roles.

If the season ended right now, or even if they dropped to fourth after Feb. 22, the Knights would earn a first-round playoff game at home. There is also the chance that Geneseo could hold second seed in the playoffs, but the Knights would need events to go their way for this to happen.

To Geneseo’s benefit, the first and second-placed teams – Buffalo State College and SUNY Plattsburgh, tied at 13-3 in the conference – play each other in the final weekend of the regular season. If one of them drops its last two games and Geneseo sweeps the weekend, the team could slide into first or second place and receive a first-round bye.

Regardless of where the Knights end up, their four-game win streak is a great way to head into the post-season. They have won each of the past four games by at least seven points and have won seven out of their last eight games.

Hemer didn’t express too much concern about seeding.

“I think that, about a month ago, we got away from our team goals in terms of looking at the big picture, and now we’re just trying to take it one game at a time,” he said.

Women’s hoops looks to playoffs with confidence

Although the playoffs are well within the Geneseo women’s basketball team’s reach, the Knights need to stay focused on the five games remaining in the regular season.

In each of the next four games, Geneseo faces a playoff hopeful team. Its schedule is the following: away against SUNY Fredonia, Buffalo State College and SUNY Cortland, then home against SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz.

The first and second-seeded teams in the SUNYAC receive a bye, while the third seed plays home against the sixth, and the fourth seed is home against the fifth. As it stands as of Thursday Feb. 13, Buffalo and Plattsburgh would receive a bye, Geneseo would be seeded fourth and play Fredonia in Schrader Gymnasium and Oneonta, at third, would play home against Fredonia.

Cortland, currently in seventh place, shares the same conference record as Fredonia, so much remains to be seen here.

Friday’s game against Fredonia would be a look at Geneseo’s first-round game, giving the coaching staff a good look at what’s potentially in store.

Head coach Scott Hemer said he thinks the freshmen have improved the deeper the team has gotten into the season.

“I don’t think we have to worry about any injuries or let-downs from them,” he said. “You’re going to have some people who are beat up, but you’re going to have that every season.”

The Knights won a critical game Tuesday Feb. 11 against SUNY Brockport, taking down the Golden Eagles 59-43. Center sophomore Allison McKenna scored 14 points while forward junior Shannon McGinnis scored 17.

At this point in the season, a bye may be out of the Knights’ reach, but that doesn’t seem to faze Hemer.

“A bye is certainly an advantage … but we haven’t necessarily played any better at home versus away this year,” he said. “For us, it’s not really much of a factor; we’re trying to focus on things that we can control.”

The Knights head to Fredonia on Friday Feb. 14 in pursuit of the playoffs. Hemer said that, at this point in the season, there isn’t anyone in the conference Geneseo couldn’t compete with.