Tanayzha Augustine and the Women's Basketball Team Featured in ECC Insider Blog

2/11/2015 12:00:00 AM

Box Score

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 11, 2015)- Senior Tanayzha Augustine (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./ Poughkeepsie) and the Mercy College women's basketball team have been featured in the latest East Coast Conference Insider Blog written by Stephen Zerdelian.

Release courtesy of Stephen Zerdelian and the ECC

With a promising number of top players returning to the fray, the East Coast Conference was geared up for a strong season in 2014-'15. That has proven to be the case, and then some. The returning stars have shined and there are some terrific new faces on ECC courts to compliment them. Depth and quality around the league has never been better and the post season shapes up as a virtual toss-up, with multiple teams capable of walking away with the spoils as well as grabbing an NCAA tournament berth. Individually, the first dozen Player of the Week awards have been shared between seven players, with Madison Rowland (Queens) capturing four of them. Chelsea Williams (LIU Post), Denikka Brent (UDC) and Dina Ragab (NYIT) have each earned two POW nods while three others (Tiara Aziz of Bridgeport, Erin Copeland of Mercy and Marissa Sell of Roberts Wesleyan) have also been tabbed. The Rookie of the Week honors belonged to Jenna Erickson (St. Thomas Aquinas) early in the season, as she claimed the first four awards but since then Sarah Saba (Daemen, four ROW's), Lucy Covley (Roberts Wesleyan, three ROW's) and Brooke Fields (Roberts Wesleyan, one ROW) have chimed in and shown their abilities. By any account, this fresh crop of stars hasn't disappointed, twinning with the familiar faces to produce another strong campaign.

As fans and observers, we all have our own opinions of the teams and players we watch. For followers of the East Coast Conference, there has been plenty to enjoy this season, with the promise of more to come. How do the people involved in the league and its teams on a daily basis view the landscape? It's informative to find out, that's for sure. And it's the subject of this column… to give them the soapbox.

Let's turn our attention to the annual poll of coaches, media relations and athletic department personnel, shall we? They were queried the questions below with some general guidelines:

A.   Responders were allowed to consider their own team/program, if they are attached to one.
B.   Responders could answer any or all of the questions, with as much detail as desired.
C.   If responders did not wish to be identified when quoted, they are identified through an alias. (For consistency, none are named here)

The topics of discussion:

1. Who is the ECC's most talented offensive player?

This category was largely split between the two rather obvious candidates, Madison Rowland (Queens) and Chelsea Williams (LIU Post). The duo lead the ECC in scoring by a wide margin (almost 5 points per game) and are (at the moment) two of the four players in the region tossing in over 20ppg a night (Sciences Brianne Traub and Caldwell's Emily Caswell are the others).

"The most talented offensive player is Chelsea Williams," said one respondent. "Each night she is getting double and triple-teamed and she still manages to score her average."

Another responder concurred, noting, "Chelsea Williams, because she can score in a variety of ways. She also shows skills with the ability of handling the ball."

"The obvious answers are Madison Rowland and Chelsea Williams," said another voter, splitting the difference. "Neither is the best jump shooter in the ECC but Rowland is so efficient at getting to the basket (shooting 50%) and Williams goes strong to the hoop, almost with reckless abandon, drawing tons of fouls and piling up points on the free throw line. Dina Ragab (NYIT) could be in the conversation but needs to be a little more consistent. On any night she could explode for 30-plus points but on others could be held to single digits."

Another responder could not decide between a trio of great scorers along with a strong post presence.

"Madison Rowland, Chelsea Williams and Denikka Brent are all players that can score in so many different ways," he said. "Marissa Sell is probably the best scorer from the low post."

2. Who is the ECC's most effective defensive player?

The only unanimous category was this one, as Madison Rowland was recognized by all.

"Madison Rowland is not only the best defensive player in the ECC but she is arguably the best in the country," gushed one head coach. "Every play she is looking to make an impact on the defensive end."

Another responder tabbed Rowland but doled out some kudos to others.

"When you have someone leading the nation in steals and grabbing double-digit rebounds per game like Madison Rowland, it's hard not to pick her. She's also versatile enough to lock down multiple positions on the court as well. Others that come to mind are Shy Britton (Daemen), Denikka Brent, and Aaliyah McDonald (Molloy)."

Three others simply said Rowland and left it at that. Two had comments…

"Madison Rowland because of what she does for (Queens) defensively. She is a big reason why they have good defensive numbers."

"Madison Rowland is so good at playing passing lanes and disrupting an offense. She seems to be everywhere."

3. Overall, who is the most indispensable player to her team in the ECC?

You guessed it, Madison Rowland was the overwhelming selection here. Among the comments…

"I think it has to be Madison Rowland. She's the LeBron James of the ECC, being able to beat you in so many different ways," said one administrator. "Every night she is a threat to post a triple-double and it wouldn't surprise me if one of these days she ends up with a quadruple-double. Queens has some other talent on the roster but without Madison, I doubt they are anywhere near the top of the league standings."

"Madison Rowland," said another. "She is the major factor as to why they are fighting for the top of the conference."

A number of others just named Rowland as their pick without comment but there was one other opinion, as one head coach chose Chelsea Williams.

4. Who is the most underrated player in the ECC?

Now we get into some diverse opinions. The ECC has plenty of good players but there seem to be a number that don't quite get the recognition they deserve (at least in certain eyes).

One head coach was pretty straight-forward in saying, "The most underrated player in the ECC is Tatyana Calhoun (of UDC)."

Another responder was equally adamant but for a different player.

"Without a doubt, Christine Verrelle is my choice," began the response. "Without her, Dowling might not have won one game this year. If you could make a trade to put her on one of the teams towards the top of the standings, I would bet heavily on that team winning the conference. She has been the glue of Dowling for four years, even the years they were winning the conference and going to the national championship game. She plays under control, is a great shooter, and is just a calming influence on the court. The last two years with less talent around her she's had to step up her game to be more of a focal point of the offense and has done a great job."

Verrelle was also named by a different responder, along with a few other players.

"Tanayzha Augustine (Mercy), Shannon Holt (Bridgeport) and Christine Verrelle are the three most underrated players in my opinion," said one voter. "These three are very good players that bring positive benefits to their team."

Augustine was noted by one of the head coaches in the league, who said, "That's very difficult to say since I don't know exactly what everyone thinks of each player (but) Tanayzha Augustine is very good offensively and defensively."

Finally, we had a vote for Marissa Sell, the Roberts Wesleyan pivot who does so much in the paint for her team.

5. If you had to select now, who is on your five-player All-ECC team and who would be your ECC Player of the Year?

As one might expect, there was considerably unanimity in this area. Madison Rowland was a landslide pick for Player of the Year and was named on every responder's ballot for the All-ECC team. Elsewhere, Chelsea Williams and Marissa Sell were also chosen by each person that weighed in.

Dina Ragab and Denikka Brent were nearly-unanimous choices and there were a few others that did get named. Natalie Galus (Daemen), Telisha Turner (UDC) and Shy Britton nosed their way into the conversation, the latter being tabbed as the 'Sixth (Wo)man on one team.

6. If you could pick one ECC player to start an expansion team with (and you'd get four years of eligibility), who would it be and why?

Madison Rowland had the most mentions for this question but there were other selections. Let's start with those.

"I would start my team with Marissa Sell," said one head coach. "She has nice size, rebounds well, and can finish around the basket. (Sell) gives you a double-double every night."

"This is a tough question, because there are so many good players," mentioned another head coach. "I am a coach who believes that you have to have a good big and a good point guard to be successful. The two top players based on their play this year are Madison Rowland and Chelsea Williams. They are not bigs or play the point, but the impact they have brought to their programs is essential. I have to split this answer."

"I think by this point you can see how great I think Madison Rowland is and I'd pick her in less than a heartbeat," offered another responder. "She scores, she defends, she distributes, she does it all. I don't know that she will ever have quite the impact of say a Danielle Wilson had a few years ago in almost helping Dowling win it all, but I think she could be considered one of the top players, if not the best, to ever come through the ECC by the time her career is over."

"Madison Rowland, plays both ends of the floor and is very athletic," added another voter.

Finally, one more head coach chimed in with "Madison Rowland, she so good all-around. She can score inside and out, she can rebound, she plays great defense - she can do it all. She's got good size, quickness and strength. She really doesn't have a weakness."

7. What has surprised you the most in the ECC this season?

Overall balance and parity, along with the emergence of Roberts Wesleyan, were the touchstones here.

"The most surprising thing in the ECC would be you have tough competition every night," said one coach. "The league has a good chance to possibly have three or four teams with twenty-win seasons."

"The competition is so good," offered another. "No team is to be disrespected."

"To me, it has to be Roberts Wesleyan's rise to the upper echelon of the conference," said a responder. "Although they would have made the conference tournament the last two seasons if they'd have been eligible, they always came off as an average team to me. I think the difference this year has been their guard play. Since they joined the conference, they have always had pretty good frontcourt players (Sell, Courtney, Henry), but the difference this year has been the much improved guard play they are getting from three freshman (Covley, Necedah James, Fields). "

Another coach had the same feelings.

"Roberts Wesleyan becoming as good as anyone in the ECC" he said. "Going into (the last) game they are only one game behind UDC in the loss column for 1st place. I knew they had a good team but didn't know they were going to be this good."

I am something of a stat geek. While knowing that numbers cannot dictate success in every case, I always find that they can tell us something, if used correctly. All statistics used below are through games of February 10.

One of the hidden statistical categories that tell much about a team is its team shooting percentage aggregate total. This is easily calculated; add the field goal, three-point and free throw shooting percentages together and compare. Generally, over 150 is terrific; 135-150 solid; and below 135, trouble. Anomalies abound, of course - a single sub-par (or really bad) segment can over-impact a total, just like one well-above average area can mask other deficiencies (free throw shooting tends to be the major culprit here). But as a snapshot, it's a decent way to gauge a squads' offensive competence. It's best to wait until at least the halfway point of the season to work the numbers, as it allows time for a group to attain what is just about its natural level. Percentages are rounded up or down to create a single per-category number. While we're at it, why not compare last season to this one, in terms of shooting aggregate?

2014-15
*Team*	*FG%*	*3FG%*	*FT%*	*Total%*	*Record*
Daemen	39	35	74	148	8-11
Dist. Columbia	43	35	69	147	19-3
Roberts Wesleyan	42	35	68	145	14-5
Queens	43	29	71	143	16-5
NYIT	39	29	71	139	15-5
Mercy	37	30	71	138	8-13
LIU Post	41	31	63	135	13-8
Molloy	40	31	63	134	10-11
St. Thomas Aquinas	38	28	68	134	9-14
Bridgeport	37	28	69	134	4-18
Dowling	36	27	70	133	4-16

(2014-'15 stats, through February 10, 2015)

2013-14
*Team*	*FG%*	*3FG%*	*FT%*	*Total%*	*Record*
Dist. Columbia	43	37	71	151	18-6
St. Thomas Aquinas	39	32	71	142	11-12
LIU Post	42	32	67	141	19-5
NYIT	40	30	69	139	16-8
Dowling	37	30	71	138	10-14
Molloy	39	34	63	136	13-11
Daemen	36	27	72	135	8-18
Mercy	35	30	70	135	2-22
Queens	41	27	66	134	18-6
Bridgeport	33	27	69	129	6-19
Roberts Wesleyan	38	28	61	129	13-11

(All 2013-'14 stats, through February 23, 2014)

What is worth diving into is the differential between last season and this one. First off, the gap between the top team and the bottom team has shrunk each of the last three seasons. This winter, the span is at 15 points, as opposed to last year, when the difference was 22 points (at the time of the review). Go back to 2012-'13 and it's an even greater differential (27 points). The outcrop of it all is that the league continues to get even tighter across the board. To this point in the season, the biggest gain has been from Roberts Wesleyan, who has picked up a massive 16 points in shooting totals. Thus, it's no coincidence that the Redhawks have taken a step up in terms of wins and losses. Other gainers of note are Daemen (+13), Queens (+9), Bridgeport (+5) and Mercy (+3). Daemen is an interesting case; the Wildcats are up in every shooting category but their league-best total (148) is not reflected in their record. Why? It's likely a function of the fact that they are last in the ECC in turnovers, offensive rebounds and field goal attempts, meaning despite their offensive weapons, they have not been as efficient as they'd like to be. Add in their last-place ranking in points allowed (every game bar one that they have lost has seen the Wildcats allow at least 70 points) and it's hard to win consistently. Meanwhile, Mercy's improvement in the W/L column is reflected in shooting, among other things. The Mavericks are up three points this season after rising 23 points at this time a year ago. Major jumps can't be expected every year but Mercy keeps on chipping away and getting better.

Durability is an attribute that coaches prize in players. Those who can play a lot and still be efficient are like gold nuggets for coaches. The 'Adjusted Percentage' category delineates production average per minute played (PPG/RPG/APG divided by MPG). Here is how the top players in the ECC in minutes per game (at least 30mpg played, rounded up) stack up in terms of productivity:

*Player*	*MPG*	*PPG/RPG/APG*	*Adjusted %*
Madison Rowland	30.6	21.0/9.8/4.4=35.2	115.03%
Marissa Sell, Roberts Wesleyan	32.2	15.6/12.0/2.6=30.2	93.79%
Dina Ragab, NYIT	30.0	15.4/8.1/3.4=26.9	89.66%
Chelsea Williams, LIU Post	34.5	21.4/5.6/3.2=30.2	87.53%
Denikka Brent, Dist. Columbia	30.7	16.6/7.5/2.5=26.6	86.64
Nyasia Daivs, LIU Post	31.9	13.9/10.4/0.8=25.1	78.7%
Sarah Saba, Daemen	29.7	13.3/6.2/2.3=21.8	73.4%
Tanayzha Augustine, Mercy	35.9	14.4/9.5/2.1=26.0	72.4%
Shannon Duer, NYIT	29.9	9.6/9.6/1.1=20.3	67.9%
Christine Verrelle, Dowling	38.3	14.4/6.4/3.7=24.5	63.9%

Indeed, it is no shock to see the top five so close; don't forget, they were the players chosen in the poll above to be the ECC All-Stars this winter. But check out a few players that have really helped their teams this season, such as LIU Post center Nyasia Davis, freshman Sarah Saba of Daemen and versatile Shannon Duer (NYIT). They may be slightly overlooked players, as it turns out.

Being a strong foul shooter is great. Getting to the stripe a lot is wonderful. But having both qualities? Now that's what being effective is all about. Here is a check on all ECC players who've attempted 100 or more free throws to this point in the season. The percentage they make varies, as does the percentage of foul shots they take in relation to their team. (In that regard, how about Williams and Davis getting to the line for 61.5% of all LIU Post trips?)

*Player*	*FTM-FTA*	%	*Team FTA*	*Individual % of FTA*
Chelsea Williams, LIU Post	122-165	73.9	462	35.7%
Tiara Aziz, Bridgeport	101-128	78.9	395	32.4%
Denikka Brent, Dist. Columbia	75-119	63.0	462	25.8%
Nyasia Davis, LIU Post	63-119	52.9	462	25.8%
Dina Ragab, NYIT	80-116	69.0	460	25.2%
Sarah Saba, Daemen	76-113	67.3	432	26.2%

Defense and ball-security are sometimes difficult to quantify. But conclusions can be made when examining these esoteric, raw-data numbers, such as who gives her team the ball more than relinquishing possession? Seems a bit simple but adding blocked shots and steals and subtracting turnovers gives at least a glimpse into how effective a player is in this general area. The resulting +/- is a general, round number of efficiency. Here are the leading +/- players to date in the ECC:

*Player*	*Blocks & Steals/Turnovers*	*+/-*
Madison Rowland, Queens	23+90 (113) / 69	+44
Kalinka DeRoche, LIU Post	32+13 (45) / 10	+35
Denikka Brent, Dist. Columbia	29+62 (91) / 57	+34
Shannon Holt, Bridgeport	47+14 (61) / 27	+34
Shy Britton, Daemen	63+18 (81) / 49	+32
Samantha Courtney, Roberts Wesleyan	44+10 (54) / 27	+27
MacKenzie Rowland, Queens	45+41 (86) / 68	+18
Carneisha Henry, Roberts Wesleyan	28+11 (39) / 24	+15
Taj Baldwin-Kollore, Dist. Columbia	4+37 (41) / 28	+13
Shannon Duer, NYIT	10+26 (36) / 29	+7

Some of these players are expected to be in this category, such as defensive wizards Madison and Mackenzie Rowland and Brent but others open a few eyes. How about the quiet contributions of Kalinka DeRoche at LIU Post, a player who has more blocks/steals than shots attempted (42), or the versatility shown by post players Holt and Courtney? And don't forget Britton, Henry, Baldwin-Kollore and Duer, all of whom flourish in support roles. Their tidy and vital work is not overlooked by savvy observers.

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