With a double major, basketball and an internship, Arcadia senior Victoria Mazzeo has a full schedule. Arcadia athletics photo

If Arcadia senior guard Victoria Mazzeo had her way, each day would feature more than 24 hours.

The affable Mazzeo, who is double-majoring in psychology and business, is the perfect definition of a student-athlete as she crams plenty into her days from her loaded class schedule, hoops practice and working at her internship at Network Now in Doylestown, Pa.

“It’s a pretty rigorous schedule,” Mazzeo said. “Sometimes I don’t how I going to get through everyday, but I just have faith that it will end positively. I just wish at times there were more hours in the day.”

She probably would welcome that if that ever happened because that way she could spend more time with having fun with her teammates and making precious memories. Arcadia has been a pleasant surprise in the Mid-Atlantic Region during the first two weeks of the season. The high-octane Knights (5-0 overall) have won every game so far this season by scoring at least 76 points. They have topped 80 points in all but one game and have five players averaging double figures, including Mazzeo, who scores 11.8 points per game.

Leading the Knights’ scoreboard blitz have been sophomores Mary Badeen (19.3 points per game) and Samantha Caligiuri (15.4 ppg). Also averaging double digits for Arcadia are sophomore Maureen Fiocca and junior Victoria Roukas (11.8). The Knights have an average margin of victory of 35 points. Surely that average that will decrease when the Knight get into consistent Commonwealth Conference play. However, for now, they will take those wins and continue building momentum.

“The biggest key to our 5-0 start has been our consistent and cohesive play,” Arcadia coach Lorie Khalil said. “We are playing more as a team on both ends of the floor. Our players are playing towards their strengths on the offensive end, we are executing and reading defenses better and taking higher percentage shots. On the defensive end, the coaches have been preaching disciplined defense now more than ever because of the NCAA fouling emphasis and the team is really buying into it. We still are primarily young starting three sophomores, one junior and one senior. The experience that our underclassmen received as freshmen have them playing with control and confidence as upperclassmen.”

The Knights won their first four games last year before being rudely welcomed into conference play with five straight losses. Many of the players weren’t ready for the steep jump in competition they faced in their conference as opposed to their non-conference last season. It also didn’t help that Mazzeo and Roukas missed significant chunks of the season sitting out with concussions. Two years ago, Arcadia won three games, then 10 last season, but Mazzeo knows this season has a refreshingly different feel to it.

“We’re an extremely close team,” Mazzeo said. “That has translated to the court and it’s lot of fun when everybody is playing for each other instead of individual statistics. This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball and many of the best moments have been away from the court like in the locker room and on bus rides.”

Arcadia has enjoyed plenty of happy bus trips as it has yet to play a home game. The Knights will have to wait a few more days to play in front of bunch of friendly faces Saturday afternoon when they host Stevenson at 3 p.m. Arcadia opens conference play Wednesday night at Alvernia (6 p.m.) in Reading.

Mazzeo is the undisputed leader of the Knights as she is the only senior on the roster. She has earned the respect of her teammates by the way she plays and how she represents their best interests with the coaching staff. Many of Mazzeo’s teammates made her proud by their work during the summer. Roukas lost 20 pounds during the summer and shaved 30 seconds off of her mile time. She has been a big part of the Knights’ fun up-tempo style.

“I see growth in every player because their commitment to our off-season program has been great,” Khalil said. “Our strength and conditioning coach Todd Barnes has and continues to push our team in the weight room. Victoria Mazzeo has really embraced her '4' position and is playing at her best. Sophomores Meeko Hassinger, Sammy Caligiuri and transfer Mary Badeen all attended Point Guard College over the summer and the experience has really helped each of them improve. The commitment of Sammy Caligiuri and Maureen Fiocca in the offseason has led them to break Arcadia's female athlete squat record at 215 lbs. Seeing the commitment of the team in the offseason is paying dividends now.”

The Knights know the tougher tests are coming soon with two games each against conference stalwarts Lebanon Valley, Messiah and Widener in 2014.

“We take every game day by day,” Roukas said. “We aren’t getting ahead of ourselves and our coaches have done a good job of keeping us grounded this year. We are having a lot of fun working and growing together as a team.

Perfect Purchase

Unlike Arcadia, the SUNY-Purchase men’s basketball team’s perfect start is not much of a big surprise. The Panthers were picked as the preseason favorite in the Skyline Conference. Their 5-0 record has garnered some nice notice as they showed up in the 25 spot in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Andre Nixon’s 22.3 point per game average has helped the Panthers charge out of the gates this season. Nixon has led the Panthers in scoring three times this season. He scored 31 of SUNY-Purchase’s 58 points in its season opening win over Becker.

Nixon scored 26 points in the Panthers’ last game before the Thanksgiving break, a thrilling 98-90 double overtime triumph over Brockport State. In that game, David Haughton had a monster double-double of 10 points and 20 rebounds. His free throws with three seconds remaining sent the game into overtime. The win was Purchase coach Jeff Charney’s 100th career victory.

Purchase begins Skyline Conference play when it plays Mount St. Vincent tomorrow night on the road. The Panthers will have an opportunity to match their 7-0 start of two years ago with two more wins.

Wrapping up Hoopsville Invitational

I spoke with tournament director Dave McHugh following the hugely successful event at Stevenson College. Cabrini was the only school of the 10 who participate leave the event 2-0.

Rob Knox: What does the future hold for this event?
Dave McHugh: There is always talk of growth and changes, but what exactly that means is to be determined. We are garnering plenty of interest from Top 25 teams and conference champions across the country which may induce growth, but each year is a new slate; how many teams are interested and what is the best option for that year? I wouldn't say we are set at 10 teams since we can easily reduce it to eight or expand it to 12 if a number of things come together for any particular year.

R.K.: What are your thoughts about possibly adding women’s teams to the event?
D.M.: There has been a conversation about including a women at the Hoopsville Classic, but we start dealing with some logistical challenges. Do we reduce the number of men's teams so we can add women and still keep it at Owings Mills Gymnasium? Or do we simply add a women's classic to the mix while dealing with the fact we would have to run the event at two different gyms to handle all of the games and split the audience's attention and the staff's focus as well.

R.K.: What was one of the more impressive aspects of the event?
D.M.: The other aspect I really was blown away with were the crowds. When you bring teams in from California, Texas, Alabama, Ohio and Vermont you understand that you risk not having much of an atmosphere for their games. However, every team had a cheering section big or small and fans that may not have had a rooting interest in games other than their own still enjoyed
other games being played. We had far more people at these games than I expected and the Stevenson students and fans were also a great addition. It all added up to a great atmosphere that made games that seemed like NCAA Tournament games on the court feel like tournament games in the gym.

Scoring at Stevenson

There’s something about playing against Alvernia that inspires Stevenson junior guard Kayla Kelly. She more than doubled her previous career high point total in a memorable 28-point performance that helped the Mustangs earn their first victory of the season 66-61 last Tuesday over Alvernia. Kelly was on fire as she made 13 of 18 shots from the field. Her previous best point total was 13 points last season, also against Alvernia. In that same game, Kelly also grabbed a career-best nine rebounds. These scoring outbursts don’t happen too often at Stevenson as Kelly's 28 points were the most since Jan. 3, 2010 when JaQuelia Conley totaled 31 in a win over Carnegie Mellon. Lastly, the win marks the first time since the 2006-07 season that the Mustangs have started the conference schedule with a victory.

Keys to success

Junior Amber Keys scored 16 points to lead the Cabrini women’s basketball team to a 61-57 win over Scranton last Tuesday. It was Cabrini’s first win over Scranton in program history. For the season, she has scored in double figures four times for the 4-1 Cavs. Since opening the season with a loss to Connecticut College in the Swarthmore tournament, Cabrini has won four straight. The Cavs have beaten regional stalwarts Kean, Widener and now Scranton during this impressive burst of hoops. The Cavs open their CSAC schedule against another longtime women’s hoop power Gwynedd-Mercy Tuesday night. Cabrini’s leading scorer has been Brittany Sandone, who averages 16.2 points per game.

High-flying Eagles

A familiar school has made a triumphant return to the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll in Juniata. The 21st-ranked Eagles are off to a 5-0 start. However, this start is a little different from previous years because of the quality of competition that Juniata has defeated. The ingredients for success have been balanced scoring, amazing offensive efficiency, stifling defense and good old-fashioned teamwork.

They have defeated opponents by an average of 23 points and shooting .544 from the floor as team. Forward Kate McDonald leads the Eagles in scoring (21.4 points per game). She has four double-doubles and has scored in double figures in every game this season, including a season-best 28-point performance against Eastern. McDonald was named the Landmark Conference player of the week Monday afternoon. Four of Juniata’s victories this season have been by double digits. Also averaging double figures for Juniata are Kelsey Livoti (18.8 ppg.), Paige Dennison (14.8), and Jordan Hileman (11.2). Even more astounding is that McDonald, Livoti, and Dennison are all shooting at least 55 percent from the field. An early highlight of the season was scoring a school-record 111 points against Frostburg State on Nov. 20.

Millennium women

It was a memorable two weeks for a pair of the region’s top players. FDU-Florham junior Kyra Dayon scored her 1,000th career point in an 75-56 win over Rose Hulman Institute of Technology on Nov. 22. ... SUNY-Old Westbury senior DeAndra Scott also notched her career 1,000th point in a 71-48 win over CCNY. ... She scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the victory for the Panthers. 

Goucher fundraiser for Brooks

The Goucher men’s basketball program will host its second annual fundraiser for former player Damon Brooks this Saturday, when it begins Landmark Conference play against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Last year, over $5,000 was raised for Brooks, who suffered a spinal cord injury in an off-court incident in April 2012. Tickets for Saturday’s doubleheader are $5, and all proceeds will go towards his rehabilitation. The men’s game begins at 5 p.m., followed by the women at 7 p.m.

The athletic department will also hold a silent auction throughout the afternoon, beginning at 4:30 p.m. and continuing through halftime of the women’s game. Items in the auction include tickets to Ravens, Capitals and Wizards games, an autographed Rafael Palmeiro baseball, an autographed All-Star jersey from former Wizard Caron Butler, equestrian riding lessons, a Hungarian dinner for eight and memorabilia from the Goucher bookstore. The auction will take place in classroom 209 in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center, located just beside the gymnasium.

Additional donations for Brooks will also be collected throughout the event. For those who cannot attend on Saturday but would like to support Damon’s rehab, donations can also be made online here at Damon’s patient page through the HelpHOPELive foundation. More information about HelpHOPELive can be found here.

Mid-Atlantic crossovers

The Moravian women (4-1 overall) have won four straight games heading into its annual showdown with local rival Muhlenberg. In its last outing, a 69-60 win over DeSales, senior forward Danielle Brogan scored a career-high 26 points. ... The Greyhounds are 3-0 on the road this season. ...The Lycoming men were 12-for-15 from 3-point distance in its 101-87 win over Elizabethtown on Nov. 20. ... There has been no stopping Cabrini’s Aaron Walton-Moss as the senior averaged 36.5 points in two wins this week against Widener and Scranton. ... Congratulations to two of the nice coaches around, Widener coach Chris Carideo and Gwynedd-Mercy coach John Baron, who each recorded their 200th career wins before Thanksgiving. … Lebanon Valley’s women start Commonwealth Conference with a bang when it visits Messiah and hosts Widener Saturday. The Flying Dutchmen suffered their first loss of the season Sunday to SUNY-Plattsburgh, 73-61. ... Another interesting women’s game is Wednesday when DeSales visits FDU-Florham in a battle of Freedom Conference favorites. ... Kelvin Stapleton is averaging 16.3 points for Juniata during its 4-1 start.

Atlantic rim rockers

Led by 17 points from junior Kelly Fraser and 11 points and seven assists from freshman Christina Barone, Mount St. Vincent opened the 2013-14 season with a 77-71 win over Worcester State on Nov. 17. ... It was the first season-opening win since a 60-57 triumph over Lehman to start the 2010-11 campaign. ... New Jersey City junior point guard Jourdan Roberson was 11-for-11 from the foul line as the Gothic Knights upended Rutgers-Newark, 61-52, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Nov. 26. ... The Richard Stockton men have a fun week coming up with conference road games at William Paterson (Wednesday) and New Jersey City (Saturday) . ... Both of the wins for the Brooklyn men have been against members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (Rutgers-Camden and William Paterson).

Help me

This column will only be as good as your submissions and assistance during the year. Two SIDs who have added me to their mailing lists have notes in this column as a direct result of the email. Feel free to send any noteworthy items, potential feature ideas, upcoming milestones, point out mistakes, say hello, etc. to me at rob.knox@d3sports.com. Don’t worry about overwhelming my inbox. As a former SID, the more in-box traffic, the better. Also, follow me on Twitter at @knoxrob1.