2011-12 Womens Basketball News
Dean Women End Season 15-11
The Lady Bulldogs of Dean College finished their 2011-12 season with a final record of 15-11. This was Dean’s 8thwinning season out of the past 10 years.
Highlights included winning the NHTI invitation tournament and a regular season victory versus division two rival Orange County CC. The Bulldogs were led by NJCAA All-Region selections Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) and Kelsey Johnson (East Freetown, MA) who both scored double digits for the Lady Bulldogs averaging 10 points and 11 points a game respectively. Ebonie Ellison (Middletown, CT averaged 11 points per game as well. Sophomores Ashley Jordan (Manchester, CT) Yasmin Watts (Hartford, CT) and Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) shot a combined 35% from 3 point range, hitting over 75 three pointers between the three of them. The Lady Bulldogs also finished 9thin the nation (NJCAA DIVISION II) in points allowed at 51 per game.
Coach Jollon reflected on the season, “This was a very good year to be a Lady Bulldog. The team really came together towards the end of the season and they were ready and able to compete with anyone.”
The Lady Bulldogs lost their final game in the Regional Finals to a tough team from CCRI in overtime 77-70. A missed jump shot at the buzzer was all that stood in the way of a Regional title. CCRI would go on to compete in the district tournament one game short of the Nationals. “CCRI was the only Div II team this season to beat Monroe College. Monroe went on to win its second consecutive national tournament. Our ability to play CCRI into an overtime game shows us that we were able to compete nationally as well. Unfortunately we came up a fraction short of where we needed to be. We were really happy with how this team came together late and I am tremendously proud of all of these young ladies.”
Manchester 62 Dean 60
February 25, 2012
Manchester, CT: The Dean College Lady Bulldogs lost a hard fought game against Manchester CC 62-60 ending the regular season with a record of 15-10. The Bulldogs came out sluggish and Manchester capitalized getting out to an early 24-5 lead. Yasmin Watts (New Haven, CT) got the Bulldogs rolling late in the first half with key steals and aggressive drives to the basket scoring all of her 10 points in the first half. The Bulldogs went into the locker room down 34-27.
In the second half the Bulldogs continued their momentum on hot shooting from Ashley Jordan (Manchester, CT), Kelsey Johnson (Old Rochester, MA) and Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) each hitting two three pointers to put the Bulldogs ahead by two with three minutes to play. Both teams battled back and forth in the final minutes. Ebonie Ellison hit a clutch three point field goal to tie the game with a minute remaining however two key turnovers and a lay-up by Manchester put the game out of reach in the final seconds.
Dean’s next game is March 3rd where they will play in the regional tournament at Monroe College. Dean will take on CCRI in the first round. CCRI has beaten the Bulldogs twice this season in closely played games. Game time is 10AM. Monroe’s Athletic Center is located at 19 Lecount Place, New Rochelle, NY.
Lady Bulldogs split conferences game in NY
February 12, 2012
The Dean women’s team beat Orange CC 64-48 on Saturday. The victory secured the 3rd seed in the co-regional playoffs for the Lady Bulldogs avenging an earlier overtime loss to Orange. It also sets the Lady Bulldogs up for a re-match versus rival CCRI on March 3rd in the playoffs.
The Bulldogs opened an early lead and never looked back as they handily defeated their conference opponents. Leading the way for Dean was Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) who scored 17 points, including 4 three pointers. Kelsey Johnson (Old Rochester, MA) had 12 points with 6 assists and 5 steals. Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) chipped in with 10 points for Dean.
The next day, the Lady Bulldogs took on the defending National Champion Lady Mustangs of Monroe College. Dean started out slowly as Monroe pushed the tempo gaining many uncontested baskets putting the Bulldogs in an early 18-3 hole. Dean played catch up but couldn’t get closer than 19 points in the second half as Monroe cruised to a 71-42 victory. The loss puts Dean at an overall record of 15-7 and 1-4 in conference play.
The next game is versus CCRI Thursday at 8PM at home which will serve as a preview for the playoffs in March.
Lady Bulldogs Down Massasoit 55-45
February 7, 2012
Brockton, MA: The Dean College Lady Bulldogs returned to their winning ways on Tuesday in a 55-45 road victory over Massasoit Community College. The win avenged an earlier season loss at home, 71-50.
The Bulldogs started quickly, attacking the boards, hitting perimeter jumpers and finishing in transition taking an early 10-2 lead. As halftime approached, Dean led by 12 points. The second half was more of the same, however with three minutes remaining in the game the Lady Bulldogs took their foot off of the gas and sloppy play ensued. This late misstep by the Lady Bulldogs allowed Massasoit to make the final score seem closer than it was, closing the margin from 17 to 10 points.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs were Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) and Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT). Stukey recorded 12 points shooting 3 for 5 from deep; she also finished with 6 assists and 5 steals. Newman scored 12 points as well and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory. The Lady Bulldogs record now stands at 13-6. Coach Jollon commented, “We still need to put 40 minutes of focused basketball together regardless of what the scoreboard says…. Good road win against an ailing rival, but too many mental lapses for us to be satisfied.”
Dean is home on Thursday for a 6PM game against Holyoke College in Pieri Gym.
Every Bulldog Scores in Dean’s 5th Straight Win
February 2, 2012
The Lady Bulldogs continued their winning ways in a 54-36 victory against the Knights of Northern Essex Community College. Dean used a balanced attack from the perimeter and paint, shooting 6-17 from deep and 15-38 inside the line. In the first half the Bulldogs pulled out to an early lead led by Elena Milder (Gaithersburg, MD) and Kara Cartelli (Yorktown, NY), who shot a combined 7-9 from the floor and a perfect 2-2 behind the arc. Milder finished with 10 points and collected 3 rebounds while Cartelli finished with 7 points of her own.
In the second half the Bulldogs buckled down on defense and the boards, holding the Knights to just 16 halftime points. Hanna Anderson (Bridgewater, MA) collected 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. While Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) Ebonie Ellison (Middletown, CT) and Molly Mackenzie (Putnam, CT) grabbed 8, 7 and 6 rebounds respectively.
Every Bulldog found their way into the scoring column in Dean’s 5th straight victory. Coach Jollon commented after the game “This was a nice road win for us and for our team; it’s nice to get everyone on the floor for solid minutes as we prepare for post season play.”
The Bulldogs take to the road on Saturday in hopes of continuing the win streak against Uconn Avery-Point (10-6) at 1PM.
Bulldogs Win their 4th straight versus New Hampshire Tech 64-56 in Overtime
January 30, 2012
Franklin, MA: The Dean (11-5) women’s basketball team won their 4th straight game last night against NHTI (19-7) last night in Pieri gym. The Lady Bulldogs came out of the gate ready to play but the Lady Lynx matched them stride for stride in a contested battle that had to be decided in overtime. Dean dominated the boards while NHTI lit up the scoreboard with deep three point field goals. The Lynx were led by Jess Hardiman who scored 23 points, seemingly hitting from everywhere on the court. Not to be outdone, Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) and Ashley Jordan (Manchester, CT) hit some big three’s of their own to keep the score close in regulation. In the overtime, some big defensive stops and a blocked shot from Ebonie Ellison (Middletown, CT) put the game away as Dean held NHTI to 5 points in overtime.
Leading the way for Dean in scoring were Manchester Connecticut natives freshman Chelsea Newman and sophomore Ashley Jordan. Newman scored a double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds, while Jordan tallied 11 points and had 4 assists. Jordan’s timely three point field goals in the second half and overtime helped seal Dean’s victory.
The Bulldogs hit the road to Northern Essex on Thursday night.
Lady Bulldogs Drop One in Overtime
The Dean Women’s basketball team dropped their first game of the second semester to Orange County Community college by the score of 53-50 in overtime on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Bulldogs returned from a six week winter break with only four days to prepare for the conference game. “I thought we played a tremendous second half given our circumstances. We were definitely tired; we shot a terrible percentage from the perimeter. I am looking forward to playing them again in the next month, when we are at full capacity.” The loss brings the Bulldogs record to 7-5 and 0-2 in conference play. Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) led the way for the Bulldogs scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 boards. Dean returns to action Tuesday 1/24 against Bunker Hill CC at 6PM in Pieri Gym.
Lady Dogs Lose to CCRI, Drop Two Straight
The Dean College Lady Bulldogs dropped their second straight game last night with a loss to Lady Knights of CCRI by the score of 75-54. The Knights came out on fire from the field knocking down contested shots from the perimeter taking an early 14-8 lead. The Bulldogs battled back on strong play from Kelsey Johnson (Old Freetown, MA) and Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT). Johnson repeatedly turned the corner on the defense finishing with lay-ups and assists to Newman, eventually bringing the score even at 21. Johnson finished with 13 points and Newman finished with 14 in the game. The Knights and Bulldogs battled back and forth for the remainder of the half with neither team giving an inch, however ate in the first half the Knights from CCRI surged and went into the locker room with a 34-30 lead.
The second half had the Bulldogs come out determined to get the lead. A driving layup by Yasmin Watts (New Haven, CT) and a timely three pointer by Jessica Stuckey (Wilmington, MA) put the Bulldogs in the lead by 4 points. Midway through the half though, the Lady Bulldogs began to struggle from the field. “We started to physically tire..” said Coach Jollon. “..The combination of four games this week, finals and such..we started to make mental errors causing us to make mistakes and miss shots.” The Bulldogs turned the ball over on three straight possessions while CCRI took advantage of each one with a bucket. The lead grew to 11 with four minutes remaining and The Lady Knights never looked back. “I am completely proud of their effort on the floor; everyone did what they were supposed to do. We made a few mistakes, but it is early in the season, we are looking forward to playing CCRI again in February.”
The Bulldogs schedule doesn’t get any easier with the Mustangs from Monroe College coming to Franklin on Saturday at 1PM. Monroe won the National Tournament last year and is currently ranked 13thin the nation.
At 5’10” Ebonie Ellison is not your typical ‘Big’
Ellison takes it to the rim against Cayuga Community College
Ebonie Ellison is not your typical post player. Although she has a variety of strong back-to-the-basket moves the 5’10” forward prefers to spend time on the perimeter firing away three pointers and running the wing on the break. This dynamic is has been a consistent topic of discussion between Coach Jollon and his player since his time recruiting her. Coach reflected on her transition from Middletown High in Connecticut to Dean College, “Ebonie is a very good athlete. She was the biggest kid on her high school team so naturally they made her a post. I asked her what position she played during the recruiting process and she said ‘point guard’, I kind of chuckled since we were looking for post help. When she transitioned to Dean she wanted to be out with the guards, the way she played with her AAU team, but we need her size in the paint.” Since Ellison has never consistently worked at any one of those two positions Jollon believes she is stuck at being good in both.
Coach Jollon believes his starting forward can learn to play both the post and perimeter well, but will have to focus on one of the two positions to achieve greatness. If Ebonie wants to be a great guard, coach Jollon is with her. “Ideally, we think a player should work to be great in the position they want to be great in, but that is a process. From a coaching point of view, we’ll have to get some more size on the floor so she can focus on the perimeter position more, making Ebonie’s job easier. ” More depth and size aren’t the only thing Jollon believes is necessary in making Ellison or anyone for that matter, a great player, “Ebonie is a very sweet kid, but she is maturing with regard to her work ethic. Being a student athlete in college is not an easy job and if she really wants to play at the next level, her work ethic needs to be more consistent. Sleep habits, time management and the attitude to ‘bring it’ or what we call mental toughness, have to be there daily.”
That all said, Jollon feels that Ellison is right where she needs to be. “Look, Ebonie is our leading scorer [14 pts a game] and second leading rebounder [6.5 boards per game]. She has learned multiple positions on the floor; she boxes out more often than not and is getting better every day. Becoming a top-level student athlete is not an overnight process and right now we are happy to be 6-1 with her helping lead the way. I’ll tell her, if you want to be a guard, let’s start with taking 50 three’s at every practice, you can’t play the perimeter and shoot 28% from deep… She will smile at me and shoot a few threes after practice…that’s more than I got in September.”
Always the motivator, Coach Jollon left with a final thought for Ellison and his team in general, “Van Gogh sai.. and I am paraphrasing.. Greatness isn’t an impulse, in other words you can’t just try one day and it’s there.. It’s a series of small steps brought together. Hopefully everyone understands that and they have started their individual series of steps to be great. Shooting ten threes isn’t fifty, but it’s more than nothing.”
Although not a great team yet, at 6-1 the Lady Dogs are looking pretty darn good.
Bulldogs take two, Win New Hampshire tournament!
November 21st- The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Concord, NH this weekend to participate in New Hampshire Tech’s Invitational Holiday Tournament. In the first game, Dean came out swinging with stifling defense and strong perimeter ball movement taking a nineteen point lead into halftime with up tempo play. The second half was more of the same as the Bulldogs controlled the boards and dictated the tempo, cruising to a 71-47 victory. The Lady Dogs were led by Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) and Ebonie Ellison (Middletown, CT) who scored 14 points and 16 points respectively, they both chipped in with 11 rebounds each. Also contributing was Yasmin Watts (New Haven, CT), who shot 6-8 from the field including 2 three pointers and 4-4 from the free throw line, for a total of 15 points in the game.
In the tournament finale on Sunday, Dean took on the Lynx of New Hampshire Tech. Dean took an early lead and managed to stay one step ahead of NHTI throughout the contest. In the second half Dean expanded their lead to 10, only to see NHTI fight back to pull within 1 point with three minutes to go on hot shooting from the three point land. Dean had some hot shooting from their own as Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) went 4-7 from deep leading Dean to battle back and pull ahead, while the Bulldogs as a team shot 12-28 from behind the arc for the game. Stukey finished with 13 points and 4 steals. Other players filling up the stat sheet were Ebonie Elliison (Middletown, CT) who scored a game-high 14 points, while collecting 13 rebounds, Yasmin Watts, (New Haven, CT) who scored 12 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor and Chlesea Newman (Manchester, CT) who recorded her second double-double of the weekend scoring 10 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for the game. Both Newman and Watts were awarded all-tournament honors and Newman grabbed the tournament MVP.
The Lady Bulldogs of Dean College Down Springfield JV 58-53
November 17th- The Bulldogs traveled to birthplace of basketball to take on the JV squad from Springfield College last night, in Springfield MA, winning the contest 58-53. The Bulldogs started out with pressure defense and hot shooting causing Springfield to turn the ball over repeatedly, as the Lady Dogs went into the locker room with a 36-22 lead.
The second half saw the Bulldogs go a little cold, allowing Springfield to get back into the game late. However, the Bulldogs pressure was too much for Springfield to handle as Dean prevailed 58-53.
Leading the way for Dean were Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 boards, Ebonie Ellison (Middletown, MA) with 14 points and Yasmin Watts (New Haven, CT) who scored 11 points.
Coach Jollon commented “Unfortunately we didn’t get better today and we need to get better every game. The game had low energy from the beginning; weak close-outs, silly fouls, along with missed box outs. We took the press off in the second half to work on some things and we let Springfield creep back in. We will refocus our efforts at practice and I am looking forward to a good test this weekend in NH”.
Dean Crushes Springfield Tech for Second Win of the Season 93-6
November 8th Springfield, MA: The Dean College Lady Bulldogs annihilated a depleted basketball team from Springfield Technical College in Springfield, Massachusetts on Tuesday evening. The Lady Bulldogs sensed blood in the water early and came out strong with a balanced attack led by Molly Mackenzie (Putnam, Ct) who scored 10 of her 18 points in the first half pacing the Bulldogs to a half-time lead of 46-4, Mackenzie also finished with 9 rebounds.
Other key contributors for the Bulldogs were Yasmin Watts (New Haven, CT) 12 points and 5 assists, Elena Milder (Gaithersburg, MD) who chipped in with 9 points and 6 Steal and Kara Cartelli (Yorktown, NY) who led the team with Kelsey Johnson (East Freetown, MA) recording 6 assists each. For the second time this year, every Bulldog found their way into the scoring column. Due to undisclosed reasons, Springfield Tech was only able to field 5 players in this non-division match-up.
Coach Jollon commented after the game, “Nothing really to say here.. I asked our team to play intense defense and to not allow a shot to be taken uncontested in the second half, the team complied and we routed our opponents. I was particularly impressed with our unselfishness and 29 assists. Every contest is an important step no matter who our opponents are; the team responded with class and focus in a tough situation”. The Lady Bulldogs play another non-division opponent in their home opener on November 14th at 6PM in Pieri Gym.
Dean Drops game to Second Ranked R.C.C.
November 6th- The Lady Bulldogs had their hands full on Sunday competing against the #2 nationally ranked team from Roxbury CC. The game opened with both Roxbury and Dean trading baskets. Roxbury started in a full court man press which continued throughout the contest. Early turnovers by both teams held the score down to 11-4 in favor of Roxbury with 13 minutes remaining in the half. Roxbury opened up the lead by 10 as the Bulldogs struggled to keep pace with their pressing opponents. Hot shooting by Jessica Stukey (Wilmington, MA) helped keep the Bulldogs within striking distance in the first half as the Bulldogs went into the locker room down 17.
The second half was more of the same as the Bulldogs had great efforts from Kelsey Johnson (Freetown, MA), Ebonie Ellison (Middletown, CT) and Chelsea Newman (Manchester, CT) to keep the Lady Dogs in the game, but Roxbury’s pressure was too much for the Bulldogs to bear as the game finished in Roxbury’s favor 85-56.
All tournament honors were awarded to both Kelsey Johnson and Jessica Stukey for the Bulldogs.
Lady Dogs Win First Game of the Season
November 5th- The Dean College Lady Bulldogs opened the 2011-12 season with a win versus Cayuga Community College. The win was in the first round of the
