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CSM hoopsters set to hit the hardwood
Hempfield takes reins of women's
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES
College of Southern Maryland freshman Ashley Farmer scored 16 points and added five rebounds in Fridays' defeat to Northern Virginia Community College.
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Another coaching change. The College of Southern Maryland women's basketball team is in a constant rebuilding process and with new head Phil Hempfield leading the team, into the 2009-10 program, the team shouldn't have a problem getting accustomed to him at all.
Hempfield was already under former head coach Margarette Coleman and now will look to fill the void with a new coaching role and recruit more players in the process. The Hawks currently have 10 players on the roster.
"I'm very excited about the season," said Hempfield, whose squad is currently 0-2 overall and hosted Prince George's Community College in a conference game Tuesday, which finished too late for inclusion in this edition. "We want to go out to the community and to the high schools and see what talent is out there."
After its first regular season games were canceled versus non-conference squads Tidewater and Germanna on Nov. 5 and 12, CSM finally kicked off its season versus Potomac State last Tuesday, falling 86-50 and then suffered a 78-56 defeat at the hands of Northern Virginia Community College.
The Hawks have two scoring threats in freshmen Khristen Avery (North Point High School) and Ashley Farmer (Washington and Lee) from Virginia. Through two games Avery is averaging a double-double on the season with 17 points and 12 and a half rebounds while Farmer is averaging 14.5 points.
"I'm happy to get the season started after the first two games were canceled," said Avery, who had 20 points and 10 boards in Friday's loss versus NOVA. "We are going to come in with a lot of energy in these games and everyone is going to be hyped. We've been putting in a lot of work, conditioning and staying together as a team. I have to keep the same mindset I had in high school and stay positive."
"She's a raw ball player with the right idea of how the game should be played," Hempfield said. "She plays hard all the time in practice no matter what we are doing and is working on things that can make her more efficient."
With Hempfield and assistant coaches Nick Owens (second season) and Robyn Cobb (first), the Hawks want to improve on last record of 8-13 overall and 5-9 in conference play.
"At any college the key is to get local talent and this year we have players from every single county in Southern Maryland," said Owens during last Thursday's practice. "This is a fun and great learning experience for the girls to earn their associate's degree and play basketball. We are here to teach young women to become ladies of the future, so wins and losses are not the most important thing."
Owens added that his team has showed positive signs in the respective games and feels that the potential is there to make strides during the season.
"We have to work more execution and some fundamentals and I think we will be fine," he said. "That will be the difference, but I'm proud of the girls' efforts so far because they're willing to learn."
Farmer said that her team needs to work on running up and down the floor better in transition, and with a lack of height the Warriors will have outrun most of their opponents.
"We did good overall, playing as a team, but we need to get down the floor before the other team does," Farmer said, scoring 16 points and collecting five rebounds on Friday. "We've been taking a lot of good inside shots instead of outside, which is good."
Hempfield hopes that they can land more recruits at the start of the second semester and add more depth.
"Our team goals are to be competitive for 40 minutes," Hempfield noted. "We want everyone on the team to realize their weaknesses and hone their skills. We want to let the chips falls where they may."
2009 CSM Women's basketball
Head coach: Phil Hempfield (first season)
Last year: 8-13, 5-9 Maryland JUCO
Athletes to watch: F Khristen Avery (Fr., North Point), G Ashley Farmer (Fr., Washington and Lee), F Shelby Matullo (Fr., Northern)
Key personnel losses: F/C Chantal Hebron, G Kameran Evans
Strengths: Hempfield, who is taking over for former frontrunner Margarette Coleman, who stepped down after only last season, pointed out that he wants to utilize the quickness aspect of his team with a lack of height that they have. For the CSM program it will be another rebuilding year in the 2009-10 season, but with sensational freshmen in Avery, Farmer and Matullo the Hawks should makes strides to help the team develop. After its first two regular season games were canceled, CSM are currently 0-2 after falling in both non-conference affairs at home to Potomac State and Northern Virginia Community College. For Hempfield and the coaching staff guard play with a big part to the team's transition style. The Hawks faced Prince George's Community College Tuesday in a conference match-up which ended to late for inclusion in this edition.
Weaknesses: Low numbers. With only 10 players on the roster Hempfield said that many of the recruits they had in the off-season couldn't play because of personal reasons. So going out to the community and high schools to recruit ore players is a plus in building the program. With a lack of height the Hawks have to work on rebounding and matching up with their respective opponents on both the offense and defensive ends. CSM will look for the array of freshman to make an immediate impact at the college level.
Coach comments: "Our team goals are to be competitive for 40 minutes. We want everyone on the team to realize their weaknesses and hone their skills. We want to let the chips falls where they may."
Key games: Dec. 2 vs. Chesapeake, Dec. 27 at Hagerstown, Feb. 8 vs. Anne Arundel
