Jaspers hungry after last year's struggles

Just five seasons ago, Manhattan College women’s basketball coach John Olenowski guided the Jaspers to a school-record 24-win season and their first postseason victory since 1983, when they defeated Sacred Heart University in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).

But last year you couldn’t blame Olenowski if he popped in tapes from those games now and again to lift his spirits as he and his Jaspers struggled through a very forgettable 3-27 season. But while a 24-victory season this year might be a tall order to fill, Olenowski thinks better days are ahead for his program and those days are expected to start this season.

“We have a very talented basketball team this year,” Olenowski said. “At times we started four freshmen last year. This year they are older, smarter and they have worked extremely hard in the offseason. And we also have the addition of two players who are really great players.”

Those two players Olenowski gushed about are a pair of transfers from James Madison University – Amani Tatum and Crystal Ross. The tandem is expected to help elevate the program considerably this season.

“When Amani Tatum was at Archbishop Molloy [High School in Queens] she was player of the year in New York City and was recruited by a lot of big time schools,” Olenowski said. “So we’re fortunate to have her back in New York and she is a really good point guard. She can vie to be one of the best point guards in our league. And Crystal Ross is 6-4 and we’ve never had a 6-4 post player before so we think she’ll provide some strong inside scoring for us and give us a presence on the defensive end that we haven’t had before.”

The Jaspers also have senior Shayna Ericksen, who is the Jaspers leading returning scorer (9.4 points per game) and rebounder (6.0 per game) and who was named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Third Team in the preseason. That trio alone will give the Jaspers hope for a rapid turnaround season.