MITCHELL HORUCY
Special to The Leader
Women’s Basketball team juniors pose for Fredonia Sports Information offices Media Day. Back row of photo from left to right: Renee Park, Nagely Vazquez and Caitlyn Snyder. Front row of photo: Hannah Potter. Photo by KAYLA WELSH | Staff Photographer.
Usually this late in the season, Fredonia’s women’s basketball team would be gearing up for a senior night to celebrate the players getting ready to take the next step in their lives. But this year, things look a little different with no seniors on the team.
This season, Fredonia was led by junior Renee Park who averaged 11 PPG, 4 RPG and 2 APG, along with about one steal per game. Freshman Laurell Brown had a strong first season with 8 PPG, 4 RPG and 1 APG. Fellow freshman Amber Louis also had an impressive start with 8 PPG, 2 RPG and an assist this season. Despite having a record of 5-17, the team competed in almost every game they played.
Being led by four juniors, leading scorer Renee Park spoke about taking on the leadership roles on the team.
“It’s definitely been challenging because we really don’t have any more experience on the court than the sophomores do because we didn’t have a season our freshman year,” Park said. “It’s been more challenging but we all go at it together and try to show them the right way to do things.”
Park is a part of the class that came into college during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing them to miss their entire freshman season in 2020.
Fellow junior Caitlin Snyder added that this season they have emphasized holding their teammates accountable.
“We’ve had issues with cheering, not being loud enough,” Snyder said. “We just try our hardest to lead by example.”
Snyder added that former Blue Devil, Katie Smith, did a great job setting an example for her and her teammates on what a good leader looks like. They spoke about how Smith was always the last one on the court at practice, cheered for everyone and held everyone accountable.
With being a student athlete, it can sometimes be difficult to balance both school and sport responsibilities. Junior Hannah Potter explained how she balances between the two.
“I feel like once you start, you have a set routine of how much time you have in between,” Potter said.
Park added that despite the extra stress you may have, it’s nice to have basketball to be able to get the stress off your mind. Park, Potter and Snyder were all named to the Commissioner’s List last season. This means they finished with a GPA of 3.3 or better.
Caitlin Snyder had an increased role this year for the Blue Devils. Snyder started ten games and averaged about 19 minutes per game. This was a big step up from her sophomore campaign where she did not start in any games and only averaged about ten minutes per game.
When asked what she did to prepare for this increased role, she talked about how she would spend more time in the gym shooting and working by herself.
“I definitely did shoot around a lot more than I did in previous years. I actually stayed in Fredonia over the summer,” Snyder said. “I would shoot in the gym by myself which was hard for me sometimes because I’m not a person that likes to do things alone but I knew I had to do it.”
With another year under her belt, she plans to do the same thing this off-season to prepare for possibly an even bigger role for her senior season.
When asked about what made this year’s team special, Park, Potter and Syder were all quick to point to the close bond that the team has. They all spoke on how important team bonding is for their team.
The team would often have team dinners, they had a pumpkin carving night and a Secret Santa celebration. Over the summer when the team might not be together physically, they make sure to stay in touch over social media. With the team being so young, it makes team bonding even more important knowing that the core will be together for years to come.
Playing a sport can also help an athlete learn valuable life lessons. A big lesson that Park, Potter and Snyder all spoke about learning this year was how to handle adversity.
“We’ve definitely just had to face a lot of adversity this year. And, just learning even though maybe we’re not the most successful team, you still have to work hard and yourself to put your best foot forward. No matter how tough it may be,” Snyder said. “You have to show up every day and do what you got to do.”
Potter added that she learned no matter what, you’ll always have people around you supporting you.
Despite not having the best season record wise, the team has reason to be optimistic about next season. As previously mentioned, the team has no seniors meaning that everyone will return. Park mentioned that it’s important that they are all returning. Adding another year of chemistry under their belt can only lead to more team bonding during the next season.
Park, Potter and Snyder were all in agreement that their favorite game of the season was their first SUNYAC win which came against Plattsburg at home. They mentioned that the crowd was into it, the game was very competitive, but in the end they were able to walk away with a big win over a conference opponent.
Despite the season not going their way this year, there’s a lot to be optimistic about as this season comes to a close and the team looks towards the future.