BANGOR, Maine — Husson University women’s basketball coach Kissy Walker can’t help but smile when she talks about her team.
The Eagles are 6-0, the program’s best start since the 1991-1992 team went 11-0.
Among the wins was a 60-44 victory over Bates College that snapped an 18-game losing streak at the hands of the Bobcats dating to 1991, and a 77-60 triumph over New England College, their first victory at Henniker, New Hampshire, since 2012.
Saturday’s win at NEC came a day after they beat Colby-Sawyer 77-55, holding the Chargers to 21 second-half points.
“I enjoyed watching them play this past weekend,” said Walker, who is in her 26th season at Husson, the most for a head coach in one sport at the school. “In the third-quarter of the Colby-Sawyer game, I looked over at my assistants and said, ‘Wow, they really love to play defense.’ They were so intense. It was fun.”
The Eagles claimed their first North Atlantic Conference championship since the 2011 season last year, and Walker marvels at her team’s commitment.
“They are driven and serious about their basketball, ” Walker said. “They want to win. They’re the type of kids who work out in the offseason.
“Chandler Guerrette didn’t have a good shooting game against someone this season, and she was back in the gym at 8 the next morning shooting 450 shots. They love to play,” Walker added.
The senior guard from Presque Isle is eight points from the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
The Eagles love to press full court and have forced an average of 21 turnovers per game and limited opponents to just 51.3 points per game. They held Bates to two points in the second quarter.
“We have really focused on defense this year,” said Guerrette, who was the NAC Defensive Player of the Year last season and is averaging four steals per game. Husson is averaging 12.7 steals.
“Defense was the key the past couple of games,” sophomore guard Kenzie Worcester of Washburn said. “We went into the half up by five points, and by keeping up that pressure the other teams got tired.”
Husson outscored NEC 42-30 in the second half and bested Colby-Sawyer by a 36-21 margin.
Walker starts four guards: Guerrette, Worcester, Bangor senior Denae Johnson and California senior Darla Morales. Guerrette, Worcester and Johnson are all 5-foot-4 while Morales is 5-foot-7. The other starter is 5-foot-11 sophomore forward Anna MacKenzie of Plymouth, a product of Nokomis High School of Newport.
The Eagles graduated NAC Player of the Year Victoria McIntyre, their leading scorer (12.6 ppg) and rebounder (7.1 rpg). But they have averaged 72.3 points and have outrebounded their opponents by an average of nine.
Walker said Husson has received a little more scoring from Morales, MacKenzie is playing well, Sarah Bragg of Bangor has provided a big boost off the bench and Sami Ireland of Howland has contributed.
“The returning players have stepped it up a notch,” Walker said.
Morales (3.3 rpg) is the Eagles’ leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, 8.2 points more than a year ago. MacKenzie (6.5 ppg) is hauling down a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game after averaging 4.4 last season.
Worcester is averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds, Guerrette is at 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds. Johnson is averaging 6.2 ppg, 2.7 more than a year ago, and 4.7 rebounds (3.1 more than 2015-2016).
Guerrette and Worcester lead the team in assists at 4.3 and 2.8, respectively.
Freshman Bragg has averaged 5.8 points in 15.5 minutes per game and classmate Ireland is contributing 4.2 ppg in 10.2 minutes.
Holden sophomore Maegan True has supplied 6.2 ppg and Walker said she is a tough matchup for the opponents because she is strong and can score inside but she can also hit a 3-pointer.
Walker said she has also received some productive minutes inside from freshman twins Barrett Campbell and Hayden Campbell of Saco.
“We try to not stress scoring,” Guerrette said. “We try to do the little things on the court that can make a huge difference like taking a charge or getting a certain amount of rebounds per game. All those little things play into big wins.”
Guerrette said the team may have more depth than a year ago.
“And everyone knows their role and they play it real well which makes us a good team,” Guerrette said.
“Our team has clicked faster than last year’s team,” said Worcester, who wasn’t sure initially if they would be as good as last year.
“But once the season got going and we saw our potential, we really improved a lot,” Worcester said.
Guerrette said the team has real good chemistry, and both she and Worcester said last year’s success has given them the added desire to go a step further this season and get the program’s first NCAA tournament win.
Husson returns to action Dec. 30 at Guilford College in North Carolina.