November 27, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Chestut Hill College women now under King’s rule
by TOM UTESCHER

Chestnut Hill College’s new coach and her 2008-2009 tri-captains (from left): Carley Glass, coach Kiesha King, Jenna Beck, and Davina Yacab.  (Photo by Tom Utescher)

At Chestnut Hill College, the title of women’s basketball head coach is a new one for Kiesha King, but she’s already a familiar face to hoops fans at the Griffins’ Sorgenti Arena.

King has been an assistant coach for the team for the past three seasons, and she also works full-time at Chestnut Hill as the school’s ACT 101 (Higher Education Equal Opportunity Program) Administrator.

The CHC women opened their season two weekends ago in a tournament at Bloomsburg (Pa.) University, losing to the host school, 77-49, and then succumbing to Mansfield University, 65-58, in the tourney consolation game.

Last year, in their first season of NCAA Division II competition, the Griffins finished with a record of 2-16 as a rookie member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and were 4-23 overall. As a former Division II basketball player herself, King knows that progress will come slowly.

“We’re basically starting from scratch with the move from Division III to Division II,” she pointed out. “You definitely need a different caliber of player to compete at the Division II level. You need someone who’s a competitor, and that’s not just somebody scoring points in a game. It’s someone who’s willing to work in the off-season to improve herself individually, so that once the season gets going, we’re ready to improve collectively as a team.”

A product of Friends Central School, King played college ball at Philadelphia University. One of her older teammates there, Jackie deMarteliere, went on to become head coach of the CHC program in the 2004-2005 season. That year, King was a senior co-captain back at Philly U. and was completing her undergraduate degree in management and finance. The following winter, she joined the Chestnut Hill coaching staff while earning an MBA.

After a four-year tenure that included an appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, deMarteleiere handed over the reins to King. The former coach still works in the CHC administration, and helped King recruit the current freshman class.

To begin the season, King is starting experienced players. At the guard spots are junior twin sisters Carley and Maryanne Glass, while fellow junior Jenna Beck is back at power forward and sophomore Jessica Pruiti can perform as a guard or small forward. The other starting forward is 5-11 junior transfer Davina Yacab, who comes to CHC from Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr.

There is a second junior transfer, small forward Mildren Mildor-Charles from Manor Junior College in Jenkintown, and the lone senior on the squad is Marianne Finfrock, a guard/forward who has been at CHC all along. Sophomore guard Samantha Dodds is back after a short-lived freshman season. She started the opening game but left with a season-ending knee injury.

With the arrival of the new freshman class and the transfer of Yacab, King addressed a pressing personnel problem for the fledgling Division II program.

“We were undersized — smaller and not as strong as other teams,” she said. “We were able to bring in some people who helped us get big quickly.”

The first-year players who are raising the Griffins’ profile are 6-2 center Erin Wilgamot, and forwards Chrissie Rogers (6-1), Jenn Delahanty (5-11) and Ashlen Stayrook (5-10). King also added depth to the backcourt with speedy 5-4 guard Sharae McCottry.

King said that she can use a number of selling points when appealing to recruits.

“We’re a liberal arts college, so basically we offer anything you may want,” she remarked. “We have solid academics across the board, and we’ve always been known for our education department, and the sciences. Our location is a big selling point. We’re still in the city, but we have this beautiful campus right alongside the park. We’re expanding with the purchase of Sugarloaf, and I think people see us as a school that’s on the move.”

So who are the toughest teams that the Griffins will face in the CACC this winter?

“When you finished last and are picked last [in this year’s pre-season poll], everyone in the conference looks strong,” King said. “We have to come with our best every single night; we can’t look past anybody. If we play consistently night in and night out, I believe we’ll shock a few teams this season.”

UPDATE – The Griffins bagged their first win of the season at the end of last week, routing non-conference Division II foe Columbia Union, 70-38.