Brookdale women prove they are among GSAC’s best
Basketball team
off to 13-2 in
second full season
By tim morris
Staff Writer

JEFF HUNTLEY Jess Moreno of Brookdale goes up for a shot in a game against Salem Community College Jan. 18 in Middletown.

Project Adventure was quite a discovery for the Brookdale Community College women’s basketball team.

Last summer, Brookdale’s coaches Marianne Campacci and Joanne Cobb took their team to the Catskills for one week of bonding and torturous workouts to get a head start on the 2000-2001 season. The lessons that they learned in August about each other have translated to wins on the hardwood.

"The girls became the best of friends," Campacci explained. "At camp, the girls developed a trust in one another and worked very hard. I think they made a lot of progress there. They are a great group of kids."

The Jersey Blues, in just their second full season of competition, have taken the Garden State Athletic Conference by storm this winter thanks to their preseason camp. Last Thursday’s 71-53 win over Salem in Lincroft lifted the Brookdale women to 13-2 on the season.

"I’ve been pleasantly surprised," noted Campacci. "We knew that we had a really good recruiting class, but we didn’t know how it would jell. Going to camp helped bring this team together.

"This is a very unselfish team," she added. "There are no jealousies whatsoever."

Proof of how solid the Jersey Blues recruiting class was is the fact that they start four freshmen and sophomore guard Lori McDermott.

McDermott, a Middletown South grad, remains the Jersey Blues’ foundation, the team’s best all-around player.

But she had to adjust from being the team’s point guard to a new, three-guard rotation with freshmen Jessica Moreno (Marist) and Casandra Crawford (Matawan Regional).

"Lori is a very unselfish player," said Campacci. "She was an All-American candidate last year. This year her scoring numbers are down, but that doesn’t bother her. She just wants to win.

"Her assists and steals are up this year; she’s playing the complete game," Campacci added.

As for the three-guard rotation, Campacci said that any one of the three can play point guard at any time.

"The girls are adjusting to it," she said. "I told them that wherever you go to on the floor, that’s the position you play. If you are in the three spot, play the three spot."

Sharing the point guard duties has worked remarkably well. The win over Salem was a perfect example of what the Blues have been doing. Moreno and Crawford combined for 15 points and 17 assists, while McDermott popped for a game-high 20, including four three-pointers. That kind of balance in the backcourt has been difficult for teams to defend.

Forwards Laura Hensley (St. Rose) and Toni Ingenito (Brick Memorial) are the other freshmen starters, and they provide a needed presence under the basket to keep Brookdale from being a one-dimensional, guard-oriented team. They can hurt teams in the paint. Ingenito had a double-double against Salem, scoring 16 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.

The addition of the freshmen has given the Jersey Blues a lot of depth. Guard Daisey Billingsley (Freehold Borough), forward Danielle Odom (Middletown South) and 6-2 center Kelly Griffin (Cave Spring, Va.) are major players in the rotation. So, too, are guards Heather Andrews (Raritan) and Danielle Willis (Brick Memorial).

Guard Amanda Gesualdo (Mater Dei) and forward Nicole Raimondi (Marlboro) round out the 2001 BCC team.

About the only thing that has gone bad for the Jersey Blues was the loss last week of 6-1 center Andrea Thomas (Raritan) to a knee injury. Fortunately, Brookdale has the depth this year to overcome the loss of a frontline player.

The Brookdale women, ranked 11th in the country, could find themselves in the top 10 in the national junior college polls this week following their big win over Salem. Although that isn’t lost on her team, Campacci said that the young Jersey Blues are too busy trying to build the program up to be satisfied at where they are at midseason.

"The girls know they have a lot to prove," noted Campacci.

One of the things they have to prove is that they can play with Passaic, the GSAC lead. Passaic handed the Blues their only conference loss of the season.

Brookdale gets Passaic in Lincroft in the rematch on Feb. 6. Brookdale was home against Bergen Thursday and then hit the road for four straight games before returning home to meet Passaic on Feb. 6.