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A "happy light" was added to the office desk.
Seattle University coach Joan Bonvicini made it through Seattle's mild winter, aside from the morning darkness. To compensate, she added the daytime light in her office.
"A lot of people have asked me about the weather and it's not the rain that has bothered me," said Bonvicini, who previously coached at Arizona from 1991-2008. "I like to get up in the morning and run and it was dark. But recruiting to Seattle U. and the city? It's a good sell."
Bonvicini, who is transitioning the program from Division II to D-I as an independent, just thought the pitch would be different at this point in the season.
The Redhawks (6-21) closed their home schedule against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at Connolly Center. It was Senior Night, honoring graduates Cassidy Murillo, Ashley Brown and Mercedes Alexander.
Only the team thought Alexander and talented transfer Breanna Salley would be reinstated by the NCAA and eligible to play this season, possibly finishing strong enough to nab a bid to the Women's Basketball Invitational. A brainchild of Bonvicini after she was fired by Arizona, spending the 2008-09 season out of coaching, the WBI is a new 16-team tournament rivaling the WNIT.
Salley, Alexander and Elle Kerfoot were suspended for an academic violation that involved former coach Dan Kriley. Kerfoot was reinstated in December. Alexander and Salley were denied by the NCAA for the remainder of the season in January.
"I came in with the five-year plan, thinking we were going to be .500 or better this year because of those kids," said Bonvicini. The school is appealing the status of Salley, and if not approved, she'll play at an NAIA school next season. "It's hard in a lot of ways just from losing because it's not fun to lose. But in a lot of ways this season has been rewarding. I have a lot of kids on the team with great attitudes who have improved a lot.
"I'm setting the stage for the future. We were dealt a difficult hand, but the bottom line is I came here to build a championship program."
Players said the pending decision on Salley and Alexander weighed on the season. The Redhawks went on an eight-game losing streak from December to January.
But a 69-51 win at Cal State Northridge on Feb. 10 was a glimpse of the future. Kerfoot led with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field.
"The fact that it was on the road and we played well throughout the entire game, it was one of the most fun times ever," said Brown, who averages a team-leading 14.0 points. "Everyone was dancing on the bus. Even Coach B got up and danced."
Afterward, Bonvicini celebrated by taking the players to the Cheesecake Factory.
"I'm trying not to think about when I return just to watch because it's bittersweet," said Murillo, who begins a position in April at Boeing as a business operations specialist. "I couldn't sleep (this week). But from the beginning of the season, we were hit with a lot of obstacles. We had glimpses, but we're young and they just need to learn to put a whole game together.
"It's a hard process to build up a great team. Once you have people with the same mindset, it's definitely doable. It's doable here in the next couple of years."
Bonvicini will have between six and eight scholarships available, depending on Salley and whether Brown is invited back for the final year of her eligibility. Arizona transfer Amani Butler will be eligible and guard Ashley Ward was an early signee, joining leading players like undersized post Tatiana Heck, who averaged 10.0 points and 4.8 rebounds entering Saturday's game.
"It's really starting all over," Bonvicini said of next year. "We'll be more talented, but it depends on how that group meshes together with each other. I learned a lot this year that we'll use in the future."
Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com
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