By Nina Hutchins
Springfield College women’s basketball is gearing up for the 2025-26 campaign and has remained committed throughout preseason as they adjust to a new dynamic on the court.
The Pride welcome four new first-year players: Adriana Hernandez, Brooke Stringer, Maeve Dolan and Ava Mamone. The newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact on the floor and add depth and versatility heading into the upcoming schedule.
Entering her 35th season with the team, head coach Naomi Graves will be joined by Angie Czeremcha and Emma Kahn, who have stepped into graduate assistant coaching roles. Their early-season focus has been on player development, one-on-one instruction and detailed film review.
“Both Emma and Angie are first-years,” said Graves. “They’re close to the players. They understand what they’re going through, they get the level of commitment. They get the level of work it takes. Both have come from winning programs.”
Senior Amanda Leary noted how their attention to detail has already made an impact.
“They are able to focus on the little details and things that need to be fixed, whether that’s how you’re setting a screen or how you’re coming off a screen,” Leary said.
Alongside Leary, returning standouts Claire Finney and Natalie Lucas are also expected to be assets to Springfield this season, filling in key roles left by two impactful graduating seniors.
With a few players back in action after injuries, Graves hopes to find the team rhythm early on as the group struggled to do last year in the opening weeks of the season.
Springfield opens its regular season on Friday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m., traveling just down Wilbraham road to take on Western New England. The Pride faced the Golden Bears in last year’s opener, ultimately falling 70-63.
With adjustments on both ends of the floor, the team hopes to find a different outcome this time and carry that momentum into the heat of the season.
“The mentality is to play our best basketball,” said Graves. “We’ve really been focusing a lot more on dictating more defensively and not reacting to offense.”
The schedule features other familiar competitors such as Smith and MIT. The Pride will also compete in the Chuck Resler tournament in Rochester, N.Y., as well as the annual Naismith Classic in early January.
While a postseason run and a NEWMAC title remains a top goal, Graves emphasized the importance of consistency and confidence throughout the year.
“To compete at a high level would be another goal, to know that we can be successful playing these teams and just building confidence every game,” said Graves.
With the season fast approaching, the Pride are eager to translate their hard work into results on the court.
“Our freshmen are going to be a big help, but also having so many returners really sets us up,” said Lucas. “We know what [Graves] expects, and we don’t have just one big scorer, everyone contributes.”
(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)