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Basketball Overview
 Mount Holyoke has one of the oldest intercollegiate basketball programs for women in the country. Players entering the program join a hard-working, committed, and caring group of scholar athletes who are striving to become one of the top Division III basketball teams in New England.
The Lyons belong to the New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC), which includes schools such as Babson, Springfield, and Clark. Other opponents include NESCAC rivals Amherst, Wesleyan, and Seven Sisters schools such as Smith and Wellesley. The schedule is very competitive. Each year, the winner of the NEWMAC Championship receives an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Championship.
The 2006-2007 Lyons basketball team brought home another banner this season, recording a 21-8 overall record (10-3 NEWMAC). Fir the first time in school history, MHC finished on top in the NEWMAC and earned an automatic berth to Division III NCAA tournament. The team got off to a strong start, winning six out of its first seven games. In the team’s home opener, three Lyons scored in double figures to lift Mount Holyoke over Elms College in non-conference play, 64-47. Senior guard Joeanna Silvey lead the Lyons in scoring with a 40% average from field-goal range and a 66% accuracy rate from behind the arc. During the third game of the season season, Silvey hit her 1000th career point, exemplifying her exceptional career at Mouth Holyoke. Leading the team alongside Silvey, senior Angela Astuccio eclipsed the 1000th point plateau in victory against Coast Guard late in the season. Silvey and Astuccio were both named NEWMAC Players of the Week, and Astuccio also received ECAC’s Player of the Week honors as well. First year Jessica Olsen led the Lyons in rebounds with a remarkable 172 defensive rebounds and 53 offensive boards to combine for 225 on the season. Upsetting top-seeded WPI in the final round of the NEWMAC tournament, the Lyons headed to the Division III NCAA tournament to play top-ranked Bowdoin. Silvey kept her team in the game scoring a game-high 30 points against the Polar Bears, but the Lyons could not pull out the win, falling 57-74. Head coach Michelle Scecina was named NEWMAC Coach of the Year after leading the Lyons to their first-ever NEWMAC championship and NCAA berth while Astuccio received NEWMAC Player of the Year honors.
The regular season runs from mid-October through late February or early March. Practices are rigorous, with an emphasis on fundamentals. Michelle Scecina designs each practice to help players develop and improve individual skills and helps create team cohesiveness through intense defense, and high energy, fast breaking offense.
A Mount Holyoke athlete is driven to excel in the athletic arena as well as the classroom and laboratory. The discipline, sense of accomplishment, and competitive edge that you bring to your sport resonate through every channel of your intellectual life.
The desire to achieve -- it's all part of the mind-body connection.
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