Young Spartans Should Be Ready for Next Season

This season had its difficult stretches, but Cayuga Women's Basketball Coach Jim Alberici thinks those moments will pay dividends next year for the Spartans.

The Spartans finished the 2019-2020 season with an 8-16 record and a 4-8 mark in the Mid-State Athletic Conference, tying for fourth in the conference with Finger Lakes Community College and SUNY Broome. Cayuga closed the season with a loss to Fulton-Montgomery Community College in the Region III playoffs.

All players on Cayuga's roster for the second half of the season were in their first collegiate season, meaning they gained experience that should be valuable for the 2020-2021 season. 

It also meant there would be some challenging points this year, said Alberici.

"I really think this is a talented group, and there's lots of moments I'll remember from this season. But I think if there was a word that defined us this year it was 'inconsistent.' From game to game, quarter to quarter, we had trouble stringing together solid play," he said. "With everything we learned this year, next season should be different."

The Spartans started the season strong, closing the first month of play with a 5-2 record and entered January 2020 with a 5-5 record. 

Cayuga went 3-3 to start the second half of the season, including a 3-2 record in conference games, before a six-game skid set the team back. A strong 84-58 road win against Tompkins Cortland Community College broke the losing streak and was the final victory of the season.

The team finished with a 6-6 mark at home and a 3-10 road record, including the playoff loss to the Raiders.

Alberici pointed to wins over Division II's Genesee Community College and conference opponent Corning Community College as high points of the season, but he also identified several contests the Spartans lost as examples of what the team could accomplish next season. 

"We lost by three points at home to Herkimer, who is one of the stronger teams in the region. Each of the games we lost to Onondaga Community College, maybe the best team in the region, we trailed by single digits at halftime," he said. "We were in so many of these games. That's where the experience and mental toughness that comes with having gone through all these games before should come into play for us next season."

Guard Fatimaah Findley and forwards Gretchen Earl and Jania Freeman led Cayuga's offense on the season. Findley, the primary three-point threat for the Spartans, averaged almost 13 points and four rebounds per game, shooting 32 percent from three-point range.

Earl and Freeman led Cayuga in rebounding and each scored 11 points per game. Freeman fell just short of averaging a double-double with 9.9 rebounds, while Earl averaged more than seven rebounds per game.

Guards Tanyea Jansson and Tori Mandel each averaged more than three assists per game, with Jansson averaging eight points and Mandel seven points.

The team will be announcing award-winners in the coming weeks.