Kean women’s basketball confident in preparation ahead of season opener

By Ruben Nieves | Published by November 12, 2021

After a shortened 2020-21 season, Kean women’s basketball is preparing for its season opener and  fresh off an appearance in the NJAC tournament, is confident in its  ability to make another run at an NJAC championship.

“The competition is at a high level,” said head coach Mandy King. “There’s a lot of belief in the gym that this could be the year we break through and get back to winning NJAC championships.”

The team has been practicing   for the upcoming season since the second week of the fall semester.

As they continue preparing  for the season, King believes the team should be focused on the things that matter the most.

“Not necessarily the results, but focusing on improving every day,” King said. “Giving our best effort and staying true to the core values of this program which is family, integrity, gratitude, hard work, and toughness.”

Shannon McCoy, a senior guard, thinks the team is focused and ready. 

“We started our preseason the second week of school and we’ve been lifting with our strength and conditioning coach twice a week,” McCoy said. “We got the team together two other days and either played some pickup or went through some of the things we did in practice.”

McCoy has been working on ball handling and her shooting, as this season the three-point line has been moved back.

“I’ve been preparing by making sure I’m running and in shape,” McCoy said. “I’ve also been getting in the gym and working on my ball handling and shooting, I’ve been focusing a lot on adjusting and expanding my three-point range.”

Like her teammate, Sarah Olivero, a senior guard, has also been working on improving her overall game.

“Personally, during the offseason, I really wanted to focus on my strength and shooting ability,” Olivero said. “I really got into lifting and spent most of my days working on my threes or jumpers that I would realistically take in a game.”

Olivero also wants to improve her ball handling.

“I would really love to improve on my ability to handle the ball,” Olivero said. “It’s going to be tough for our point guards this year with how intense NJAC defense is. So, if I can help relieve some of that pressure and put them and our bigs in a better position to score.”

Last season due to the pandemic they had a shortened season, and the team did not have their normal preparation time. Now, King is hoping after normal preparation the team can set the tone for the rest of the league.

“We want to dominate the regular season,” King said. “Hopefully we can get out of that middle of the pack and separate ourselves so we can become elite.”

This season, fans will be welcomed back at Hardwood Arena after not being able to during the spring season due to Covid protocol. McCoy is looking forward to having fans back in the bleachers. 

“I’m so excited to have fans back at games, it was so weird not having them last year,” McCoy said. “Now knowing that they’ll be back is so exciting, the energy is going to be so awesome.”

Like McCoy, Olivero loves the energy fans bring at games.

“Fans being back at games is probably one of the best parts of being able to play this year,” Olivero said. “We love the energy they bring to every game because it really shows how much support we have and how much they believe in us.”

As the season opener comes closer, King hopes her team plays great but also stays true to their culture.

“We’ll use our culture and our character to guide us and work as hard as we can,” King said. “Hopefully we will be cutting down the nets in February here in Hardwood Arena.”

Like her coach, McCoy believes there is potential that this team can win an NJAC championship this season.

“This team this season has so much potential to be something great,” McCoy said. “All those little things that we can fix and put together will all come together and be something amazing.”

Kean’s women’s basketball team will tip-off their season on November 6 in Hardwood Arena against New York University. 

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