Luke Whitehouse
@Lwhitehouse12
The Springfield College women’s basketball team captured its first regular season NEWMAC title since the 2014-15 season. The Pride ended the regular season at 21-4, but most importantly they finished conference play at 10-1, winning nine consecutive games to end the season.
Big wins included Smith, who the Pride beat for the first time in nearly five years, and Clark, where Springfield set program records for three-point makes (14), attempts (31) and scored its most points since transitioning to Division III (107).
“Our conference is really hard,” head coach Naomi Graves said. “And to come out of our conference with only one loss is amazing. You know, and I think the competition makes us better.”
With the regular season title under their belt, Springfield gets the opportunity to play every conference tournament game inside Blake Arena, something Graves does not take for granted.
“For me it’s everything, because we don’t usually have that opportunity,” she said.
A big reason for the Pride’s big season and dominating second half is the emergence of senior Jaélen Daubon.
Daubon has averaged 13.4 points, including three 20-point performances over the final 10 games, leading the Pride to a 10-1 record. She also notched a career-high 29 points in the Pride’s record-breaking win over Clark.
Graves alluded to the move to the four and how it has opened up her game.
“I think moving [Jaélen] to the inside position has allowed her to step in and out,” Graves said. “And I think her game has come together better being in that position. You asked me about a senior finishing where they want to finish in their career – she’s doing that. She’s doing amazing basketball work right now.”
Daubon agreed, and mentioned that her mindset has shifted – allowing her to play more loose.
“I’ve found confidence in my shot,” she said. “Knowing that when I get the ball [my team] trusts me, and I trust myself on the court. I’m seeing things better than the first half and I just feel more free.”
As the Pride get ready for Wednesday night’s matchup against Salve Regina, they’ll have the opportunity to have Daubon in the starting lineup. She didn’t play in Springfield’s previous matchup, but is excited to finally get to show what she can do.
“I’m super excited,” Daubon said. “I feel like I kind of have a benefit from watching film, seeing certain things my teammates were able to exploit. I feel super ready to go against them and I feel like our team as a whole is ready for round two.”
Although Daubon will be playing against Salve Regina this time around, the lack of experience still could be a concern. Rachel Vinton, Riley Robinson and Daubon are the only holdovers from the Pride’s NCAA tournament run in 2021.
But Graves is not worried in the slightest.
“I love our kids on our team, and I know they’re hungry,” she said. “I know they’re ready to work. And I think their response is that we’re not going to get denied. I think that the leadership that our two seniors have given us, Riley, Jaélen and Rachel and I think that’s the message they want those young kids to do. Like we can do it.”
Salve comes into the game at 10-15, and losers of five straight – quite the opposite of Springfield.
In their previous matchup, the Pride came back from a double-digit deficit behind a huge fourth quarter – and they have plenty to prove.