While the Pirates more than held serve on the road to start the season, the team’s hot non-conference start also included home victories over in-state rivals Rutgers, a perennial regional power that ended the Pirates’ season the last two years, and Princeton, which snapped a 30-game non-conference win streak for the Tigers.
Bozzella gives credit for those wins to both his team's play as well as to the fans that filled the stands.
“These are people that show up. It’s a quaint building; it’s loud. We clearly would not have beaten Rutgers and Princeton without our crowd. Our fans changed the course of those games. We played Fordham on a Wednesday and still had over 1,000 people. It’s been very exciting to play at home and start this new tradition.”
“Honestly, no,” Bozzella said when asked if he thought Powell’s play would reach this level. “I knew that she would compete on this level as she never takes a play off, but we're getting even more from her than I expected. She got a lot better playing against DiDi and Daisha last year in practice. She takes criticism and coaching very well. She was accepted into an Ivy League school so she’s extremely bright. I knew she would do everything she could do to be as good a player as possible and she has.”
“You’re probably never going to get the tandem of Didi and Daisha again, but you’re going to get some players that can be just as good. Shakena is clearly the best passer I’ve coached in 23 years. And she’s worked very hard on her game. She’s shooting the ball much better and understanding where people are. She’s a great student of the game as well as a great teammate.”
Bozzella gives credit for those wins to both his team's play as well as to the fans that filled the stands.
“These are people that show up. It’s a quaint building; it’s loud. We clearly would not have beaten Rutgers and Princeton without our crowd. Our fans changed the course of those games. We played Fordham on a Wednesday and still had over 1,000 people. It’s been very exciting to play at home and start this new tradition.”
“Honestly, no,” Bozzella said when asked if he thought Powell’s play would reach this level. “I knew that she would compete on this level as she never takes a play off, but we're getting even more from her than I expected. She got a lot better playing against DiDi and Daisha last year in practice. She takes criticism and coaching very well. She was accepted into an Ivy League school so she’s extremely bright. I knew she would do everything she could do to be as good a player as possible and she has.”
“You’re probably never going to get the tandem of Didi and Daisha again, but you’re going to get some players that can be just as good. Shakena is clearly the best passer I’ve coached in 23 years. And she’s worked very hard on her game. She’s shooting the ball much better and understanding where people are. She’s a great student of the game as well as a great teammate.”
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