Deservedly, the Assumption women’s basketball team, which made a historic run to the 2022-23 NCAA Division 2 Elite Eight, was the preseason favorite to repeat as the Northeast-10 Conference champion and the No. 6 team in the WBCA preseason poll.
Greyhounds coach Kerry Phayre, though, cautioned her team about the early accolades.
“In November,” Phayre said, “I said to them, ‘We don’t want to be playing our best basketball now.’ I think it took us a little bit to find ourselves and settle in, but I think we really have done that the last couple months, focusing on each day and getting better each day.”
No. 20 Assumption, which is coming off a victory over No. 8 Bentley, has won 11 straight heading into Wednesday’s game at Pace. The Greyhounds (19-3, 14-3) share the top spot in the NE-10 standings with Bentley and Southern New Hampshire.
During most of Phayre’s 28 seasons, Assumption has been a perennial NE-10 contender, but the last two years, the Greyhounds have taken the program to a higher level.
Last year, Assumption set a single-season record for wins with 27 and advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time. The Greyhounds had the top scoring defense and field goal percentage defense in Division 2, and they finished the year with a program-best No. 10 national ranking.
This season, after a late-November lull, when Assumption dropped two of four games, the Greyhounds have won 15 of 16, and rank in the D2 top 10 in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
“I think it’s the team just wanting to have success and doing what it takes to get there,” said Phayre, who has guided the Greyhounds to eight NCAA appearances and, with 451 career victories, is the winningest coach in Assumption athletics history. “Our upperclassmen have showed the freshmen what you have to do at practice and what you have to do coming out at games, and there does seem to be a shift in confidence. They just believe when they go on the court, and they go out and play like that.”
Additionally, Assumption leads the NE-10 in scoring offense and ranks eighth in the nation in field goal percentage.
“Similar to last year,” Phayre said, “we’re sharing the ball well. We probably have a few more offensive weapons this year. Everybody has stepped up, and we’re taking advantage of good opportunities when we have them.”
Worcester’s Molly Stokes is one of three seniors and Assumption’s leading scorer and 3-point shooter.
“Molly is doing what we need her to do,” Phayre said. “Some nights it’s scoring, some nights it’s defense. She puts in the work and the time, and she brings great energy to practice. She has stepped up when we needed her.”
Head of the Class
∎ Southern Connecticut State junior guard Marty Silvera of Worcester averaged 24 points in two wins and extended his streak of games with 20 or more points to four.
∎ Babson senior Steph Baxter of Worcester averaged 19 points and 2.5 assists in two games. He scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half of the Beavers’ victory over Salve Regina.
∎ Assumption junior forward Ronny Paragallo extended his point streak to 18 games while scoring a goal and adding four assists over two games last week.
∎ Plymouth State graduate student Mike Olson of Sutton turned in the top 800-meter time in NCAA Division 3 at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational. Olson’s time of 1:49.51 is a school record and the seventh fastest time in Division 3 indoor track & field history.
∎ Boston University sophomore pitcher Kasey Ricard of Littleton opened the season by hurling a pair of shutouts and striking out 16 over the two games.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Local colleges: Assumption women’s basketball heats up at right time
