The St. Lawrence women's basketball team advanced to the Liberty League postseason as the No. 3 seed after the Saints fell in their final regular-season game to Rensselaer on Saturday afternoon.
In 2018-19, the Saints finished 8-17 overall and were 5-13 in league play, missing out on the Liberty League tournament. This year, the team flipped the script, going 17-8 overall, 13-5 in conference games. They will host No. 6 RIT (11-14, 9-9) in a Liberty League Tournament first round game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
"Our players last year weren't happy with the results," said head coach
Dan Roiger as he reflected on the outcome of last season. "We lost three projected starters last year for the whole season due to injury and personal reasons. You take three starters off of any team, it changes your complete complexion. Last year we had freshmen that were good players, but they're just trying to learn how to play the game, what college is about, going against juniors and seniors from other teams who have all the details in place. That's one thing that has made us successful this year; we've just grown up, gotten older. Rather than just learning stuff, the players are paying attention to details. It's the details that make you successful and I think that's been a big difference this year as well."
One of the reasons the team has been "paying attention to details" is because Roiger took a completely different approach to practices
"We completely changed practices," said Roiger. "Instead of focusing on preparing for games we completely went to skill development. We knew our kids didn't have the skills to compete at the college level. We focused on ball-handling, shooting, passing. We were going to focus less on each individual game and more on the development of our players."
Roiger's new approach worked.
Last year the Saints were ranked eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 54.8 points per game. They ranked seventh in the league for offensive and defensive field goal percentages, shooting 35.4% from the field and allowing opponents to make 37.5% of their shots. And the Saints ranked dead last in defense against 3-point field goals, allowing teams to make 31.3% of their shots behind the arc.
This year, the Saints are ranked first in the league in scoring defense, field goal percent defense and 3-point field goal percent defense. In a game that has shifted away from the mid-range shooting, dominant paint style of play, to more of a fast break, three-point shooting style, the Saints have held their own against the 3-ball, with opponents hitting just 22.4% of their attempts.
What does a team and a coaching staff do to turn the defense around completely from being one of the worst defenses in the league to now the best?
"Offseason, we did nothing," said Roiger. "It's the mental approach to the game and knowing the game plan better and executing it better. It's the ability to understand who you're guarding, knowing their strengths, and then not allowing them to execute them during the game."
The Saints took a play smarter not harder approach defensively, and it has allowed them to put teams in uncomfortable situations causing them to crack under pressure.
"Not a lot of players can shoot mid-range jumpers," said Roiger. "It's usually layups, foul shots, and three-pointers, so as a team defensively, we want to put opposing players in situations where they have to take mid-range shots and they can't make them because they haven't been practicing them. Last year we allowed players to play to their strengths, but this year we're forcing them into uncomfortable situations that result in them making mistakes."
The team has also improved offensively. The Saints finished fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 65.7 points per game. The Saints' offense is led by the 1-2 punch of Katie Frederick and Ava McCann. Both are in the top 10 in the league in scoring, with Frederick leading the league in field goal percentage, shooting 55.8%, and McCann leading the league in 3-point percentage (38.4%) and 3-point field goals per game (2.8). The off-season was important for both players as they both focused on perfecting their strengths.
"Ava is probably one of the best shooters I've ever had in this program," said Roiger. "She settled down this year. Whenever she gets in trouble on the court, she tries to do too much and this year the game slowed down for her and she started to play to her strengths rather than just play. This year she actually has a concentration level out on the floor and is using that to her advantage."
In terms of specifics, Roiger wanted McCann to focus on her 3-point shooting technique.
"We asked her to extend her range and I think that's the best thing she did," said Roiger. "She's becoming a more accurate shooter. She's getting her feet more organized ahead of time as opposed to rushing into the shot. Those are the details that first-years don't often get and after your sophomore year, you're able to focus on what you need to do specifically to get better."
Frederick, on the other hand, has a supporting cast of players that has helped her increase her own production.
"Katie has always been a great player," said Roiger. "Last year she struggled because we didn't have people who could shoot, so that allowed other teams to have two or three players guarding her. Her maturity this year and the way she approaches the game, knowing exactly what she wants to accomplish during a game and then going out on the court and doing it has been a big difference from last year."
Frederick is one of just three upperclassmen. Three of the five starters are sophomores, and first-years Olivia Middleton and Olivia Barringer have been the first two players off the bench. Middleton has the vision of hawk, leading the league with 3.6 assists per game, while Barringer makes her presence known on both ends of the floor; she is averaging 7.2 rebounds per game and has made 90 field goals, ranking second and third on the team, respectively.
Another key addition to the team is assistant coach
Chelsea Welch. Welch played professional basketball in Portugal after her collegiate career at NCAA Division I Wright State.
"One of the things that Chelsea brought to the team was the ability to teach more about going to the basket, being more assertive and the skills that go with that, ball-handling and footwork," said Roiger. "Chelsea was the Horizon League MVP, she shot 269 free throws as a senior; last year our entire team shot 407. Free throw shooting is an indication of how hard you're going to the basket and it was big for Chelsea to come in and teach our players how to be more aggressive and assertive when going to the basket."
That aggressive and assertive mentality is littered throughout the Saints' gameplay. It's on display in the way Frederick uses the lower half of her body to create separation from the defender, then uses her tall six-foot, three-inch frame to spin, go up and bank in the layup. You see it in the way McCann catches a pass, using her speed to cause the defender to stumble over their feet only to be deked out by the hard head fake followed by a step back 3-pointer that perfectly swishes through the net. It's shown by the effortless no-look passes by Middleton and the strong rebounding by Barringer.
This Saints team doesn't hide behind the fact that they're young and inexperienced; they embrace it. From the opening tip-off, this team is fast paced and in your face. They're a team with clear minds and wide eyes, ready for the challenges that await them this postseason.