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SUNY Geneseo unveiled an honor to the late Kelsey Annese on the team's senior day. |
By Rob Knox
“When it hurts to look back and you are afraid to look forward, look beside you and there will be your friend,” SUNY Geneseo athletics tweet on Jan. 18 over photos of a women’s basketball and men’s hockey team huddle.
At SUNY Geneseo, there is an extraordinary women’s basketball team made up of a resilient group of phenomenal women forged by the fires of adversity during an emotional season.
Unfortunately for the Knights, basketball became irrelevant during the middle of January after a heartbreaking tragedy rocked the SUNY Geneseo campus. Nothing prepared the Knights for the shocking and devastating news of when senior captain Kelsey Annese and another senior, Matthew Hutchinson, a member of the men’s hockey team, were taken away from this world much too soon.
“All the credit belongs to them,” said head coach Scott Hemer, who was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year. “There’s no manual or college course on how to deal with something like that.
“It’s one of those things that if you’re a parent or coach, you never dream about or imagine having to deal with. I got a phone call from the school administration telling me that there was an incident involving one of my players and to get to the crime scene as soon as possible. No words can describe what went through my mind leaving the house and arriving at the scene. I’ll never forget.”
Hemer may have been honored for his coaching acumen, but he could have easily been feted for his poise, mettle and leadership in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. He had had the difficult task to meet with inconsolable team and family members.
“I had no idea what to say,” Hemer said. “Somebody had to try and provide direction so that we could move forward together. I told my team that we would support whatever decision they made. It was several days of an emotional roller coaster and they decided to play in her honor. It’s just a credit to the character of the student-athletes we have in our program. It was a struggle to accomplish what we did and as their head coach, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Fast forward to Monday afternoon when the Knights had to sweat out an at-large selection to the NCAA tournament after losing to SUNY-New Paltz in the conference championship game. While there was some stress, most players were relaxed and resigned to whatever happened knowing that deep down they did more than enough to earn a bid. Once the Knights’ name popped up on the computer, Hemer beamed with pride and excitement.
SUNY Geneseo (20-7 overall) will open the NCAA Tournament against a familiar opponent in FDU-Florham (21-6) at 6 p.m. Friday night at Stevens’ Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. FDU-Florham eliminated Geneseo from last year’s tournament in a sectional semifinal at Tufts. Meanwhile, Stevens (21-6) hosts Old Westbury (23-5) at 8 p.m. Friday’s winners will meet Saturday at 6 p.m. for a trip to the Sweet 16.
But pairings and matchups aside, the Knights’ eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history is special.
“I was excited for the group,” Hemer said. “It’s been a pretty stress-filled year and emotionally draining past month for them. To earn the first at large bid from the SUNYAC in recent memory was pretty inspiring to me. I am exhausted physically and mentally and their jubilance was a shot of adrenaline for me.”
While there may have been some debate about playing, the only revision to Geneseo’s slate was rescheduling a home game against Cortland. Players never doubted that they would continue the season. In an open letter to the community, SUNY Geneseo president Denise A. Battles, remarked: “We might best honor Kelsey and Matt by infusing their ideals of service, caring, and joy into our own lives.”
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The Knights have done that and more.
They have the comfort of knowing that Annese’s inspirational spirit is still present. A piece of Annese resides inside of every player. Geneseo’s players wear a patch on their uniforms. Her No. 32 jersey rests on the bench during games. Some players even wrote on their shoes, “We play for you No. 32.” Then the ultimate tribute was watching her No. 32 get raised to the rafters in a moving senior day ceremony that gave everybody goosebumps.
“When we came together as a team, we kept coming back to what Kelsey would want us to do,” senior Allison McKenna said. “She would want us to continue playing and making her proud and playing like she did by always giving 100 percent. Our legacy here is family.”
The Knights finished the season by winning 12 of their final 15 contests. They play a unique style in which they average 62.6 points. They held opponents to just 30.5 percent shooting this season, which is the fifth best rate in the country and 48.4 points per game, which ranked seventh nationally. The Knights also did a fantastic job rebounding as a team and posted a plus-11.5 margin on the glass, which was seventh best in the nation.
McKenna and senior Dana Cohan were named to the All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) First-Team earlier this week.
A four-time SUNYAC All-Star and first-team honoree for the second-straight year, McKenna finished with a league-best 2.3 blocks per game while ranking 10th in rebounding (8.1 per game) and 12th in scoring (11.8 per game). McKenna scored a season-high 20 points on three occasions, including a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Knights to a 65-38 victory vs. Cortland (Jan. 26).
A member of this year's SUNYAC All-Tournament team, McKenna is Geneseo's all-time leader with 230 blocked shots.
Named to the second team last season and a third-team honoree as a sophomore, Cohan led the conference in assists (5.0 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.7) and was 16th in scoring (10.6 ppg). Cohan is 14th on Geneseo's all-time scoring list with 1,051 points and is fifth with 424 assists. She is only the third player in program history to surpass 1,000 points and 400 assists for her career.
Cohan and McKenna have bright futures. A biology major, Cohan is headed to pharmacy school in the fall. Meanwhile, McKenna is majoring in biochemistry and is planning to go to physicans assistant school. Another senior, Lea Sobieraski is one of the most inspiring players in the country as she returned from a liver transplant last year to make meaningful contributions.
Together, the triumvirate has helped the Knights establish a legacy of excellence in which they have deepened the footsteps of those that have come before them. They are the winningest senior class in school history.
Cohan, Sobieraski and McKenna have helped Geneseo to 86 victories, four straight 20-win seasons, a Sweet 16 appearance in last year’s NCAA Tournament and consecutive trips to the big dance during their spectacular careers.
While the on-court accolades are awesome, it’s how Geneseo responded during one of the saddest and toughest moments of their lives that really make them extraordinary and sparkle like stars.
“Nothing could ever prepare you for something like that,” Cohan said. “It’s been emotional for everybody. We all helped each other to get through it the best way we can. We were excited when Allison and I came in as freshman, making the SUNYAC championship and then eventually making it to NCAAs, but now we’re at the point where this is the expectation for us. We’re not just happy to make it to SUNYAC title game. We want to go further.”
No matter what happens this weekend and beyond, the Knights are already champions.
What can Brown do for you?
In order to keep moving forward in the NCAA Tournament, Geneseo must do the impossible: neutralize FDU-Florham senior Shalette Brown, one of the best players in the nation. She’s also one of the best rebounders on the planet as well.
An All-MAC Freedom First Team selection, Brown set the tone for the Devils this season with a nation-leading 23 double-doubles. Brown averaged 18.4 points and 15.6 rebounds per game this season. In addition, in just three seasons she became the program's first ever player to eclipse 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
This season, Brown’s brilliance was recognized consistently as she was named MAC Freedom Player of the Week five times. Most recently, Brown was named the MAC Freedom Tournament Most Outstanding Player after scoring 15 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in a 69-44 road triumph against DeSales in the title game last Saturday.
Brown helped the Devils capture their fourth consecutive MAC Freedom title. The Devils have made deep runs in each of the last two years. In 2013-14, FDU-Florham won the national title, which capped off a perfect 33-0 season for the Devils. Last year, the Devils advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to host Tufts.
After losing many seniors, including the dynamic Kyra Dayon, many thought the Devils would slip significantly this season. Instead, it’s fair to call the slide slight. Now, the Devils are savoring the chance they have to keep playing.
The team's starting point guard Alyssa McDonough, who was also selected to the All-MAC Freedom First Team, became the school's 16th member of the 1,000-point club this season, averaging 15.8 points per game along the way. The junior guard has navigated the Devils' offense by dishing out 4.2 assists per contest.
Along with second-year guard Danielle Leguillou (leh-GWIL-loo), McDonough has used the 3-pointer as a key weapon this season. The duo has combined to bury 88 shots from long range, which places them both in the top 10 in the MAC Freedom. As a team, the Devils ranked first in the conference in points per game (71.3 ppg) and points allowed (58.3 ppg). In addition, their +13.0 margin of victory was tops in the MAC Freedom.
Benedictine with one less game
Undefeated Benedictine is one victory from advancing to the Sweet 16. Such is a reward for a sterling regular season. Benedictine plays either Hardin-Simmons or Texas Lutheran in Saturday’s second round.
Benedictine has set countless school records so far including single season wins, longest win streak, and blocks. Benedictine has set the single season conference record for assists and is in position to establish more conference and school marks once the season comes to a close. Individually, Luke Johnson has set both the school and conference single season record for blocks. Johnson owns 14 double-doubles this season and is the conference leader in rebounds while ranking fifth nationally in blocks.
The entire starting five is averaging in double figures with the sixth man, Tim Reamer, at 9.9 points per contest. Johnson and Tahron Harvey each average 14 points per game.
As a team, Benedictine leads the nation in rebound margin, field goal percentage defense, and defensive rebounds per game. The team sits second nationally in total assists and total rebounds while ranking third in field goal percentage and assist-turnover ratio along with fourth in scoring margin and fifth in total blocks.
Fearless predictions
As always, I’ll make an effort to forecast a Final Four for this season. On the women’s side let’s go with Thomas More, Amherst, UW-Stevens Point and Scranton. On the men’s side let’s go with Benedictine, Franklin & Marshall, Christopher Newport and St. Thomas. I’ve been wrong before.
Around the Nation was writen by Rob Knox during the 2015-16 season. A former Division III Sports Information Director at Lincoln University, Rob Knox also worked at Coppin State, ESPN, Kutztown and at the Delaware County (Pa.) Daily Times. He was inducted into the Lincoln University Athletics Hall of Fame, named the CoSIDA Rising Star Award College Division winner and won three writing awards for various game stories including the 2007 D-III sectional triple-OT game between Guilford and Lincoln. In the past, he has also written articles for SLAM magazine and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan, a graduate of Lincoln and is from Chester, Pa.
