Felician Athletics - 11/12/07 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - 2007-08 Outlook: Depth Means Ongoing Competition

Felician College head women’s basketball coach Ben DiNallo will be faced with trying to build a successful team in 2007-08 while guiding the program through what is still a transition period.

Last year, the Golden Falcons endured a coaching change with 10 games left in the season, finished with a 2-28 record, then graduated seven seniors. DiNallo, after coaching those final 10 games, has permanently reassumed the job he held from 1998-2005.

But Felician now has six newcomers, and only two seniors, on a 13-player preseason roster. So DiNallo, less than two weeks before the season opener, is still non-committal on a playing rotation.

“We’ll have depth, which means there will be a lot of competition throughout the year,” said DiNallo, who is also the College’s athletics director. “Right now we just need to build chemistry and improve every day.”

The uncertainty of coaching a young team combined with the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference’s new divisional alignment makes it difficult for DiNallo to predict where his Golden Falcons fit on the landscape of the league races. So, like most coaches, he will spend his time focused on what he can control – his own team – and keep his players’ goals realistic.

“I’ve never been one to set a goal of a certain number of wins,” DiNallo said. “I’ve always maintained that I want my teams to be better at the end of the year than the beginning, and I measure that primarily by improvement in execution. But in the real world of college athletics, we do have to use wins and losses as somewhat as a yardstick, and I do believe we have the ability to make a run at the conference tournament out of the new CACC North Division.”

GUARDS: Juniors Jo Milling (28 GP, 3.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg in 2006-07) and Crystal Dixon (12 GP, 5.6 ppg, 1.1 apg) are the returnees. Dixon returns from injury to push for the starting point guard spot, while Milling has good size, range and smarts and can also play a wing. Freshmen Breanne DeFalco and Shannon Gilmartin are also perimeter threats.

“It’s not true that there’s a definitive backcourt rotation yet,” DiNallo said. “All of our guards bring different attributes, and a couple of our small forwards can give us time back there as well.”

WINGS: Senior Dee Dee Smith (27 GP, 9.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.6 spg) returns and can play either forward position. The new coaching staff is impressed with her vertical leap and will ask her to shoulder much of the scoring and rebounding load.

Transfer Janelle Biamonte may see time at the shooting guard, small forward or power forward spots and could make an immediate impact at both ends of the floor. Freshman Cassandra Chenet has impressed at the defensive end and has the ability to make the three-point shot.

POSTS: This unit gives DiNallo the most experience and stability. Senior Crystal Ferrer (29 GP, 6.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is a returning starter who alternated between power forward and center. Junior Amanda Bartee (25 GP, 1.6 ppg, 1.6) is a strong rebounder who will look for more playing time. Junior Kimberly Dunay (22 GP, 2.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 11 blocks), the team’s only true center, gives the Golden Falcons size off the bench and creates match-up problems for opponents.

Transfer Phylicia Daniels, a strong offensive and defensive rebounder, could challenge for an immediate starting role. Freshman Bianca Johnson may see time at both forward positions.