BCC women would like 2008 to copy 2007 BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer When Brookdale Community College's women's basketball team plays its first game of the new year on Saturday at Sussex, head coaches Marianne Campacci and Joanne Cobb hope that 2008 looks a lot like 2007. The Blues went to the National Junior CollegeAthleticAssociation'sDivision IIINational Championships back in March 2007 where they finished sixth and started the 2007-08 campaign at 8-1 overall and were undefeated in the Garden State Athletic Conference. "We're very pleased," said Campacci. "We're playing verywell.We have six sophomores who understand our philosophy and they have jelled with the freshmen." Because the sophomores and freshmen have clicked, theBlues are a very deep team. They can rotate their playerswithout a dropoff in talent, and it allows Campacci and Cobb to be flexible. TheBlues can play end to end, or half court, press and trap teams, or play zone. One of Brookdale's signature wins this year was 65-53 over Division II Mercer. It was the first time that the Blues (Division III) had beatenMercer. Itwas one of their sophomores, the 5-foot- 10 Sasha Fabrizio (Brick Township), who was the difference that night. She owned the glass, pulling down 25 rebounds. "She has a nose for the ball," noted Campacci. "It's a natural ability. She has claws for hands.When she gets her hands on the ball, it's hers." It's not too early to draw some comparisons between this year's teams and last year's GSAC and Region XIX champions. There is one big positive difference, point guard. This year, they have one in freshman Kitora Jones. Assist and point are up and the offense is very versatile. "She's running the show," Campacci said of Jones. "We're getting more assists from everybody.We'removing the ball against the press without putting the ball on the floor. "Everyone is getting their hands on the ball," she added. Jones leads the team in scoring (15.33) and 3-pointers (11). She is averaging 2.56 assists and 2.33 steals a game. Maria Locicero (Mater Dei) has been doing a fine job as the team's second point guard. Olivia Triano (Keyport) has been doing it all. She recently had a triple-double. Erica Hoffman (Middletown South) is a shooting guard who does somuchmore. She is second in assists (2.67) and leads the team in steals (2.56). Brookdale has been doing all thiswithout Jamie Biddle (Howell), last year's Region MVP. A quad injury is expected to keep her out until mid-January. When she returns, the teamwill have another 5-foot-10 forward who can play inside or outside. Brookdale's first home game of '08 is Jan. 19 against Bergen (3 p.m.). That is followed by a home game with Atlantic Cape on Jan. 22 (7 p.m.) and Gloucester, Jan. 24 (5 p.m.).