The Rock of RPI

The Cape Ann League has been responsible for sending some top women's college basketball prospects in the Division 3 game in recent years, and Jen Rock has carried that mantle to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Averaging 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and just over a steal per game, Rock has enjoyed a stellar freshman season for the Engineers (12-7, 6-4), so much so that her coach John Greene believes she may be the Liberty League's rookie of the year.

"We were very excited last year when she decided to pursue her academics and athletics here at the school and set her collegiate goals with us," Greene said. "And we've been extremely excited about the way she's played. She's started every game but one, and if she's not bagging the most minutes, she's pretty close.

"I'm biased, of course, but I really think for our team in terms of what she's done and within our conference, I think if she isn't the rookie of the year, she's in that top category just because she does so much."

Playing small forward, a new position after playing point guard all throughout high school, Rock has given her team versatility on defense, athleticism on the court and uncanny poise in big moments, especially for a freshman.

"She's really a person that we put on the other team's top scorer and the person that's most versatile from our standpoint defensively to be able to play on the other team's biggest threat," explained Greene, noting Rock's speed and quickness have paid dividends in both RPI's half-court and full-court pressure defense.

"She's probably one of, if not the most poised first-year students I've ever had," continued Greene. "At the beginning of the year that was something our returning players couldn't get over, how poised she was, and seldom if ever gets rattled by any situation."

After dropping both their games two weeks ago and needing a big week last week with three league games on the schedule, Rock came up with perhaps her biggest moment of the season. She knocked down a 15-foot buzzer beater to take out William Smith College, 52-50. RPI went 3-0 on the week and put themselves right back in the race for one of the four spots in the conference tournament at the end of the season.

"The running joke about Jen is that she needs to shoot more," Greene said. "Even in high school, she passed up a lot of jump shots, and for her to make a bank jump shot with time running out to win that game, that was a huge thing for the team and for her in terms of confidence. That was a must-win for us, and then to be able to win again on Saturday. It was a great week, and she just shrugged it off like she does everything else."

For her efforts, Rock earned her first Liberty League rookie of the week award.

Wurdeman is the word

Like her former Triton teammate, Nicki Wurdeman, now a senior captain for Babson, has been enjoying another tremendous year.

A preseason first-team All-American selection, Wurdeman has done nothing but live up to those plaudits, averaging a team-high 17.5 points to go with 9.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

Coming off a year when Babson went undefeated during the regular season and went to the Elite 8, Babson has not let much off the gas pedal starting 16-2 in 2011-12, ranked 17th in the country.

"This year has been tougher for her, people are keying on Nicki, double and triple teaming her, so she's become more of an assist-minded player kicking it out more," said Babson coach Judy Blinstrub, adding Wurdeman has produced one of the best all-around careers the coach has seen in 28 years in charge. "Most of her points are coming off rebounding and other work on the boards. She's still playing great because she's opening things up for other people on our team."

Behind Wurdeman and the Beavers' other two New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) player of the year candidates Cathleen King and Sarah Collins, Blinstrub believes her team can make another deep run in the Division 3 NCAA tournament.

"I hope so," responded Blinstrub to the question of whether her team could duplicate last season's success. "Right now we want to make sure we win our conference games and win the conference tournament. That's our ultimate goal and then anything that's added on to that would be great, especially for our three seniors. You want them to go where they went before. Right now I think all they're thinking about is winning every NEWMAC game going out."

Daamen enjoying best year at CCS

Most people don't enjoy summer school, but for Kirsten Daamen, it may have been the best thing for her — that is, for her basketball game, anyway.

Staying on campus for an extra two months last summer, Daamen said she got the chance to hit the gym hard both for conditioning purposes and to really fine-tune both her inside and outside offensive game.

The results have been staggering. Daamen is averaging nearly 10 points more per game this season than last year, up from 3.9 to 13.2. She is averaging over three rebounds more per game at 5.3. And like the Daaminator of old, Daamen is a major defensive force inside, averaging nearly twice as many blocks per game this season at 2.5, up from 1.3.

"I think the main thing is team chemistry; that's improved a lot because we all get along off the court and that allows us to communicate better and have fun too," said Daamen, who was elected a team captain as a junior.

"I definitely have more confidence as well. This summer I worked a lot on my inside and outside game. I think conditioning wise I was here for summer school for two months, and shooting wise I did a lot on my own just getting in the gym."

Year 2 progress

For sophomore Erin McNamara (Southern Maine) and Ashley Viselli (St. Anselm), Year 2 has not been a big leap forward, but there have been moments of progression.

Starting every one of the 49 games the Huskies have played over the past two seasons, McNamara's stats have not improved since her freshman season. However, Southern Maine has nearly as many wins this season at 15-4 as the Huskies had a year ago at 18-11, and McNamara has been a key part of that success at point guard that included wins over two ranked opponents Bowdoin (10 at the time) and Babson (16 at the time), according to coach Gary Fifield. The team sits in second in the Little East Conference.

Not seeing any action a year ago after having to medically red-shirt due to a severe concussion, just to be back out on the court has been a good step forward for Viselli, who has been able to play in every game for the Hawks this season, averaging close to 17 minutes per game.

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