The Oswego State’s women’s basketball season is underway, the Lakers are currently sitting at a 2-1 record. 

The team lost their season opener against Alfred University with a final score of 67-74. Since then, the Lakers were able to put that loss behind them and won two games at home. Their matchup against Hilbert College ended with a score of 72-58. Then on Nov. 11 Oswego State led an offensive onslaught and came out with a huge win against SUNY-Delhi on Tuesday winning 75-39. 

In the game versus SUNY Delhi, the Lakers defense showed up early as they were able to take a strong 25-10 lead through the first quarter. Diamond Pickett and Danielle Caivana both had seven points after the first, the score sat at 36-17 heading into the third quarter. Elaina Johnson showed out in the third quarter scoring 10 points and by the end of the quarter, the Lakers had four players with eight or more points. The leading scorer for the Lakers was Diamond Pickett with 13 points who also had 16 rebounds. 

This 2021-2022 women’s basketball team is relatively young with 12 out of the 17 players being underclassmen. A majority of their roster is filled with freshmen, with nine, and sophomores with three who are in the midst of playing for the first time at the collegiate level. 

Despite this, they have some solid returners with a lot of potential this season. One of them being Raiven Encarnacion, a senior from Newburgh, who has had an incredible three seasons of play for the Lakers thus far.

In the 2017-18 season, Encarnacion appeared in all 25 games and was fourth on the team with 156 points and a 6.2 points per game average. In 2018-19, she led the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game, tied for first on the teams in steals (23), and then a career-high 21 points against Plattsburgh State on Feb. 9. In her most recent season, Encarnacion scored a career-high 25 points against SUNY Fredonia, reached double-digits in points 10 times throughout the season, averaged 10.9 points per game and three assists per game while simultaneously sinking 25 three-pointers on the season for Oswego State. 

Guard for the Lakers Encarnacion, as a leader on this team, said she recognizes her role in keeping this team involved and focused.

“Being there for the freshman and everyone else on the team is obviously important,” Encarnacion said. “It’s big for us to be positive and have a lot of energy because that is what is going to make us successful.” 

Some of Encarnacion’s past teammates lost a season of playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since they graduated, she has stepped up into the leadership role past players such as Sydni Eure once held. Encarnacion emphasized that players like Eure motivated her to be the type of teammate she is now. 

“I play for the team all the time, whether they were here the year before or not. We as a team always do what we have to do to play our best,” Encarnacion said. “I definitely think about those girls all the time. I miss them so much. Sydni Eure herself had 1,000 rebounds and that pushes me to believe I can do something that big too.” 

Even though she has already proven herself to be a great athlete in Lakers’ history, Encarnacion still has things she wants to improve on in the upcoming games this season. 

“I was always a decent player, but I wasn’t always consistent. To me, consistency is key,” Encarnacion said. “I spend hours shooting threes and I want to go out there and be able to prove to myself that I can be a better shooter and better at whatever I put my mind to.” 

Sean Pinkerton, head women’s basketball coach, also expressed his excitement to watch his team improve throughout the rest of the season. 

“We are so excited to be playing basketball again. We have a young group, so we are focused on growth and learning,” Pinkerton said. “We have a lot of talent. We are focusing on the task at hand and the game plan. We’re hoping to go out there and execute that effectively.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the Lakers’ ability to not only compete in matches, but to practice as a team. Not only are there 12 players on the team who are just beginning their collegiate basketball careers, but the upperclassmen essentially had a year of absolutely no training with a team. 

“We’re getting the young ones acclimated to this level of playing and what we’re expecting and asking of them,” Pinkerton said. “The older players are teaching as well as mentoring as we go teaching them [underclassmen] how we go about the process.” 

The women’s basketball season is still in its early phases. The Lakers are scheduled to have four more out of conference matchups before they begin their SUNYAC play in December. The Lakers will play the bulk of their SUNYAC opponents in 2022, leaving a decent amount of time for Pinkerton to get his athletes in the right mindset. Following the first few games, Pinkerton emphasizes the talent is present, but the attention to detail is still a work in progress.

“During our first game, we struggled with taking a game plan and executing it. We also struggled with adjusting while the game was going on,” said Pinkerton. “These are all typical things for freshman and those who haven’t played college basketball before. It can be frustrating but not surprising. It’s all about how quickly we can expedite the process to do those things.” 

The Lakers will head into a tournament in SUNY Morrisville on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20. SUNYAC play will begin on Nov. 30 against SUNY Cortland. 

Shelby Peplowski| The Oswegonian