A New Chapter Begins in Sacramento State Women’s Basketball History as Dan Muscatell Begins His First Season with the Hornet Program

With 17 years of basketball experience, including four years as an assistant at Oregon, Dan Muscatell begins his first season at the helm of the Hornet women’s basketball program. Despite inheriting a program with only six wins in its past three seasons, Muscatell has embraced the challenges in his first Div. I head coaching stop and knows there is work to be done. “I knew there were three areas that we had to improve upon to get things started,” Muscatell said. “We needed to be fit, get stronger and become more fundamentally sound.”

In order to help him accomplish these goals, Muscatell first assembled a coaching staff that would give the program a presence that had not been felt before. Lindsey Dion, who served as a student assistant under Muscatell at Oregon, was the first to join the staff after coaching at Seattle Pacific last season.

Karen Piers was added a month later after spending the 2002-03 season at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Finally, Shaquala Williams was brought onto the staff after helping the L.A Sparks reach the WNBA Finals in 2003.

With the additions of Dion, Piers and Williams, Muscatell created a solid basketball foundation for his players. “I really love our staff because they compliment my style extremely well,” Muscatell said. “Each of them has a strength in particular areas that is important for me to be aware of.

“Lindsey is a task master with great attention to detail. Piers has a gift of people skills and team chemistry, and Williams offers a player’s perspective in every situation. They bring a lot of special things to the table.”

The most unique aspect of their relationship is that each member of the staff has been a player under Muscatell while he was at Oregon. With that history, he believes the program can progress faster under unified leadership. “I thought the best way for us to hit the ground running was with people who knew me,” Muscatell said. “I felt that was important to help us catapult our program to where we want it to be.”

After going through fall practices addressing the three areas of need (fitness, strength, fundamentals), Muscatell feels the team has made great strides since his arrival in May. “I feel really good about the progress that we are making because the team has impressed me with their commitment to what we’re doing here,” he said. “We went from a tremendously unfit group to one of the best that I’ve started a season with.

“Our ability to be more fundamentally sound is still an on-going process in practice, but we were able to address it in the fall period with individual workouts.

“I think strength training is going to take the most time to overcome because you can’t get stronger in a month or two. We won’t see the benefits of our changes until a few years down the road.”

Going into the 2003-04 season, Muscatell will deal with a clean slate after the Hornets ended two lengthy program streaks the year before. Sacramento State snapped a 44-game losing streak with a 77-55 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 21. The Hornets also ended a 36-game losing streak against Big Sky competition, a 60-game losing streak against Div. I teams and a 30-game losing streak on the road against Big Sky teams with a 62-60 win at Montana State on March 1.

With that said, Muscatell will look to improve the program with tough competition and a high-level playing atmosphere this season. “Our kids don’t need a win to improve their ego,” Muscatell said. “What we need, is to experience competition against the teams that we are going to play. Our schedule is difficult, but we get to play in environments that I think are tremendous.”

Headlining the schedule will be invitations to the Oregon Classic and the Commerce Bank Tournament. The Hornets will also play non-conference games against Cal Poly, Southern Utah, Santa Clara, San Jose State, Nevada, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Saint Mary’s. In the Oregon Classic, the Hornets will face North Carolina State and Kansas in Eugene, Ore. The Commerce Bank Classic will pit Sacramento State up against fourth-ranked Kansas State (and preseason All-Americans Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker), Texas-Pan American and Saint Louis in Manhattan, Kansas.

“With the difficult schedule, we don’t want to get hung up on winning and losing,” Muscatell said. “McArthur Court (Oregon) is arguably the best women’s collegiate environment on the west coast and we will play in front of 10,000 fans at Bramlage Coliseum (Kansas State).

“I’m excited that our players get to experience basketball at the highest level. There’s all kinds of challenges, but the fun part will be developing as a team along the way.”

Also contributing to the transition of the program has been a blend of returnees, JC transfers and freshmen to the squad. With a bevy of versatile talent and depth, Muscatell says he will not finalize a rotation until the season progresses. “There is nothing set right now with our lineup,” said Muscatell. “We need to get out on the court, play other opponents and see how people are going to react when the lights go on. I like our depth and potential lineup combinations that we can put out there. We can create some chess matches that our opponents are going to have to be ready for.”

The Guards
The position with the most depth on the squad, 10 players will interchange on the perimeter during the year. Senior Sydney Gatson also has the ability to move to the forward spot when needed.

At point guard, JC transfers Samania Black and Tyeisha Brown will carry the bulk of the load. Black earned consecutive first team all-South Coast Conference honors after two years at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. The Inglewood, Calif., native averaged 14.5 points, 5.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals in her final season with the Cougars. Brown, a native of Vallejo, Calif., garnered all-Bay Valley Conference and all-state tournament accolades at the College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. In one season with the Mariners (2002-03), she averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game. She spent her freshman season at Cal State Northridge.

“I’m excited about our point guard play,” Muscatell said. “Tyeisha is tremendously gifted athletically and everyone feeds off of her intensity on the floor. Samania brings a different quality to the position because she is good at getting others involved.”

Seniors Cindy Besio, Dolores Olivarez and Gatson could also see time when needed. Besio, who sat out two seasons to compete in track, led the College of Marin to a Bay Valley Conference title (2001) as the starting point guard. Olivarez returns to the squad after averaging 4.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. The Sacramento native, who sat out the 2001-02 season due to knee surgery, also finished third on the squad with 45 assists.

Gatson is penciled in to start at the shooting guard position for the Hornets. The Concord, Calif., native enjoyed the highest offensive output of her career last season with an average of 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds. She also finished second on the squad with 38 steals and 66 assists while shooting a career-best 14-for-45 (.311) from behind the three-point line. “Sydney has stood out because she already has a lot of the three qualities that we were looking to improve on,” Muscatell said. “First of all, she is as healthy as she’s been since she hurt her back. She is strong, posseses good quickness and she is a good defender. She can also shoot and take the ball to the basket.”

Also at the two spot, senior Diane Peterson and freshman Stephanie Cherry will pose the biggest threat on the perimeter as the squad’s top long-range shooters. Olivarez and sophomore Tess Thompson will also help solidify the shooting guard position.

Thompson, who was a walk-on last season for the Hornets, is still waiting to be cleared after knee surgery before competing this season. “Sydney will start at the off-guard position and we can bring some good kids off the bench,” said Muscatell. “Diane is a good shooter and is getting more comfortable with that after playing the point last season. Stephanie is another freshman who has shown flashes of being very good because she is aggressive offensively.”

Sophomore transfer Kim Sheehy will sit out the 2003-04 season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Santa Fe, N.M., native spent the past season at San Jose State.

The Forwards
Although only three players are listed at the position, the forward spot will see a lot of players rotating around as the season progresses. Sophomore Sarah Craig, a native of Calgary, Alberta, will spend the majority of her minutes at small forward. As a freshman, Craig led the squad with an average of 12.2 points per game, 127 field goals made, 53 offensive rebounds and 46 steals. “Sarah is arguably one of our hardest workers on the team,” Muscatell said. “We will rely on her quite a bit as the season goes along.”

Sophomore Katelyn Ciampi is the starter at the other forward position with junior Alyson Thurman and freshman Jessica Voisard providing valuable minutes off of the bench.

Ciampi, a native of Martinez, Calif., led the team with averages of 12.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and shot .558 from the field after returning from a foot injury that sidelined her for 15 games.

Thurman returns to the squad after sitting out the 2002-03 season due to back surgery. The Carson City, Nev., native averaged 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds, including 10.3 points-per-game average in Big Sky play as a sophomore.

Voisard earned first-team all South Coast League honors last season after averaging 15.0 points for Capistrano Valley High School. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native was also nominated as a McDonalds All-American as a senior.

“Katelyn is doing a nice job for us early on and Alyson is one of our most intelligent basketball players,” Muscatell said. ”Jessica is a very quick learner, plays with great intensity and has a good work ethic. She is going to surprise some people this season.”

Freshman Breanna Hegseth will also provide depth at the position. In 2002-03, Hegseth earned first team all-Capital Athletic League honors as a senior at Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks, Calif.

The Centers
The center position will feature two players that each contribute something different to the squad. Senior Danielle Iceman has been one of the Hornets’ top post threats the past two seasons. The Redding, Calif., native has also established a knack for getting to the free-throw line after finishing with a team-best 72-for-102 (.701) last season. She also finished second on the team with 246 points, 87 field-goals made, 138 rebounds and 18 blocks.

Junior Kristine Knowlton provides the towering presence in the middle after finishing with 57 blocked shots as freshman and 51 blocks as a sophomore. The Cornelius, Ore., native ranks as one of the top shot blockers in Sacramento State and Big Sky history. She currently ranks second in the program and 14th in the conference career books. Knowlton also averaged 4.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Although slowed by a tonsillectomy to begin the season, Muscatell expects her to continue her defensive dominance.

“Our inside players have all grown quite a bit,” Muscatell said. “Danielle is doing a nice job for us right now and Kristine was doing well before she had to sit out. They are beginning to understand what we need to accomplish inside.”

Freshman Ashley Jackson, Ciampi and Thurman will also see time at the position during the year. Jackson, a native of Citrus Heights, Calif., averaged 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds last season at Casa Roble Fundamental High School in Orangevale, Calif.

**Information from the Sacramento State Media Guide.

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