By Edgar Rivas, Jr.—
When head coach Amy Mulligan was hired on May of 2011, she was brought in to rebuild the women’s basketball program and bring the team into their winning ways. Though a 3-9 record doesn’t show much, coach Mulligan sees the improvement.
“We’re taking positive steps in the right direction,” said coach Mulligan. “But we need to slow ourselves down, understand where we need to be, how to work the basketball, and play more cohesively as a unit, especially on the defensive end.’
Despite being 6 games under the .500 mark, a few players have stood out for this season. Alnisa Hernaiz, 19, Criminal Justice, from Irvington, NJ is their leading scorer with 9.6 Pts/G and is also averaging 7.9 Reb/G. She was named Athlete of the Week for the 3rd time in her career.
“[She] is starting to really step into where she needs to be as a post player for us,” said Coach Mulligan.
Delia Chernez, 20, Professional Security Studies, from Union City, NJ has been a rebounding machine, averaging 7.3 Reb/G, 2nd behind Hernaiz.
“[She] has done a great job. Defensively, she’s been one of our best players. She’s starting to step up offensively, which has really been a turnaround for us and a big help,” said coach Mulligan.
Luisa Montalvo, 18, Criminal Justice, from Bayonne, NJ is in her first season with the team. She’s second behind Hernaiz in scoring, averaging 9.5 Pts/G.
“[She] has stepped up as a freshman and really taking on an important role for us and starting to bring this team on another level,” said coach Mulligan.
According to Mulligan, with the rest of the schedule being dominated by conference games, the formula to prepare for this stretch is about, “What we do- how we execute offensively and also our defensive strategies. When you play a conference as tough as the NJAC you just [have] to come out blazing, ready to go, and just be tough.”
With the final stretch of the season looming near and a 3-9 record, the NJAC Tournament is likely out of the picture. But don’t expect this team to slow down or give up easily.
“[I expect them to] play hard, work hard, and continue to grow,” said coach Mulligan.”
