By Michael Kowaleski
Photo Courtesy of Athletic Communications
Seven games into the season, it’s clear that Lafayette Women’s Basketball Head Coach Dianne Nolan isn’t averse to testing the class of 2015 – the first class Nolan recruited for Lafayette. Forward EmilyHoman ‘15 has started every game this year and point guard BryaFreeland ‘15 has started the last six.
With Homan and center Danielle Fiacco ‘14, recent recipient of the Patriot League Player of the Week, the front court’s future looks bright.
Homan has started every game and is averaging over four rebounds and eight points a game, while Fiacco is picking up right where she left off last year with her elbow injury, averaging over nine rebounds, 15 points, and five blocks per game. She is second in the nation in blocks, swatting 30 over six games.
“Emily has been a nice offensive and rebounding punch inside,” Nolan said. “She takes a lot of heat off of Danielle. You have to make a quick decision on how to guard both of them.”
Freeland is getting significant playing time at point guard, splitting time with Missy Downey ‘12. For Freeland, the transition hasn’t been as smooth, averaging 4 points but shooting under 20 percent.
“As a freshmen, we make freshmen mistakes,” Freeland said. “The speed of the game is definitely a lot faster than high school. The girls are stronger, so you have to put a lot more effort after practices to try and catch up.”
Despite the difficult transition, the freshmen are quickly becoming acclimated to Division I basketball.
“Any time you see on the floor helps your game,” Nolan said. “We’re grooming for the Patriot League, so the more comfortable some of the players get on the floor, the better off their going to become.”
“Coming in as a freshman, it’s a big role to fill,” point guard Brya Freeland ‘15 said. “It’s pretty humbling that coach believes in me enough to allow me to help lead this team. There’s a lot of pressure, but hopefully over the years it’ll wear off.”
Nolan has attributed the decision to the connection between youth and the upbeat tempo that embodies her coaching philosophy.
“The older players give us stability,” Nolan said. “The younger players are a little bit quicker, so we get out of the gates a little bit faster. They’re quick, they can get up the floor, and they have good handles. Then the older players are going to be ready to come in, they’ll have been watching what’s going on.”
The players, both upper and lowerclassmen, concur with Nolan’s mindset.
“She’s trying to get them the experience that they’ll need for Patriot League,” forward Sarah McGorry ‘12 agreed. “There are a lot of younger people and we’re going to need their help later on in the year.”