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<b>Eggers</b>
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Let’s forget for a moment that the Cornell University women’s basketball team has to face No. 1-ranked Connecticut on Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn., in the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament.
The fact that the Big Red — who shared the Ivy League regular season title with Dartmouth and Harvard — are playing in the tournament for the first time in school history is a big deal, says Moina Snyder.
Cornell (20-8) earned the league’s automatic berth to the NCAAs with a 64-47 playoff victory over Dartmouth last Sunday at Columbia University. Snyder, a former Umpqua Community College player, had a big role in the win with a team-high 14 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.
The Big Red women, guided by Dayna Smith, have never posted more wins in a season.
“A 20-win season is unbelievable ... that’s so much higher from where Cornell has been,” Snyder said Thursday from Ithaca, N.Y. “We were predicted to finish second (in the Ivy League), so we definitely knew we could do it. It’s just a really good feeling — it’s good to see that hard work pays off.”
Snyder, a 6-foot-1 senior forward from Nice, France, is in her second and final season at Cornell after playing for UCC during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.
Moina (pronounced moe-E-na) has started all 28 games for the Big Red after moving into the starting lineup early in her junior year. The 21-year-old is second on the team in scoring (9.2 points a game), rebounds (5.8) and assists (2.4), and the leader in blocked shots with 30. She’s averaging 26.2 minutes a game, shooting 49 percent from the field and 69 percent from the line.
Snyder, who has turned in a pair of double-doubles with season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, received honorable mention all-Ivy for the second straight year.
The fact that the Big Red — who shared the Ivy League regular season title with Dartmouth and Harvard — are playing in the tournament for the first time in school history is a big deal, says Moina Snyder.
Cornell (20-8) earned the league’s automatic berth to the NCAAs with a 64-47 playoff victory over Dartmouth last Sunday at Columbia University. Snyder, a former Umpqua Community College player, had a big role in the win with a team-high 14 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.
The Big Red women, guided by Dayna Smith, have never posted more wins in a season.
“A 20-win season is unbelievable ... that’s so much higher from where Cornell has been,” Snyder said Thursday from Ithaca, N.Y. “We were predicted to finish second (in the Ivy League), so we definitely knew we could do it. It’s just a really good feeling — it’s good to see that hard work pays off.”
Snyder, a 6-foot-1 senior forward from Nice, France, is in her second and final season at Cornell after playing for UCC during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.
Moina (pronounced moe-E-na) has started all 28 games for the Big Red after moving into the starting lineup early in her junior year. The 21-year-old is second on the team in scoring (9.2 points a game), rebounds (5.8) and assists (2.4), and the leader in blocked shots with 30. She’s averaging 26.2 minutes a game, shooting 49 percent from the field and 69 percent from the line.
Snyder, who has turned in a pair of double-doubles with season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, received honorable mention all-Ivy for the second straight year.
“A really productive season for me,” she said. “My role here isn’t the same as I’ve had on other teams. At UCC, I was a scorer. Here, I do the little things. I love it. I get to experience parts of the game I didn’t have to before.”
Snyder (her father, Tom, who played at Saint Mary’s College, is American; her mother, Kathy, French) says the Big Red have played an up-tempo style this season which is to her liking, but defense is their staple. Cornell is only shooting 43 percent from the field as a team, but is holding oppof double-doubles with season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, received honorable mention all-Ivy for the second straight year.
“A really productive season for me,” she said. “My role here isn’t the same as I’ve had on other teams. At UCC, I was a scorer. Here, I do the little things. I love it. I get to experience parts of the game I didn’t have to before.”
Snyder (her father, Tom, who played at Saint Mary’s College, is American; her mother, Kathy, French) says the Big Red have played an up-tempo style this season which is to her liking, but defense is their staple. Cornell is only shooting 43 percent from the field as a team, but is holding opponents to 39 percent and 57.8 points a game.
“A balanced offense and very tight defense — those are our two strengths,” Snyder said. “We have as many (scoring) threats from the outside as we do inside and no one is selfish. We play man-to-man 98 percent of the time and have really good team defense. You always help, no matter where you are.”
Snyder chose Cornell over the University of the Pacific (Stockton, Calif.) following two all-league seasons under Dave Stricklin at UCC. The pre-med student is planning to attend school next year and is looking at a career in neurobiology, but isn’t ruling out extending her basketball career.
“It has been challenging and great ... absolutely no regrets coming here,” she said. “Basketball-wise, it’s better than when I got here. School-wise, what I expected. A great place to study.
“I’d take Oregon over Ithaca for the weather. North New York state is really cold. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the Oregon rain, too.”
Snyder says her experiences at UCC prepared her well for D-I basketball.
“I needed a steppingstone and UCC being such a running team definitely helped me out,” she said. “That’s why he (Stricklin) is a successful coach. He doesn’t try to recruit people to fit his style. Dave takes the passion and talent one has, and makes it work according to your level. When I got to UCC, I finally found a game I was good at. Dave made me a scorer and showed me what I was good at.”
Now Snyder and her Cornell teammates are preparing for the biggest game of their basketball careers. No one gives the Big Red, the No. 16 seed, a chance against UConn (32-1), a perennial national contender. But Snyder can’t wait for the contest which will be televised on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“I’m real excited, it’s an unbelievable chance we have,” she said. “We’re very fortunate to play a team that’s ranked No. 1 in the nation. We have no pressure and definitely aren’t going in there scared. We’ll try to play our game and do it as well as we can. Play as hard as we can and give it our best.”
<b>STRICKLIN HONORED:</b> The 49-year-old, who just completed his 13th year as UCC’s head coach, was inducted into the California Community College Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on March 12 at a banquet in Stockton. Dave joins his father, Richard, who was inducted in 1999.
“Anytime you get recognized for something like that it’s a great honor,” Dave said. “Not a lot of people get that opportunity, so I’m very grateful. The neatest thing is I’ll be able to share that with him (Richard). I wouldn’t be there without him.”
Stricklin coached at Golden West College in Huntington Beach for eight years, compiling a 259-27 record and winning two California State Championships (1990, 1991). He’s 327-85 at UCC, capturing Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges titles in 1997 and 2000.
• You can reach Sports Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4220 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.infoof double-doubles with season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, received honorable mention all-Ivy for the second straight year.
Snyder (her father, Tom, who played at Saint Mary’s College, is American; her mother, Kathy, French) says the Big Red have played an up-tempo style this season which is to her liking, but defense is their staple. Cornell is only shooting 43 percent from the field as a team, but is holding oppof double-doubles with season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, received honorable mention all-Ivy for the second straight year.
“A really productive season for me,” she said. “My role here isn’t the same as I’ve had on other teams. At UCC, I was a scorer. Here, I do the little things. I love it. I get to experience parts of the game I didn’t have to before.”
Snyder (her father, Tom, who played at Saint Mary’s College, is American; her mother, Kathy, French) says the Big Red have played an up-tempo style this season which is to her liking, but defense is their staple. Cornell is only shooting 43 percent from the field as a team, but is holding opponents to 39 percent and 57.8 points a game.
“A balanced offense and very tight defense — those are our two strengths,” Snyder said. “We have as many (scoring) threats from the outside as we do inside and no one is selfish. We play man-to-man 98 percent of the time and have really good team defense. You always help, no matter where you are.”
Snyder chose Cornell over the University of the Pacific (Stockton, Calif.) following two all-league seasons under Dave Stricklin at UCC. The pre-med student is planning to attend school next year and is looking at a career in neurobiology, but isn’t ruling out extending her basketball career.
“It has been challenging and great ... absolutely no regrets coming here,” she said. “Basketball-wise, it’s better than when I got here. School-wise, what I expected. A great place to study.
“I’d take Oregon over Ithaca for the weather. North New York state is really cold. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the Oregon rain, too.”
Snyder says her experiences at UCC prepared her well for D-I basketball.
“I needed a steppingstone and UCC being such a running team definitely helped me out,” she said. “That’s why he (Stricklin) is a successful coach. He doesn’t try to recruit people to fit his style. Dave takes the passion and talent one has, and makes it work according to your level. When I got to UCC, I finally found a game I was good at. Dave made me a scorer and showed me what I was good at.”
Now Snyder and her Cornell teammates are preparing for the biggest game of their basketball careers. No one gives the Big Red, the No. 16 seed, a chance against UConn (32-1), a perennial national contender. But Snyder can’t wait for the contest which will be televised on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“I’m real excited, it’s an unbelievable chance we have,” she said. “We’re very fortunate to play a team that’s ranked No. 1 in the nation. We have no pressure and definitely aren’t going in there scared. We’ll try to play our game and do it as well as we can. Play as hard as we can and give it our best.”
<b>STRICKLIN HONORED:</b> The 49-year-old, who just completed his 13th year as UCC’s head coach, was inducted into the California Community College Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on March 12 at a banquet in Stockton. Dave joins his father, Richard, who was inducted in 1999.
“Anytime you get recognized for something like that it’s a great honor,” Dave said. “Not a lot of people get that opportunity, so I’m very grateful. The neatest thing is I’ll be able to share that with him (Richard). I wouldn’t be there without him.”
Stricklin coached at Golden West College in Huntington Beach for eight years, compiling a 259-27 record and winning two California State Championships (1990, 1991). He’s 327-85 at UCC, capturing Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges titles in 1997 and 2000.
• You can reach Sports Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4220 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.infoof double-doubles with season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, received honorable mention all-Ivy for the second straight year.
