This past Saturday was special for the
Connecticut College women’s basketball
program—they made their first NESCAC
Championship tournament appearance. After
one of their best seasons to date, with a 5-5
conference record and a 16-7 overall record,
the seventh-seeded Camels tipped off
against the second-seeded Tufts University.
Conn’s five conference wins were the most
in the team’s forty years. Though Saturday’s
40-57 outcome was not in the team’s favor,
the Camels have much to be proud of after a
monumental season.
Although just making the tournament was
not the overall goal, Coach Brian Wilson was
proud of the way the team played. “They
represented Connecticut College with class
throughout the season and made a splash in
New England DIII women’s basketball.”
Wilson, currently in his third season with
the team, coached the Camels to their first
post-season berth since the NESCAC moved
to its current championship format in 2001.
Wilson and new assistant coach Dana Simonelli
have taken their past experiences in
Division I programs and made a huge impact
on the women’s basketball program at Connecticut
College. He feels that “the culture of
women’s basketball at Conn took a huge step
forward this season.”
The team didn’t just sneak into the postseason—
their record had them fighting for
home court advantage during the last weekend
of regular season.
With only two seniors on the team, the
Lady Camels relied heavily on their underclassmen,
who played a major role in the
season’s successes. Sophomore Tara Gabelman
enjoyed a breakout season, pulling down
9.6 rebounds per game to lead the NESCAC,
in addition to ranking second in scoring with
15.2 points per game. Her strong game at
both ends of the court resulted in ten doubledoubles
on the season to lead the league.
Helping out Gabelman was rookie pointguard
Carlee Smith, who guided the Camel
offense while dishing out 4.9 assists per
game to rank second in the NESCAC.
Senior Jenn Shinall had one heck of a senior
season—on February 11, she netted her
1,000th point. Since then, Shinall has gone
on to accomplish the major feat of becoming
the seventh Camel women’s basketball player
to bypass 1,200 points. Like her teammates,
she ranked high in the NESCAC statistical
categories. Not only did she lead the league
in three-point shots with 2.68 triples per
game, but she was also third in scoring (13.9
points per game), fifth in three-point field
goal percentage (40%), and fifth in steals
(2.45 thefts per game).
Although the statistics say a lot about the
quality of play this past season, the women’s
basketball team has left a lasting impression
on the college community. “We played
together, unselfishly, and with great spirit and
confidence,” said Wilson. Members of the
college community echoed these sentiments,
applauding the Camels on their quality of
play and how well the women on the team
work together and treat one another.
Seniors Kim Horne and Jenn Shinall are
finishing their careers with fond memories
and pride, and they leave a team whose triumphs
on and off the court makes the future
of women’s basketball very bright. •
Rita HolakRita Holak
Ms nadile that is a wonderful story you wrote about conncoll. ladies basketball team. , keep up the great work for your school news paper. i am so proud luv dad.