Middlesex team heading in right direction
BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer

Contrary to popular belief, you don't always need a program to tell who the players are.

Local high school basketball fans would certainly recognize a few familiar faces on this year's Middlesex County College women's basketball team. A total of five players, representing more than half the roster, have ties to the area.

Sophomores Stacey Cappella and Theresa Paulmenn, and freshmen Carissa Meyer, Jamie Wojcik and Cassandra Limatola make up the area quintet.

Cappella, a 5-foot-3 guard and the team captain, played at Spotswood High School, while Paulmenn, a 5-8 forward, manned the post position at Metuchen High.

Meanwhile, the trio of freshmen - Meyer and Wojcik, both 5-9 forwards, and Limatola, a 5-5 guard - all played at Sayreville High School.

"And I think we might get another player from there next year," head coach Michel Powell said. "We're trying to get a bond with them."

It's easy to understand why Powell would want to establish a pipeline with a few New Jersey high schools. A native of Elizabeth, she is certainly familiar with many of the girls basketball programs in the state.

In fact, she is currently a physical education teacher at St. Mary of the Assumption High School in Elizabeth. What's more, Powell played at Union County College before transferring to Kean University, where she was a member of the 1987 women's basketball team that reached the NCAA Division III Final Four.

And prior to coming to Middlesex CC this season, Powell was the head women's basketball coach at Essex County College.

The Mustangs were 8-14 entering this week, but have played a lot better than their record shows.

"Most of our losses have come against Division II schools," Powell pointed out. "In our region, you have to play all the Division II schools, team that have scholarship players. It's a different level.

"But the kids have been able to compete with many of those teams, and on the Division III level we're actually doing well. We're doing a lot better than last year. We're bidding for fourth place in the region and last year we were last. So we're actually doing a lot better."

"Everyone is just meshing together and playing more like a team," Cappella, one of only two players back from last season, said. "We're definitely playing a lot better this year. The players we have are more talented, the coaching is better, and there's more interaction.

"I'm playing a lot better this year, too," she added. "My confidence level is up and I'm scoring a lot more.¿"

Cappella is averaging 8.5 points per game, which ranks fourth on the team. A deadly outside shooter, she is second on the team in three-pointers with 35 while her 30.7 percentage from beyond the arc leads the Mustangs.

"She's really been the leader with these kids," Powell said. "She's such a solid player and she's also a very good student, which is a plus. She came to me with almost a 4.0. It's hard to handle a full load and play basketball, but she has. Plus she's a two-sport athlete who also plays softball."

One of those first-year players, Meyer, has been another solid player for the Mustangs, averaging 6.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals a game.

"She's very consistent," Powell said. "She's a solid player who you know you're pretty much going to get eight to 10 points a game from her.

"She injured her knee earlier in the season and we actually thought she was going to be out for the rest of the season. But we got an MRI done and it was a very, very bad bruise. But we didn't lose her for the season. She did some rehab and only missed four or five games."

Powell has been impressed with how quickly Meyer adjusted to the college game.

"She's only a freshman and it's kind of tough coming from high school to Division II or III," the coach said. "It's tough to come in and play at this level. They're used to a slower pace and this is a little faster than they're used to.

"You usually see improvement with freshmen after January, after they've had time to adjust. But Carissa was the kind of player who fit right in, and she's only going to get better."

Wojcik is another freshman who has had to make that adjustment.

"It's definitely a much faster pace," Wojcik, who averages 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, admitted. "It took a while for me. Unfortunately, I didn't play my senior year in high school, so it took a lot for me to get back in the swing of things. It's a lot of fun, though. I love to play."

"Jamie comes off the bench and like Carissa she was used to a slower pace," Powell said. "But once she learned and made the adjustment, she's been playing well. I think both of them will be very good sophomores."

Wojcik also excels at the free throw line, where she has converted 24-of-29 attempts for an 82.7 percent marksmanship.

"I think she's actually fourth or fifth in the nation in free throws," Powell noted.

Paulmenn is a sophomore, but in her first year at MCC.

"Theresa transferred here from Union County College, so she came in with a lot more experience," Powell said. "She played for a pretty good program at Union, so she was already used to playing at the [junior college] level and all the travel.

"A lot of first-year players are used to going from town to town when they played in high school. But now you're in a van for 21/2 hours, then you play, and then drive back home.

"So Theresa came with experience, which was a plus.¿"

Unfortunately, Paulmenn had to sit out the first nine games because of her transfer.

Limatola also had her first season at Middlesex cut short.

"Unfortunately she had some ankle problems, something she came with from high school," Powell said. "She got an MRI and was out for the rest of the season.¿"

The other four area players, however, have seen significant playing time and are contributing more and more for the Mustangs.

"It took a while for everyone to warm up, but you can see the improvement the second half of the season," Powell said. "We're winning more games and even the games we're losing to Division II schools we're cutting down the scores. In the beginning of the season we were losing by 20 points, but now we've cut that down to 10 or nine points.

"We're going in the right direction."