Optimism is high as MWC women's basketball enters the '90s. A team which advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Tournament lost just one senior to graduation and welcomes a number of talented recruits. Optimism also stems from team character, best evidenced in an emotional championship of the regular-season-ending Independents' Conference Tournament. For the second straight year, MWC went to Arlington, VA and downed host Marymount University for the title. Last year's 81-76 triumph saw five MWC players score in double figures against the Saints, an NCAA Tournament team. '
"Knowing that they defeated a team (Marymount) which received a bid to nationals has allowed the returning players to reflect on those close games that we lost ...had we won those games, we could have received a bid to nationals as well," said Gallahan. "The team needs to focus on each game in the same manner they approach the tournaments. By seeing each game as a step closer to a bid to the national tournament, we can become more focused and win the close games we lost last season. "
Instead of playing "spoiler" to nationally acclaimed teams, the Eagles hope to soar to that elite group. This Eagle team may be the deepest since the state championship teams of the mid-1980s,and with the experience should come consistency. MWC lost seven games by nine points or less last season, and head coach Connie Gallahan feels that this experience can be employed as a positive motivator, fueling a determination to overcome that gap.
A veteran team which has won all four in-season tournaments in the past two seasons, MWC welcomes back four proven scorers ...forwards Kim Nagy (Jr./Reston, VA, 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds/game) and Chris Paige (So./Vienna, Vk, 11.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and guards Robin Peck (Sr./Chester, VA; 9.6 ppg) and Susan Myers (Jr./McGaheysville, VA; 8.7 ppg). They'll be counted on to pick up the slack left by graduated forward Jennifer Payne, who finished as MWC's sixth-leading career scorer and rebounder. Peck - named MVP of the Independents' Conference Tourney - is already ninth in career scoring (756 points) and fifth in assists (137). Paige is the most talented all-around player because of her ballhandling skills and ability to score with the jump shot or with the drive. Nagy is a strong inside player and effective with the outside shot as well, while Myers is an effective outside threat
Handling the playmaking duties will be veterans Vikki Lenhart (Sr./Chase City, VA) and Staci Musselman (Jr./Shawsville,VA). Lenhart ranks seventh on the school career assist charts with 125, and can also score from the perimeter, as evidenced by a 12-point (10 in a two-minute span) performance against Marymount. Joining Nagy and Paige up front will be senior Linda Konfala (Sr./Manassas, VA), who finished fourth among rebounders at 4.6/game in her first season at MWC after transferring from UMBC. Veterans Patty Charron (Jr./Springfield, VA, third at 4.8 rpg), Melody Brown (Sr./Stafford, VA) and Jennifer Tompkins (Jr./Charlottesville, VA) are veterans who should contribute solid inside play.