Arrival of new coach could heat up Barry-NSU women’s basketball rivalry

Heather Macy always thought she would one day coach in a city with a beach.

“Every coach dreams of working at a place that is easily ‘recruitable’ – great weather, by the ocean,” said Macy, a native of Hamptonville, North Carolina. “Miami, in my opinion, is one of the top three cities in the country.

“To me, Miami is a place all its own. It’s our 51^st state.”

Macy, named Barry University’s women’s basketball coach in May, brings an impressive resume, including 17 seasons as a college head coach.

Among her highlights: three straight 20-plus-win seasons at NCAA Division I East Carolina. She has won seven “Coach of the Year” honors, and she has led five of her teams to the NCAA Tournament. She is also the career leader in wins at East Carolina (134-117).

Now she’s coaching at the NCAA Division II level, where she has five years of experience. She brought with her three players from her previous stop, Greensboro College, a Division III program.

Guard Aubrey Jennings is the key player in that group as she averaged 17.4 points, earning USA South Conference Player of the Year.

Macy will step into a vibrant South Florida rivalry against another Division II squad, the Nova Southeastern University Sharks.

Coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry led the Sharks to a 21-9 record and the NCAA Tournament last year.

This will be her 12^th season coaching the Sharks, and, during that span, she has led NSU to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and four Elite Eight appearances. In addition, her 2013-2014 team is the only squad in program history to reach an NCAA Final Four.

NSU should be loaded again this season as first-team All-Sunshine State Conference selection Madison Frederick returns.

Frederick, a 5-10 forward, averaged 17.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists last season. She shot 40.9 percent on 3-pointers and 73.9 percent on free throws.

Kyarrah Grant, a 5-7 guard, returns after starting 27 games last season. She shot 42.6 percent on 3-pointers and 85.7 percent on free throws.

The Sharks graduated second-team All-Conference guard Hailey Conley, who averaged 13.8 points.

But Freeland-Curry brought in five transfers: Morgan Kane (Iowa State); Jess Moore (Colorado State); Aubrey Stupp (Purdue-Fort Wayne); Alana Ellis (Notre Dame College in Ohio); and Nicole Scales (Eckerd). The Sharks also signed one freshman, Kailyn Terrell.

Kane, a 6-3 center, is the most likely newcomer to emerge as an NSU standout. She played 32 games for Iowa State last season, including 10 starts, averaging 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. She also shot 40.0 percent on 3-pointers.

The Sharks have won three straight games against Barry, including two victories last season. But now that Macy has arrived, this rivalry could quickly become more competitive.

After all, in her five previous season in Division II, Macy’s teams led the nation in scoring four times.

“The best times in my career were when I was a Division II coach,” Macy said, “and now I’m back at this level and in Miami. I think we can win here.

“I have no interest if coaching if we can’t win a national championship.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Barry will also be led by Greensboro transfer Aijah Palmore, a 6-1 forward who finished second in her conference with 9.9 rebounds per game. The third Greensboro transfer is 5-7 point guard Lauren Livingston, who made all-conference with 11.6 points, 6.0 assists and 2.8 steals. Another player to watch is 5-9 guard Britney Mapang, who was her conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in junior college.

▪ St. Thomas University, which went 21-8 last season as an NAIA squad, is predicted to finish second in the Sun Conference. Brooke Bogatz and Bria Brown are STU’s returning starters. Bogatz averaged 12.9 points and a team-high 3.6 assists last season. Brown averaged 7.1 points and played stellar defense.

The Bobcats also added three top transfers: Ra’Nae Tumblin (junior college); Camilla Flefil (Barry University by way of Sweden); and Ke’Ajia Williams (Troy). Coach Candace Walker believes Tumblin – a 5-6 guard -- is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

▪ Florida Memorial, which went 14-14 last season as an NAIA squad, has just one freshman and no sophomores on an experienced 14-player roster. The Lions are picked to finish fourth in the Sun Conference.

▪ Miami Dade College, which went 5-23 last season, brought in eight freshmen, including three from Nigeria and two from Spain.