Sacred Heart men and women back on the court

The Sacred Heart women’s basketball team was just 16 hours away from its season-opening tipoff against Fairfield on Nov. 25 when the word came: The game was being postponed due an inconclusive COVID-19 test.

A few days later, a positive test caused that game to be canceled and put the season on hold for two weeks. Being so close to playing made the shutdown agonizing.

“All we had to do that night was go to sleep and wake up and then we had a game the next day,” coach Jessica Mannetti said. “It was challenging because we were so close. We had worked so hard, we were in such good rhythm, we were about to play and then, boom, it gets taken away for two weeks.”

The Sacred Heart men’s basketball team was in the same boat, shut down for

two weeks due to a positive test in that program.

Now, the Pioneers are back in the gym and ready to play again. The women returned to practice on Wednesday and the men practiced on Thursday in preparation for their next games.

“The attitude was excitement,” men’s coach Anthony Latina said. “These guys were super excited to be out of the room, on the court and playing. Most of the guys who are playing at this level are playing because they love to play. So they were excited to be back.”

“Their energy was off the charts,” Mannetti said of her players. “There were challenges in a lot of ways because we were really rusty, but it was awesome to see their energy and their gratitude just to be there again. That’s what really shined. They were so grateful to be there and you could just tell they were so excited to be back.”

The men’s team, which lost to Rutgers 86-63 in its only game so far this season, will host Rhode Island College at 2 p.m., Saturday. Home games

against Long Island University are scheduled for Wednesday at 7, and Thursday at 4.

Latina said having just two days of practice to get ready is “unnerving.”

“It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how we respond,” Latina said. “Players love to play so they’re super competitive and they’d play games every day if they could. As coaches, our concern is are we physically prepared and strategically prepared? But we’re certainly grateful and appreciative of the opportunity and we’re not taking it for granted.”

The women will have a few days of practice before playing road games at LIU on Tuesday and Wednesday. Another road game, at Rutgers, is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 20.

The quarantine which just ended was the second of the season for the women’s team, which had a player test positive in late October and had to pause for two weeks at the time.

The second shutdown was more challenging, Mannetti said, since the team had been so close to playing, but the coaches were creative with bonding from a distance. The team held “Zoom check-ins”

nearly every day, with each coach taking a turn running the meetings.

“It could be your standard, catch-up daily briefing and announcements, or it could be something else,” Mannetti said. “We played so many games — Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, we did a virtual escape room, and a scavenger hunt. It was fun and you could tell they were looking forward to the call. It was a way to stay connected, see everyone and have interaction.”

Mannetti’s team is experienced, returning the top six scorers, including senior Adrianna Hagood, who was named to the Preseason All-NEC team.

The Pioneers were ranked No. 2 behind Mount St. Mary’s in the NEC preseason basketball poll after going 13-17 in an injury-plagued campaign last winter. Sacred Heart finished strong and reached the NEC semifinals before the season ended at the start of the pandemic.

“By February when everybody got healthy again and everybody was back and able to play, we finished on a five-game win streak,” Mannetti said. “We were in a really good place, so even when it all got shut down, the team felt good about where we were.”

The Pioneers’ men’s team has a different look from last year, as five of the top six scorers are gone and the roster is young. Latina is happy with the drive he’s seen so far.

“Our attitude, our culture and our work ethic are at the right level,” Latina said. “The question is do we have enough experience to be a factor, like we’ve been the last few years, in the league title race. We certainly hope so. But this team is going to get better and we’re a team which has a chance to be a major factor in conference play.”

Latina added that the key to this season is being patient and flexible, while focusing on the things they can control.

“Those are things you always focus on, but it’s much more relevant because the disruptions are so common now,” Latina said. “There’s probably not going to be a team in the country that won’t be affected by this at some point.”