2007-08 Women's Basketball Season Outlook

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The American International College women's basketball team has won 20 games and appeared in the NCAA Tournament each of the past four seasons, and with 10 players returning from a year ago will look to do so again this year. The Yellow Jackets, who were picked third in the preseason Northeast-10 coaches' poll, will also have something they didn't have a year ago, a healthy Alissa Rubino (Port Jefferson, N.Y.).

"I think our biggest strength this season is the amount of experience we have," said first-year head coach Kristen Patterson, who was AIC's assistant coach each of the past two seasons. "We have six players left from the team that made it to the 2006 championship game so motivation won't be an issue, they know this is their last shot."

AIC's top returning player is senior forward Alexis Castro (Chula Vista, Calif.), who was named the Dartronics Northeast Region Player of the Year and was a first-team all-region and all-Northeast-10 selection, led the team in scoring and rebounding lasts season. She started all 29 games as a junior, averaging 17.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Castro also led the team with 95 free throws made and was third on the team with 74 assists.

"Alexis is one of the top players in our league and needs to play that way every night for us," said Patterson. "I think she needs to improve on her three-point shooting and she'll need to be a force on the offensive and defensive glass."

Rubino returns after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury. She made four starts a year ago, averaging 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds while registering 15 assists and 12 steals. "Alissa runs our offense very well and is our best defensive player," said Patterson.

Junior forward Stacy Boisvert (Agawam, Mass.) also started all 29 games and was the Yellow Jackets second-leading scorer last year at 9.9 points per game and was third on the team with 6.9 rebounds per contest. She led the team with 30 steals, was second with 92 made free throws and ranked third with a .754 free throw percentage.

Patterson added that she's "looking for big things from Stacy this season. She's improved each of the least two years and we're going to demand a lot of her this year. We'll need her to be a scorer for us underneath the basket"

Senior center Jen Nnanna (Somerset, N.J.) started 22 of her 29 games played and broke her own school-record while leading the nation and Northeats-10 with 117 blocked shots a year ago. She also ranked second on the team with 7.0 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jeanette Johnathan (Central Islip, N.Y.) started 24 of her 28 games played and was the teams point guard after the injury to Rubino. She led the team with 91 assists and ranked second with 29 steal while scoring 6.3 points per game.

"Jen is a great defender, rebounder and shot blocker and we're looking to get more out of her offensively as well," said Patterson. "Jeannette also needs to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. She was a 1,000-point scorer in high school and at 5-11 can shoot over almost every guard in the country."

Forward Kristin Boesenberg (Pocono Pines, Pa.) averaged 5.2 points per game off the bench as a freshman, while junior Jen Moussette (Southampton, Mass.) contributed 4.7 points per game. Senior center Mirlande Francois (Miami, Fla.), senior guard Romara Pearsull (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and sophomore forward Sasha Lowery (Paterson, N.J.) also return this season.

AIC's lone newcomer is graduate student Molly Large (Lansing, Mich.), who played for three years at Ferris State University prior to joining the Yellow Jackets. She was the team's captain and leading rebounder as a senior with 6.9 boards per game and led the team to a berth in the NCAA tournament.

"The key to the season will be how well we defend our opponents and rebound the ball," said Patterson. "I think that if we're able to do that well and play as a team we'll be back in the NCAA Tournament."

The Yellow Jackets open the 2007 season Saturday at New Haven at 4 p.m.