fall 2007 - Seton Hall University

C
BUILDING UP STEAM
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL BUILDS OFF
A STRONG 2006-07 SEASON.
oming off its best season since 1994-95, Seton Hall
women’s basketball enters the new year brimming with
confidence. Head coach Phyllis Mangina, now beginning
her 23rd season, guided the team to a victory in the 2006
Women’s NIT first round to cap a 19-win season.
The 2007-08 Pirates will use the success of last season
as motivation to achieve even greater things this year. “Our
expectation is to get back to postseason play, to the NCAA
Tournament, and to finish better than we did last year in
the BIG EAST Conference,” said Mangina.
Senior guard Ela Mukosiej, a 2006-07 All-BIG EAST
Honorable Mention selection, led the team in scoring a year
ago at 11.8 points and is poised for a huge final season.
Mukosiej’s veteran presence will serve as a stabilizing force
on the court for Seton Hall in 2007-08.
Junior guards Brittney Messina and Jadis Rhodin return
after serving as crucial players in their first two seasons.
Sophomore guards Nicole Emery and Ashley Booker were
the starting backcourt players for most of their debut seasons
and will look to build on impressive first seasons. Also
returning will be sophomore Shantel Brown, who missed
nearly all of last season with an injury after averaging 9.6
points per game as a freshman.
Junior forward Noteisha Womack
leads the returning frontcourt players.
She posted 7.9 points and 7.0 rebounds
while becoming a full-time starter over
the course of the year. Senior forward
Amber Harris is one of the team’s grittiest
players on the interior. Senior
center Nikole Sullivan will also battle
for minutes on the inside.
Four newcomers arrive in South
Orange for the season. Guard Ebonie
Williams of Hagerstown, Md., was the
S E T O N H A L L M A G A Z I N E | F A L L 2 0 0 7
Washington Post Player of the Year and led Notre Dame
Academy to a 29-1 record and a No. 5 ranking by USA
Today as a senior. She will immediately push for playing
time in the backcourt.
Gretchen Gaskin of Orland Park, Ill., was a two-time
All-Conference pick in the Chicago area. Center Kashmere
Joseph of London, England, will bolster the frontcourt with
her size and physicality. Seton Hall
will also add a transfer as forward
Letitia Curry joins the squad.
| D A N I E L K U B E R K A
BOBBY’S BOYS: (facing page) Coach Bobby
Gonzalez will look to seniors Brian Laing (14),
who averaged 16.5 points per game last season,
and Jamar Nutter, below left, who is one of
the school’s all-time best three-point shooters.
TRUE GRIT: Senior forward Amber Harris
(00) is one of the grittiest players on the
interior for the Pirates as they try to improve
on their 19-win season of a year ago.
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