2010-11 Season Review
Signature Wins: The Fords dominated Franklin & Marshall at the Mayser Center in mid-December. Haverford jumped out to an 11-0 start and never looked back in its 53-39 victory. What made the win so important was that the Diplomats finished 11-9 in the Centennial Conference, earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Fords may have played their best game of the season in a 62-41 victory at archrival Swarthmore Jan. 19. A 15-6 run to close the first half gave HC a 14-point lead at the intermission and the lead extended to as many as 20 in the second half.
Season Notes: Sophomore Nina Voith was second in the Centennial Conference in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game. In just two seasons, Voith has totaled 830 points and is on her way to becoming the fourth player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Sophomore Dominique Meeks was a force in the paint. She averaged 12.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and recorded 10 double-doubles. The Fords proved they could shoot from long range with consistency, knocking down a program record 143 three-pointers while finishing third in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (38 percent). Sophomores Calla Miller, Victoria Sobocinski and Voith, along with freshman Cara Wyant each shot better than 34 percent from three-point range. Haverford continued to build its prowess as a feisty defensive team. In 2010-11 the Fords were fourth in the Centennial in scoring defense (54.5 PPG) and third in field goal percentage defense (34 percent). Haverford held its opponents under 60 points in 14 of 25 contests. The Fords finished the season with the second highest win total in school history and the program’s best finish ever in Centennial play.
Postseason Awards:
- All-Centennial Conference: Nina Voith (second-team), Dominique Meeks (honorable mention)
- Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll: Mary Hobbs, Liz Mayell, Meaghan Ryan, Victoria Sobocinski
- All-Centennial Conference Sportsmanship Team: Mayell.
Looking Ahead: The Fords will return four starters for the 2011-12 campaign along with a number of sophomores who played valuable minutes this season. Wyant and fellow freshman Rachel Baskin both saw time in the starting lineup and will be expected to make bigger contributions next season. While Haverford will count on the contributions of a number of three-year starters in 2011-12, the squad will still rely on its freshmen and sophomore classes to help the Fords make a run at the Centennial Conference playoffs.
2010-11 Season Outlook
The Haverford College women’s basketball team already has most of the pieces in place for the 2010-11 season. The Fords return four players who started at least 22 games a season ago and contributed nearly 40 points per game. Head coach Bobbi Morgan hopes the addition of depth in the freshmen class will allow the team to make big strides this winter.
“Our goals are to aim for a winning record and make the Centennial Conference tournament,” said Morgan. “We will be competitive and hope to develop more players who can contribute more minutes than last season.”
The backcourt
That group starts with sophomore Nina Voith, a Second-Team All-Centennial Conference selection in 2009-10. She led the conference in scoring at 18.1 points per game while her 435 points were second most in the Centennial. Voith’s contributions were not limited to offense. She pulled down 7.6 rebounds per game and was fourth on the team with 34 steals.
Joining Voith in the backcourt is fellow sophomore Calla Miller. In her rookie season Miller gained a lot of confidence running the point and brings a better understanding of the role this season. She led the team with 73 assists while averaging 8.0 points per contest. She proved to be durable, playing a program record 36.5 minutes per game.
Sophomore Victoria Sobocinski will compete for a starting position in the backcourt. She saw time in all 24 games as a freshman and finished second on the squad in three-point field goals, knocking down 30. Sobocinski has worked on her inside game and hopes to be more of a dual threat in Morgan’s offense.
Senior Alejandra Alvarez adds experience and depth. The captain has the ability to play point guard or the two-guard. Freshmen Rachel Baskin, Nicole Hurd, Fern Beetle-Moorcroft and Hope Rainey hope to fight for minutes at the guard spots as well.
The frontcourt
Returning in the frontcourt is sophomore Dominique Meeks. She was the team’s second-leading scorer at 11.0 per game last year. Meeks made her mark on the defensive end as well, leading the Fords in steals (49) and blocked shots (25).
Senior captain Liz Mayell is a steady presence who plays with poise. She has appeared in 70 games in her career, starting 37 over the last two seasons.
Senior Meaghan Ryan, sophomore Meredith Schoyer and freshman Cara Wyant will also be forces in the middle. Schoyer played in 24 games last year and Ryan, a captain, adds stability. Wyant was a part of two Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AA state championship teams at Villa Maria Academy in Erie. Freshman forward Charlie Sheehan will provide depth in the frontcourt.
What to expect
The Fords will be tested every night in the always challenging Centennial Conference which had three teams make the NCAA tournament in 2009-10. Haverford gave NCAA qualifiers Gettysburg, McDaniel and Muhlenberg challenges last year, taking the Green Terror and Mules to overtime before losing. This year HC hopes to take the next step against that type of competition.
Haverford was picked seventh in the Centennial preseason coaches’ poll, but with the experience and depth this team has, a chance for one of the five spots in the Centennial Conference tournament could be attainable.