Dayton Girls Ready to Show and Prove

The Dayton Bulldogs girl's basketball team opened its 2010-11 season shorthanded but still full of promise.   

Gone is last season's senior captain, Sami Cariani, who, according to head coach Dave Rennie, was "the floor leader who gave us a lot of energy and leadership." The Bulldogs' returning leading scorer, junior Emily McDonnell, is out for at least the first two games with a concussion and sophomore Megan Cieri, who played varsity last year, is recovering from foot surgery and is out until January. Add to the fact that all-everything junior guard Anna Lies is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] injury she suffered during AAU summer-league ball, and it seems like the odds are against Dayton from returning to the post-season.     

But according to Rennie, the aforementioned three will be back to form shortly. And with the depth that Dayton possesses, they shouldn't skip a beat. Lies, who declined to be interviewed until the start of the season because she didn't want to "jinx" her comeback, averaged 13 points per game to go along with her team-leading four assists and three steals per game.             

Rennie said that Lies rehabbed as hard as anyone he's ever seen and that she's been back with the team full-bore since the pre-season.    

"We rehabbed at the same center and ran into each other at times. She's a hard worker and came back even stronger, which was incredible," said Rennie, who rehabbed his shoulder at the same center as Lies. "She's been practicing since day one. She played in all four scrimmages and is ready to go."  

Lies, along with fellow tri-captains MacDonnell and Jen Kuczynski, will spearhead a squad that is young—no seniors—but has big game experience, thanks to last season's playoff run. Expectations are even higher for Dayton, according to Rennie, because of the quality depth. The five sophomores that will see significant action are Cieri, Lea Ginefra, Allie Weber, Breanne Mooney, and Heather Fritzen. One freshman, Ricci Rajoppi, will also be looked upon to make an immediate impact.          

His loaded roster makes for a dilemma that any coach would love to have.     

"I foresee each of them making major contributions at one point or another throughout the year," Rennie said of the talented underclassmen. "I have some tough decisions to make regarding playing time but they are the kind any coach would want to have. We have a deep team. The players performing well during any given game will get extended time."     

Rennie then particularly highlighted Ginefra as a player to watch due to her great workouts during summer league action.         

"I got a sense of what was to come with her performance during the summer workouts and summer league," said Rennie of the 5'6" guard. "She came into the summer with a determination and focus to improve—and she has. Her improvement during the summer has carried over into the start of this season."     

Dayton is looking to win the Valley Division Conference title and advance even further into the Union County and state tournaments. Rennie said advancing even further in the post-season is all his players are talking about.       

"Our players are more and more motivated with each success, whether it is improvements seen in practice or games," said Rennie. "They, as well as the coaching staff, are very focused on getting better everyday [thanks to] our successes. The captains do a fantastic job leading with both words and actions. They challenge their teammates to improve and, quite frankly, this team motivates my assistants and me to work harder and look for ways to improve the team."   

First thing's first, though, said Rennie. Dayton must get through a rigorous regular season, claim a bid into the post-season, and then try to advance even further than last season's magical ride.     

"I know it's a cliché but I like to stress taking one game at a time. We talk about long-term goals but we need to focus on the present," he said. "To reach long-term goals you have to have short-term objectives. We each need to look for things to improve upon everyday. I talk to the team about paying attention to detail [because] it's the little things that will make the difference."