2018-19 Women's Basketball season preview

After a difficult 2017-18 season second-year head coach Dennis Cox believes he now has the right mix and balance of players to bounce back in 2018-19. In the first week of play, the Keelhaulers backed up Cox's feeling, as they won three of their first four games, including an upset of #7 Eastern Oregon.

Cal Maritime women's basketball head coach Dennis Cox majored in biology when he went to Eckerd College, but when it comes to success, his Keelhaulers might need another subject in hand — chemistry.

"I don't want to show any disrespect to last year's team and I don't want to throw last year's team under the bus, but this year the big difference so far seems to be our team chemistry and how we've already established it," Cox said. "We seem to be more comfortable in what to expect and how to deal with situations."

Cox said he also learned a lot in his first season at Cal Maritime after having plenty of success at Clayton State in Georgia, where he helped guide that program to a 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship and a 267-57 overall record in 10 years.

"For all of us new to Cal Maritime, whether you're a new player or new coach, you find out quickly that it's not like other colleges," Cox said. "Our students do way more than a typical college. We're an academy and it takes a minute to adjust. I had to learn to be a little more sensitive to players and their needs. Last year I was kind of feeling my way into the program."

This season Cox said he has a better understanding of the team, and in return the team has also adjusted, especially with its conditioning and defense.

"I agree that our chemistry is unmatched, but our defense has helped us more than anything," senior Katherine Freitas said. "Our ball pressure and full-court pressure on ball handlers is a big reason for improvement. The team dynamic comes into play with that as we like to get into the other team's grill with our pressure on defense."

Freitas is one of the team's captains this year, along with senior Samantha James. Both are starters.

"I absolutely knew right away who are leaders were going to be this season," Cox said. "Freitas was voted on as a captain, but I knew right away that's something that would happen. Samantha stepped up as well and really took it upon herself to become a good leader."

Freitas will play shooting guard most of the time, although Cox admitted she could also see some time at the point guard position.

"She's a better defender this year, and some of that is because she is a lot more healthy this year after having some leg problems in the past," Cox said about Freitas. "She's a great 3-point shooter and a very smart player."

While James is only 5-foot-7, Cox said she will still be a forward.

"Yeah, a 5-foot-7 power forward if you can believe that," Cox said, with a laugh. "It's pretty amazing, but she's a forward because she's really strong and she plays a lot bigger than she actually is."

James and Freitas each had 14 points in the Keelhaulers' win last week over West Cliff.

The biggest addition to the Keelhaulers this season may be freshman Tal Webb out of Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., who scored 18 point and had five assists in a win over West Cliff. She had another 14 points and six rebounds in a win over Life Pacific.

"None of us are surprised at the way Tal has played well for us so quickly," Cox said. "She's way more mature than her class (freshmen) usually are. She's smart, a great teammate and we're really lucky to have gotten her. She really picked us rather than the other way around because her goal is to one day be a ship captain. She's a big guard for us and will play the win as one of our best shooters."

The team's point guards will be senior Miryam Jimenez and Valiceia Horne. Jimenez had four steals in a win over West Cliff, while Cox described Horne as a great defender and a real ball hawker.

Nneka Anyaoha will be the team's center, while Tyra Fai'malo will provide instant energy off the bench, as proven by her 10 rebounds against Life Pacific. Sophomore Kameron Taylor is a good shooting option off the bench, while junior Kiara Warren is a versatile player that Cox called "dynamic."

Although the Keelhaulers have begun the season 2-1, that isn't something new to the squad as last year's team started out 5-3. What this year's Cal Maritime squad wants to do is continue that winning feeling and avoid a big losing streak in the middle of the year.

"It comes down to accountability and every day having everyone making an effort to get after it," Freitas said. "We're definitely working well as a team and that's starting to pay off."

Season preview and photos courtesty of Thomas Gase of the Vallejo Times Herald