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The University of Vermont Catamounts

Women's Basketball

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Vermont Women's Basketball Outlook 2009-10

Vermont head coach Sharon Dawley previews the 2009-10 season. The Catamounts are the defending America East Champions after upsetting No. 2 Hartford and No. 1 Boston University in the America East Championship last season. UVM earned a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell to eventual national champion Connecticut.

Q: Take one last time to reflect on last year's championship, what did the coaching staff and players take away from that experience?
SD: Obviously we had a great time and we were excited that we won the championship. During the season we had some disappointing losses and the only thing that really mattered at the end was sticking together and getting a little better each day and being very cohesive. We grew so tight-knit through the ups and downs of the regular season that when we had the third close game in three days at the tournament we knew we could come back even from a deficit. Resilience is the biggest lesson we learned from last year's championship run.

With that said, we can't rest on a laurels. That was last year, this is a new year, we've got a new team and it is time to start a new chapter. We'll take the lessons learned from last season and use the experience as the motivating factor to try for a repeat.

Q: What lessons were learned after playing in the NCAA Tournament and facing UConn in their environment?
SD:It was really exciting to be at UConn, obviously the best team in the country by a mile. I was afraid that we would be really nervous, but I loved our attitude when we got there. We had fun and we competed.

This year we get to go back to UConn in December and I think we will be less star-struck. Getting that 16 seed was a very valuable lesson for us. Now the players truly understand the value of every game. At the time a non-conference game in November might not seem that important but every game matters because I do believe we had two key losses that dropped us from 14th to 16th seed. So that lesson is invaluable and I think it will be shared with the freshmen, especially by the seniors, on a regular basis. They will learn that every game matters and we can't let any opponent beat us that we should beat and hopefully we are able to go back to the tournament and get a better seed.

Q: You were able to get a head start on the season with a Canadian tour in late August, talk about what the returning players got out of that trip?
SD: Because we couldn't travel with any freshmen and we were short a couple veterans, we didn't really put in a lot of new stuff or experiment a whole lot. We went with six healthy players. We started building on the camaraderie between the players. Everyone is a year older now and has more responsibility. We started getting the nucleus together. The starting five we had at Canada looked terrific they could very well start. Who knows what's going to happen, but I think we built upon our team chemistry.

The trip to Canada was a dream for Courtnay (Pilypaitis) and May (Kotsopoulos). They were excited to bring their team to their neighborhoods and their friends and families could see them play. The ultimate goal was to bring the them home and it was great. We had more fans than our opponents and we went to Courtnay and May's houses for gatherings with their friends and families. We really just had fun and i think that's the most important place to begin.

Q: What role has the senior class played in the program heading into their final season?
SD: A huge role, when I look at the senior class of Courtnay (Pilypaitis), May (Kotsopoulos), Sophia (Iwobi) and Alissa (Sheftic). We've had great classes but I think they are the class that really got the program going in the right path. They came in with tremendous talent and work ethic and they obviously had a huge impact when Courtnay and May started right away. I can't think of two other freshmen that have been able to do that. The entire class has done enormous things for us.

But if we wanted to just talk about those Courtnay and May, two freshman coming in and starting with one getting rookie of the year and one getting defensive player of the year. Then Courtnay getting player of the year as a sophomore and then being named MVP of the tournament last year, its almost mind boggling to put in to words how much they've done. I can't imagine the program without them and I don't think we are ever going to be able to put into words what they've done.

We can look at the senior's statistics but it's really behind the scenes. They've done even more than that, great leadership; every play in practice is competitive. They kill each other for every loose ball and every player now has that attitude in practice and that's what you need. You need 14 people playing that way in practice if you want to be any good. All four seniors have left their mark on this program.

What returning player will surprise people this year?
SD: I would say Alissa Sheftic. She has improved a lot, she does something every day that really surprises me. I think Coach (Justin) Goulet (head strength and conditioning coach) has done a wonderful job with her this off-season. She's stronger, more mobile, and she's more confident. I think you get more confidence from doing well in the weight room. Coach Goulet has helped turn things around in the weight room for us. We love the weight room and it is a very important part of our program. Because of her work with Coach Goulet over the summer, Alissa is probably the most improved player we have right now and she's going to be a dominant post player in the league.

After graduating a large senior class, you have six freshmen this year. Shat can we expect from them this season?
SD: I'm excited about our freshmen class. They will play. There are six of them so where you fit them in will be the question. They are all very athletic, they have good size and they are all really competitive. I do see them all having a role this year, some bigger than others. We're looking at one or two freshmen competing for starting positions. Others will be key role players off the bench, but they will get key minutes.

You look at our non-conference schedule, talk about throwing them into the fire with teams like UConn, Boston College, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, but I think it's great. They will have a lot of time to adjust to a different speed, different strength and physical play they were accustomed to in high school, by facing these teams. So when we do go into league play they will be ready for this style of basketball.

You consistently play a very competitive schedule year in and year out. This year you'll have a rematch with the defending national champion UConn Huskies. How well do you feel this prepares the team, especially when it comes to conference play?
SD: I think it prepares us very well for America East play. You always want to play up so when the league games arrive you have already played so many tough, physical teams that you are used to battling.

Our non-league schedule is going to be tough. As coaches we have to do a good job of balancing losing and learning. There will be a few games we'll drop, but there are some teams on our schedule that we can get if we play our game.

Our players look forward to seeing an NC State and a UConn on our schedule, they want that challenge. it's critical to keep them hungry and i think it's critical for the freshmen to be thrown in with the size and speed we will face so when we get into conference they are not going to be intimidated.

Following up on the schedule question, you have Nebraska and Oklahoma State coming to Patrick Gym. How is playing at Patrick Gym an advantage to the team?
SD: I think the word's out that playing at Patrick Gym is an advantage for us. Scheduling home games has become tought, nobody wants to come to Patrick Gym because we play well there, which is a good problem to have. We were able to get Oklahoma State and Nebraska to come here and we will follow up by going to their campuses next year. Bringing in Oklahoma State and Nebraska to our gym is great, we take pride in it and we are excited that we can give our fans an opportunity to see us play against teams outside our region. Our crowd has always been a tremendous sixth man and it will continue to be that way. We shoot well at home and we have a lot of pride and want to protect our home court.

for the first time in America East Women's Basketball history, the championship game of the America East Tournament will be played on the home floor of the highest remaining seed. how does that change affect the regular season and tournament?
SD: It's huge, the change. Now the top seed means everything. If you come in first in the regular season, you have an opportunity host the championship game and that is a great advantage. We've watched our men host a few times and it's tremendous, it's great for the community, great for the school. We're really looking forward to the chance to have that opportunity and I hope that with the 16th seed experience we went through, those two things combined will keep our players conscience to never drop any game that you shouldn't drop. Especially when we get into league play. We came to a point last year where it didn't really matter if you were second or third seed. All the teams are going hard for for the championship and at the end of the day it didn't matter what seed you were, but now it means everything. I think this change will make all our games that much more competitive.

Last modified October 12 2009 12:48 PM

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