Season Review: Senior class takes SU to conference semifinals
SALISBURY, Md. – With only four upperclassmen on the 2006-07 Salisbury University women’s basketball roster the team successfully completed the programs third consecutive winning season, had two players named to the All-Capital Athletic Conference team and had one player reach a career milestone.

“Every year we expect to compete for the conference championship and be competitive in our league and once again we were,” said coach Bridget Benshetler, who completed her 17th season. “We had a fabulous year!”

Jessica Mills capped off her senior season with her second straight selection to the All-CAC team, her first on the first-team, after leading the team in scoring (15.5 points per game) and rebounding (6.0 rebounds per game). The forward garnered second-team honors as a junior.

“It’s really an honor to have been named as a member of the first-team All-CAC this year,” said Mills. “There were a lot of outstanding individual players throughout the conference this year, so it's definitely a privilege to be named one of the best.”

Mills also reached a milestone as she scored her 1,000 career point in Salisbury’s CAC first round win over Catholic University. Mills finished her career with 1,019 points and ranks 18th on SU’s all-time scoring list.

“I was really excited to reach 1,000 points this season,” said Mills.  “Scoring 1,000 points was a personal goal that I set for myself this season and it was very gratifying to see my hard work pay off as I was able to achieve it.”

The second Sea Gull to be named to the All-CAC team was junior Meghan Phillips. The guard earned second-team honors after she led Salisbury in three-point field goals made with 47 and ranked second on the team in scoring (13.6 points per game), assists (61) and steals (50).

“It really says a lot about the player to be named to the all-conference,” said Benshetler. “If you look at the caliber of talent in the conference, there are a lot of good players, and its really something special for Slim [Mills] and Philly [Phillips] to be on those teams.”

Along side Mills, three other seniors concluded their playing days at Salisbury. Jenna Peters led the Gulls in assists with 79 and steals with 60 as she ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the conference in the two categories.

Meghan Klug averaged 8.4 points per game, ranked second on the team in rebounding (5.7 rebounds per game) and second on the team in blocked shots (nine).

The final senior Katie MacFarland played limited minutes but had valuable contributions to the team.

“In many ways she [Katie] was our most valuable person,” said Benshetler. “It is hard pressed to find someone who is willing to put forth the effort for four years like she did and only play a limited number of minutes. She showed impeccable leadership and tremendous loyalty for this team. All of our seniors set a great example of leadership.”

As a team the Sea Gulls ranked third in the conference in scoring as they posted a 67.3 points per game average and they were the top ranked offensive rebounding team with an 18.6 rebounds per game average.

Salisbury opened the season on a tear as it won seven of its first eight contests. Through the seven-game win streak the Gulls outscored their opponents by 11 points as they ripped off an average of 71.3 points per game while they only allowed 60.

As the New Year opened for Salisbury the rollercoaster ride began. The Sea Gulls lost four of their next six games to drop to 9-5 and then dropped three of their next four to move to 10-8 on the season.

The CAC tournament was on the horizon and the Sea Gulls won four of their final six games to give them momentum for the conference tournament, where they earned the fourth-seed.

“In many ways our game of the year could have been anyone of three games,” said Benshetler. “We beat Catholic on the road in overtime and anyone will tell you that is a very tough place to play. We followed that up with a win on senior night over Marymount (Va.) to finish fourth in the conference and get that home game.”

The win over Marymount (Va.) set the stage for a Salisbury-Catholic rematch in the first round of the CAC tournament.

Salisbury jumped out early on the Cardinals and built any early 16-point lead just six minutes into the game. The Sea Gulls maintained their 16-point advantage into the break as they led 45-29.

Catholic mounted a comeback in the second half and eventually took a 63-62 lead but Salisbury quickly answered the CUA run and never trailed again as they won 75-69.

“We won that game and set the stage to play the best,” said Benshetler. “You have to beat the best to be the best.”

Salisbury advanced to semifinals for the first time since the 2004-05 season but bowed out to the eventual champion University of Mary Washington.

The Sea Gulls finished the season 15-11 and had an 8-6 conference mark.

With the graduation of four seniors the Sea Gulls have a lot of young talent returning and the expectations remain the same.

“I’m very excited about next season,” said Benshetler. “We have a very young team but they all have experience. We are doing to do as well as our young players allow us.

Game of the Year:

The final run for Salisbury against Catholic, Marymount (Va.) and Catholic was the stretch run of the year. The Sea Gulls needed to beat Catholic on road and followed that up with a home win over Marymount. SU won both of those games and solidified the No. 4 seed in the CAC tournament and a home game against the Cardinals.