As a new feature to the WPI Athletics website, WPI alumnus and current Sports Information assistant Ray Cotrufo '98 will take you Inside the Game, providing a closer look at Engineer athletics and some of the student-athletes, faculty and staff that make it all happen.

If you'd like to learn more about WPI athletics than just by attending an event or reading a game recap, then tune in here every other Friday as Ray takes you for a look Inside the Game. Our first Inside the Game feature takes us inside this year's edition of the WPI Women's Basketball team.

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As the calendar slowly but surely turns to spring, we are entering the last few weeks of the winter sports season. It has, so far, been a very bright (and snowy!) winter on Boynton Hill, as both the Men's and Women's Basketball teams are enjoying tremendous success this season. Men's Basketball currently stands at 16-4 on the year and 7-1 in the NEWMAC, good for first-place in the conference. Women's Basketball has been equally successful, standing at 16-5 overall and at a NEWMAC-best 8-1 in the conference. Wrestling, Swimming and Diving, and Track and Field have also been bright spots for WPI this winter.

This particular Inside the Game segment focuses on two of WPI Women's Basketball's stars, senior point guard Natasha Deschene (Presque Isle, ME) and junior forward Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME). Despite Worcester's relative proximity to the great state of Maine, WPI features only a handful of student-athletes who hail from the Pine Tree State. Yet, here are two Mainers who are leading the way for a Women's Basketball team with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in their sights.

Deschene, a Civil Engineering major, has started all 21 games for the Engineers and, as point guard, is charged with running the offense and distributing the basketball to her teammates for scoring opportunities.  Deschene succeeds in all phases of the game, and is among WPI's leaders in points (4th – 7.7ppg), shooting percentage (2nd – 49.2%), rebounding (3rd – 5.6rpg), assists (1st - 2.9apg) and steals (3rd – 1.5spg). She recently notched a career-high 19 points while playing in front of family and friends at Thomas (ME). Despite her all-around production, as the starting point guard and one of only two seniors on this year's squad, leadership may be one of her most important contributions to the team.

Dubois, a Management Engineering major, has truly emerged as a team leader and scoring threat in her third season with the Engineers, second as a starter. Dubois was second on the team in scoring during the 2007-08 season (9.2ppg), but has really come into her own this year, leading the Crimson and Gray with 14.0 points per game. Scoring the basketball is not the only element of her game however, as she also leads WPI in shooting percentage (56.3%), rebounding (7.3rpg) and steals (2.0spg) and is second on the team in blocked shots. Dubois also has been selected as the New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) Player of the Week, as a member of the d3hoops.com Team of the Week, and was twice named the NEWMAC Player of the Week. She recently matched her career scoring high with 18 points at MIT before dropping in a new career-high 29 points vs. Springfield on January 24th.

I sat down with these two star student-athletes to find out more about being from Maine, choosing WPI, and about this year's Women's Basketball squad:

On the expectations for this year's team at the start of the season:
Deschene: “(This year) we expected to do pretty well; we only lost two seniors, so we certainly expected to do well. I'm not sure if we expected to go this far into the conference without losing a game necessarily (WPI started 7-0 in NEWMAC action), but we aren't surprised that we're having a good season.”

On this year's team goals:
Deschene: “Getting to the NCAAs is definitely a team goal for all of us. Especially for me, being on the team for four years now, it's been a goal every year, and this year has been our best chance to get there since I've been here.”

On choosing to come to WPI from northern Maine:
Dubois: “Well, I actually wanted to get out of Maine, I'm actually surprised that I stayed so close, but I like the Worcester area because it's close enough where I can go home, but it's also far enough away where I could experience something different than home.”
Deschene: “Same for me, I wanted a small engineering school, and Maine really only has like University of Maine so... I didn't really want to go to a huge school, plus a lot of people from high school go there, and I wanted something different besides just a continuation of high school.”

On being recruited by other schools in Maine:
Deschene: “For me, because I live so far away, it was a matter of contacting schools that I was interested in, but really only one coach made the trip up to Presque Isle for one of my games because it is so far away.”
Dubois: “Well, I was being recruited more for soccer, since I played soccer in high school and was better at it, so for me it was more of a decision between playing soccer and playing basketball. Plus, I didn't really want to stay close to home so being recruited by a local university wasn't really an option for me.”

On choosing basketball over soccer at WPI:
Dubois: “I thought about doing both and talked to (soccer coach Stephanie Carlson) about it... but basketball is pretty much a year-round thing, so I wanted to dedicate my time to that.”

On teams that they really get up to play:
Deschene: “Well, for us this year there was the Thomas game, which was really nice for Serena and me to go home and play a game in Maine – we had a lot of family there so that was cool. Otherwise, we always have Clark, which is a big rival... and I always want a little revenge on Babson since I got injured there two years ago.”
Dubois: “I would say Wheaton and Clark. All of our games are usually really competitive and you're always driven by the competition, but Wheaton hits a soft spot after beating us last year and knocking us out of the NEWMAC tournament.”

On playing for coach (Cherise) Galasso:
Dubois: “She knows a ton; she's so intelligent and knows so much about basketball. She's a great teacher, and if you listen to what she says you'll improve a lot. She's a really good coach.”

On difference between college and high school basketball:
Deschene: “College is such a big adjustment from high school basketball, so I think it's hard for freshmen coming in – you have a new college coach teaching you all these different things, and it's just a matter of getting to the point where you can trust everything that they're saying and you see people that listen and are doing better as a result of it.”

Deschene, on it being her last season, and future plans:
Deschene: “Well, being my last year, you just go out every game and you just want to leave everything out there... you don't want to have any regrets. As far as after this year, I just accepted a job at National Grid, so I'll be working in Waltham, but I think that I'd eventually like to coach a little bit of basketball, maybe at the high school level where I can do it part-time as opposed to doing it as a career.”

Dubois, on her recent success and progression from last season:
Dubois: “I would definitely say listening to coach Galasso and trusting what she says has been key for me. Plus a lot of things click over the years; like what maybe didn't make sense freshman year, by sophomore year you start to get it, but maybe aren't ready to apply it yet, and by junior year, you start to realize why (coach) says what she says, because it works. Also, over the summer I stayed in Worcester and I played in a lot of leagues. I also worked out a lot more than I had in the past, so I definitely think that helped a lot too.”

On their best moments since playing for WPI:
Deschene: “For me, I think it was the Thomas game. I had one of my better games and I got to play in front of a lot of my family who hadn't come to any of my college games but came to a lot of my games in high school, so playing well there was one of my better experiences playing basketball.”
Dubois: “Although I'll certainly remember the Springfield game, I think my finest memory was from my freshman year when we won ECACs. I had a rough freshman year, I had chronic fatigue and injured my knee the first week of tryouts, so I was out for over a month. I didn't play a lot that year, but during that last game, I went in and had six points in just a couple of minutes, so it was nice to see that hard work pay off for me despite not getting a lot of playing time that year.”

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I contacted head Women's Basketball coach Cherise Galasso to share her thoughts on coaching Deschene and Dubois during the last few years, and she offered many thoughts about her experiences with these two standout student-athletes from Maine. She lauded their efforts and those of the team's upperclassmen in general, who have led the Engineers to the brink of accomplishing their many goals this year:

"Let me start out by saying I love kids from Maine!" Galasso proclaimed. "I'm generalizing of course, but the student-athletes I have worked with from Maine, have been so coachable, with laid back personalities who have a great perspective on life and what's important.  Maybe I have been lucky or maybe its something in the water!  Either way they are a joy to coach and to be around as people."

"I think all coaches take pride in watching their student-athletes develop over the course of their college careers.  And it has been such a pleasure for me to watch Tash and Serena develop as basketball players but more importantly as people.  They are both very special and very unique in their own ways."

On their roles in the team's success:
Galasso: "I cannot talk about them without mentioning how much of themselves these two players have put into this program.  And how at times, along with their fellow upperclassmen, Brittany McNally, Kaileen Selen and especially senior Caitlin Macko, they have carried this team on their back.  Their commitment to the program and buying into our system has really set the tone for the success we have had these past few years.  This group of juniors and seniors have set such a high standard and been such shining examples for the younger players to follow and believe in.  As a coach you can only hope to have leaders like that and I know how lucky we are."

On Deschene's four years with WPI Women's Basketball:
Galasso: "I can remember clearly a scrawnier version of Tash arriving at WPI as a freshman, and nothing phased her.  She just took each day as it came, along with plenty of naps, and did her thing.  She has really developed into the quintessential point guard and a coaches dream.  She is so smart and such a clever player.  She really came into her own last season but I think has reached her potential this year, including increasing her scoring output. Not every player can look back and know they did everything they could have to make themselves into the player they could be.  Tash has done that with hard work, sacrifice and commitment.  What's neat about Tash is she does so many things well and people don't realize how good she is.  Running the team, assists, etc, that is all obvious, but not many people realize she is our second leading offensive rebounder -something you don't see in point guards.  She also averages at least one charge taken per game for her career!  She is our heart and soul and I have so much confidence in Tash.  She has become another coach on the floor and we have really developed a strong relationship."

On Dubois and her progression into a go-to player for the Engineers:
Galasso: "I am thankful we have another year with Serena.  What a player she has become!  She was such a raw athlete as a first year player who had a lot of room to learn and grow.  I have to say I wasn't sure she would reach this point after her freshman year, but I am so proud of her and of course so happy she did.  She has truly exploded onto the scene this year after a good sophomore season.  However, this year she has taken her game to the next level and really understands now how to play to her strengths.  I really think it clicked for her in the NEWMAC semi-final loss last year.  She took over in the second half for us and we came up a little short.  It felt like to me we just ran out of time.  Serena really picked up this year where she left off in that game and what a difference it has made for our team.  Her ability to score and rebound consistently this year gives the team so much confidence.  She has also developed into a great defender: leading us in steals this season.  Serena loves a challenge and her hard nosed attitude has given our team that "toughness factor" we needed inside.  She just will not be denied and can take over a game.  She is very exciting to watch!"

On each player's work off the court and inside the classroom:
Galasso: "She (Deschene) is so fun to be around and I have so much respect for her.  Off the floor, she carries a 3.6 GPA and recently was up for the President's Award for her work on her IQP project.  She and her project group came in second place - quite an honor.  Her work with the Big Brother/Big Sister program is also something I know she will look back on with pride.  She has really made a difference in the life of her "Little".  It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to Tash at the end of this year.  We are all going to miss her dearly.  I want to see her go out on top because no one deserves it more than her!"

"Like Tash, Serena excels in the classroom as well, carrying a 3.5 GPA and participating in numerous clubs/organizations on campus, including mentoring her "Little" in the BB/BS program. I'm really excited to see where this year's team will finish their journey...if anyone can take us to the top, its Tash and Serena!  Regardless, I am so fortunate to be their coach and to know them as people.  They have certainly had an impact on my life and I will carry with me forever, the memories we've shared."

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Deschene, Dubois and Women's Basketball will look to continue their success as the season begins to wind down during the month of February. The Engineers will take on Smith at Harrington Auditorium in their next game on Saturday, Feb. 7th (2pm start). Following a stop at Wheaton on Saturday the 14th, WPI will wrap up their regular season schedule with back-to-back home games with rivals Babson (Wed., Feb 18th, 5:30pm) and MIT (Sat., Feb. 21st, 2pm) before getting ready for the NEWMAC tournament.

This Saturday's game vs. Smith is the annual Alumni Game, while the game vs. Babson will be the team's yearly Pink Zone game to benefit breast cancer research.

So come on down to Harrington to support Deschene, Dubois and the rest of the Engineers as they head toward the finish line of an extremely successful year! 

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Inside the Game will run every other Friday right here on the WPI Athletics website. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for topics for Inside the Game, feel free to contact Ray at cotrufo@wpi.edu, or by visiting him or Sports Information Director Rusty Eggen in the Sports Information office in Alumni Gym.