Women's Basketball 11/15/2005 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Tips Off the Year at Buffalo

There is a sports cliche that states a defending league champion wears a “bullseye on its back” when the next season begins.
Most casual observers of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference might find it appropriate to use that cliche on the 2005-06 Canisius College women's basketball team. But second-year head coach Terry Zeh doesn't see it that way.

“I don't feel like this team has a bullseye on its back, and neither do the players,” Zeh said. “I think the approach we have to take this season is the same approach we take every year. This league is so competitive from top-to-bottom that you need to be at the top of your game or you are going to have a hard time being successful.”

The Golden Griffins return 12 letterwinners and all five starters from last year's squad, which posted a 21-10 overall record and the 2005 MAAC title. The 20-win season was the program's fifth all-time, first since 1989-90 and second since the program moved to a full Division I schedule prior to the start of the 1986-87 season. Looking back over the last four years, each preseason left the Canisius women's basketball team with a number of questions to be answered. Last preseason, the Griffs were coming off a trip to the 2004 MAAC Championship game, adding a new coaching staff and looking to replace nearly 40 percent of the team's scoring offense. This year's team doesn't appear to have many questions, which can present a team with a number of other concerns.

“We are clearly excited to get this season underway,” Zeh said. “We worked hard last season to reach our goal of winning the league. And this program has worked hard since the day we left the floor in Chapel Hill. Everyone knows to enjoy the same level of success we had last season will not be easy.”

SENIORS This year's group of five seniors will step on the floor with the chance to be the winningest class in program history, chasing the graduating class of 1992, which posted 67 wins in its four-year career. Seniors Karly Chesko, Jackie Richards, Jessica Steeves, Cheri Wittlieb and Becky Zak (top, right) have played in a combined 381 career games with 56 wins after last year's trip to the NCAA Tournament, and join this year's junior class as the only group of Canisius women's players to have made back-to-back appearances in the MAAC Championship game. Zeh believes the hard work and determination of this class have helped place the program on the right track, starting a winning tradition he would love to see continue.

“This class as a whole has played in some big games and has come up with some big plays,” he said. “You can point to specific plays that every one of our seniors have made in the last three years and it's easy to see why this program has been successful over the last few years.”

Zak returns for her final season in Blue and Gold as the key to the Griffs' ignition. The 5-foot-6 guard from Pine Beach, N.J., became the first player in school history to be named the MAAC Tournament MVP last season after averaging 14.3 points and 2.3 assists in Canisius' tourney three wins. Zak enters her final season as a Griff just 191 points and 149 assists shy of becoming the third player in school history to score 1,000-career points and dish out 500-career assists, an honor held by Canisius Hall of Famer Gina Castelli and former star Heather Fiore.

Wittlieb burst onto the scene during the 2002-03 season as a walk-on and earned a scholarship after being named to the league's all-rookie squad after her freshman season. Since coming to the College, Wittlieb has become one of the conference's top 3-pointshooting threats and enters the 2005-06 campaign ranked second in school history with 179 career 3-point baskets in 90 career games. Wittlieb has a chance to join the program's 1,000-point club - she needs 103 points in her senior year to become the 15th Canisius women's player to reach that scoring plateau.

Steeves (right) had a career year as a junior in 2004-05, being named second-team All-MAAC and to the all-tournament team after averaging a career-high 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game a season ago. The 6-foot-3 center from Trumbull, Conn., led the Griffs last year in blocks with 52 after starting 27 games. Since Steeves joined the program, she has played in all 91 games during the last three seasons, which makes her the program's active leader in games played.

Chesko and Richards round out the senior class, with Chesko earning tri-captain status for her final year at Canisius. Chesko served as one of the MAAC's top defensive players and was the team's first backcourt player off the bench last season, while Richards presents knowledge of the game and provides depth in the frontcourt, which helps the Griffs nightly.

“This group knows that the title of ?winningest class' is out there, and it is something they are working towards,” Zeh said. “They have bought into what this coaching staff has preached from day one, and their hard work and efforts off the court are a perfect example as to why this program has turned around in their time on campus.”

JUNIORS The junior class on this year's team returns three players with considerable experience, led by two returning starters from a season ago, Jessie Lamparski and Megan Lyte (below, right). Lamparski and Lyte have played in all 61 games in their previous two seasons, with Lyte earning second-team All-MAAC honors after her sophomore season. Lamparski shot just 26 percent from 3-point land last year, but she is credited with knocking down two of the program's biggest 3-point field goals. Her 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:48 left in the 2005 MAAC Championship game put the Griffs up for good in the team's 60-59 win over Marist, and then she scored the program's first points in the NCAA Tournament with a 3-pointer against Duke.

Fellow junior Abby Radunske made four starts last season midway through the year and closed out her sophomore season averaging 8.6 points per game in the team's last five games.

<#IMAGE:3#>“The three juniors we have on the team have all played significant time in some pretty big games,” Zeh said. “Jessie and Megan made a real impact in the starting lineup last year, and Abby really contributed to this team in some clutch situations. Their growth over the last two years really serves as a big step for this team, not only this year, but in the next few years to come.”

SOPHOMORES The Griffs' four returning sophomores all present something different to the team's roster, and Zeh enjoys having choices when looking down his bench. JJ Williams and Nia Capuano played in 28 of the team's 31 games last year, while forward Mere Mullins saw time in 25 games during her rookie campaign. Williams had a career night at Rider Feb. 11, when the Griffs needed overtime to knock off the host Broncs, as she scored nine points and pulled down a career-best eight boards in the team's 70-68 victory. Capuano was 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line in a MAAC win at Marist Jan. 8, and closed out the contest with a career-high 14 points, while Mullins came off the bench at Fairfield Feb. 23 and helped Canisius score its first regular season series sweep of the Stags in program history.

“Each one of this year's sophomores have contributed to this team in different ways,” Zeh said. “Nia had that big night at Marist to help us get the win, and Mere and JJ came off the bench a number of times and helped us when we had foul trouble.”

NEWCOMERS The two newcomers to this year's roster will not only add depth, but should also add some punch to the Griffs' already experienced lineup. Sophomore transfer Laura Granzow used her redshirt season in 2004-05, as she sat out after coming to Buffalo from the University of Denver. The 6-foot-3 center averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 29 games during her freshman season with the Pioneers in 2003-04 and appeared to fit in with the Griffs' at both ends of the floor when the team took its summer trip overseas to Italy in late August. Freshman Amanda Cavo is the newest addition to this year's club, and Zeh and his coaching staff are expecting big things from the 5-foot-9 guard.

“After having a chance to work with Amanda in preseason workouts, we are really excited to have her in this program,” he said. “She's a complete player with great athletic skills and an understanding of the game.”

Cavo scored 1,149 career points in high school and averaged 23 points, seven assists and three boards per game as a senior.

SCHEDULE <#IMAGE:4#>The Griffs will once again face a tough non-conference slate this season, but the difference this year is the Blue and Gold will have a chance to play a few of those games in the friendly confines of the Koessler Athletic Center, where Canisius has posted a 31-22 record during the last five years. The season opens Nov. 18, at cross-town rival Buffalo, and then the team plays host to Cornell Nov. 23, in the Koessler Athletic Center, the program's earliest home opener in four seasons. Canisius will also take on Syracuse, St. Bonavenutre, nationally-ranked Ohio State and Eastern Michigan before the close of the 2005 calendar year and the full slate of MAAC games.

“We are really excited about the quality of our non-conference schedule,” Zeh said. “From start to finish, this year features some tremendous teams and some non-conference programs that are on the rise.”

As always, the MAAC schedule will present plenty of challenges with teams such as Fairfield, Loyola, Marist, Siena and Saint Peter's returning experienced and strong lineups. Canisius will also make its second appearance on national television Jan. 17, when the team plays host to long-time rival Niagara in a game that will be on ESPNU.

“You always judge the success of your season on how your team does in the postseason,” the second-year head coach said. “We'd love to do what we did last year, but it's going to be a difficult road. There's no time to stop and think about what we did last year, it's a new season with new goals.”

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#33 Nia Capuano: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#12 Amanda Cavo: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#22 Karly Chesko: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#23 Jessie Lamparski: G; 5' 9"; Junior

#44 Megan Lyte: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#32 Mere Mullins: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#11 Abby Radunske: F; 5' 11"; Junior

#25 Jackie Richards: C/F; 6' 1"; Senior

#13 Jessica Steeves: C; 6' 3"; Senior

#31 JJ Williams: F/C; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#24 Cheri Wittlieb: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#20 Becky Zak: G; 5' 6"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#33 Nia Capuano
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#12 Amanda Cavo
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#22 Karly Chesko
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#23 Jessie Lamparski
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

#44 Megan Lyte
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#32 Mere Mullins
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

#11 Abby Radunske
: 5' 11"; Junior
: F

#25 Jackie Richards
: 6' 1"; Senior
: C/F

#13 Jessica Steeves
: 6' 3"; Senior
: C

#31 JJ Williams
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F/C

#24 Cheri Wittlieb
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#20 Becky Zak
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G