Women's Basketball: National Championship 2012?

by Joseph Landini
Pierce Arrow

We can sit back and sulk about how Franklin Pierce got upset in the first round of this year's NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, or we can look ahead to the possibility of a national title in 2012.

Despite the early exit in the tournament, due to the 64-62 loss to Pace in the final seconds, the Ravens will be returning every player of the roster and adding two familiar faces. All of this year's freshmen will be returning and will be more seasoned with experience under their belts. Kate McDonald was the on-court general of the team running the point guard position. Throughout the year, she played the best basketball when she was aggressive and took open shots when the opportunity arose. Most likely next year she will be splitting time with Cynthia Gaudet and will learn even more from her senior teammate.

Brooke Coderre became one of the Ravens go-to defenders toward the end of the year. She would come in off the bench to guard the opponent's best wing player in hopes of locking them down. Add that to her three-point shooting, and Coderre can become big time in years to come. Brittany Martelle, as the year went on, was the Ravens outside threat when she got the open shot. The knock on her is confidence -- if she misses her first shot, her body language changes, and she will shy away from shooting. However, when confident, she is as dangerous as anyone. Jessica Hurd will only grow under the greatness of Jewel White. Hurd can rebound and shoot from the perimeter, so versatility will be here upside for the coming years.

Tiffany Johnson and Amanda Saab have only become better looking after their second season with the Ravens. Johnson stepped up this year and scored more, which the Ravens needed due to the loss of superstar Johannah Leedham. Her potential is through the roof and scoring ability is endless. We may not know how good she actually is until next year's senior class graduates and she becomes the focal point of the offense. Saab was one of those players you had to do a double take on this year. Her development from her first year to this past year was nothing short of great. In year one, her main tendency was to shoot the three. Period. This year she shot the three, but added a low post game and a dribble drive to the basket game. If you watched Northeast-10 basketball at all, she really became one of the most versatile players in the conference. Both of these players' roofs are the sky, as development and potential can only get better.

The Ravens will also return two players of the year. Marielle Girould was named the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, while Jewel White was the overall Player of the Year. Girould came back from where she left off a year before, playing phenomenal defense and taking the shots at any point she wanted. Averaging double-digits in points and high in rebounds, Girould is set to have a powerful senior campaign. White is exactly what the doctor ordered this year. Since becoming a starter late last season, White has been the go-to player in the Ravens' offense, and a rebounding machine. Averaging a strong double-double, White has a chance to repeat as Player of the Year next year. Jewel White became the Ravens' household player this year and made the pain go away when they lost WNBA Draftee Leedham.

With all that said you may think things couldn't get any better. Well they do, as the Ravens returning from injury will be center Tori Ahrens and point guard Cynthia Gaudet. Both sat out the entire 2010-2011 season, but will be ready to go. Ahrens is the definition of a low post brawler. She rips down almost every rebound and gets open down low for easy shots. She and White will have a twin towers-type deal going on this year. Going into this past year, one of the projected players of the year in the NE-10 was Cynthia Gaudet. Gaudet will now take the reins of this team, which has succeeded in big ways already. Her ability to make her own shot and play make for others is unmatchable to any other player on the Ravens' roster. Her leadership and experience is also unmatchable as she has been in postseason play every year since being a Raven. If Gaudet plays at any level close to what she has in years past, the Ravens have a great chance.

After all of that being said, is the 2012 National Championship coming to Rindge, N.H.?