2007-08 Season in Review
Purchase Reaches Semifinals of Skyline Tourney
Danio, Domes Named All-Skyline
The underdog Panthers upset No. 4 seeded St. Joseph’s in the quarterfinals of the 2007-08 Skyline Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament before falling to powerhouse and No. 1 seeded Mt. St. Mary in the semifinals – a team that wound up winning the championship.
Purchase, who ended the season as the No. 5 seed, defeated St. Joseph’s 79-69 on the road in the playoff opener. The Panthers finished the season a game above .500, at 14-13 overall, including a 9-8 conference record.
Forward Jennifer Danio (JR, Staten Island, NY) reached the 1,000-point plateau this season on her way to averaging a team-high 19 points per game. Danio, who was subsequently named to the All-Skyline First Team, shot over 45% from behind the arc this season. She also led the team in rebounds with 8.5 boards.
Danio was not the only Panther to garner postseason honors. Guard Jessie Domes (SO, Glenwood, NY) found herself on the All-Skyline Second team. Domes finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 ppg, as well as finishing with a team-high 97 assists.
The Panthers were also led by guard Jennifer Ciardulli (JR, Centereach, NY), whose all-around play often paced the team. Ciardulli, who is about 100 points shy of 1,000 for her career, finished the season averaging 10.2 ppg, while handing out 96 assists.
Shayla Diaz (SO, Beacon, NY), the team’s top defender, was another big time contributor for the Panthers. Diaz is as tough as they come on the defensive end as displayed by her 87 steals.
Amanda Capone (FR, Southold, NY) gave the Panthers another strong outside shooter to look to this year. There was also an inside presence to be found from the play of Janina Martinez (SR, Yonkers, NY), Kernita Sylvester (SR, Bronx, NY) and Liila Mack (FR, Monticello, NY).
With all but two members of this year’s team returning next year, there is great opportunity for the Panthers to continue to grow under head coach Steven Loscher.
