Kelly Rebuilds Mavericks into ECC Contender
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Kelly Rebuilds Mavericks into ECC Contender
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Ashlee Kelly |
DOBBS FERRY, NY - With four players on her roster, two of which were injured, Mercy College Head Coach Ashlee Kelly took over the reigns of the women's basketball program in the summer of 2006. She inherited a program that went 2-75 over the three previous seasons. Only three years later, Kelly and the seventh-seeded Mavericks are about to do battle in the East Coast Conference (ECC) Quarterfinals with number two seed Dowling and have posted the program's most wins (10) since the 1996-97 campaign.
Upon taking over in July 2006, Kelly quickly contacted the four remaining members of her team through e-mail, telling them to send back their complete contact information and what would be expected of them. Only one member responded to the e-mail, so Kelly sent out another, demanding the information. A rather unfavorable start for Kelly.
Senior guard Christina Baxter (Greenwood Lake, NY) recalled the e-mail. "We all asked each other if we were going to respond. At first we just didn't answer, but eventually we decided to."
Three weeks later all members had responded and reported for school in late August. During this time Kelly actively recruited in the tri-state area and tried desperately to field a team. By the time September arrived she had recruited seven student-athletes to give the Mavericks 11.
In order to overcome the hardships the program had endured Kelly instituted a few rules.
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Ashley Finnegan |
"Rule number one was not to talk about the past. This kept us from looking back at what went wrong, instead we looked to the future because that's where success was waiting," Kelly said.
The Blue & White won seven games that season which was more than the previous three seasons combined and the most since the 2000-01 season. Kelly continued to build up talent in her second season as she brought in current sophomores Ashley Finnegan (Worcester, MA) and Ashley Borofsky (Southington, CT). Delmara Reece (Yonkers, NY) also became eligible to play in 2007-08.
With the pieces in place, the 2008-09 season began to take shape for Kelly and her squad. Baxter had been with her from the very beginning and served as her team leader.
However, the season began to slip away with a 1-8 start. Next up for the Mavericks was a trip to Caldwell, NJ to take on Felician in the ECAC Holiday Classic. Down by two points with 13 seconds left on the clock Reece was fouled to give her a chance to tie the game. After making the first attempt, Reece misfired on the second but got her own rebound and connected on the go-ahead basket with only six seconds left on the clock.
"That game was the turning point in the season for us," Kelly said. "We really started to put things together from that point forward."
The Mavericks went 9-9 the rest of the season, which included seven ECC victories (most conference wins since 1999-00). On the afternoon of Feb. 21 the Blue & White defeated Concordia and earned its first conference playoff berth since 2001-02.
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Ashley Borofsky |
The team had accomplished an important feat for the women's basketball program and the athletics department, one that could lead to greater success. Kelly, assistant coach John DeSio and her team felt the weight of the program's recent history lift off their shoulders as the season would continue into March.
"It took a lot of courage and confidence for coach Kelly to come to Mercy College and take over a team that was 0-50 the previous two seasons," Baxter said. "She has made tremendous improvements which is why we are where we are now."
Kelly, a Quinnipiac alumnus, is excited that her team has the opportunity to compete in the conference playoffs and feels they will be up for the task.
"This group really has the ability to compete with anyone," the head coach said. "We have gained the respect of our opponents so now we have to be even tougher."
No matter what the outcome for the Mavericks in the post-season, Kelly has put the program back in contention, and in the forefront of ECC women's basketball.
