After the team finished last season with a 7-20 record, far removed from the school’s last conference title in 1992, athletics director Ed Cannon decided to shake up the Saint Anselm College women’s basketball program.

He certainly didn’t settle. Cannon hired Chris Leazier, who spent the previous seven seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Dartmouth College – two with the men’s team and five with the women – where he helped guide the Lady Big Green to two Ivy League titles and two NCAA tournament appearances.

“Coach Leazier just seemed to have a philosophical advantage on the other candidates.

Coming from Dartmouth, he’s a collaborator and a teacher, and he fit perfectly into our model here at St. Anselm,” said Cannon.

“He’s an educator as much as he’s a coach, and I fully expect him to be a great leader for our program.”

Though Leazier is originally from the Midwest, growing up in Indiana and graduating from Miami (Ohio) University, he decided to set down roots in Northern New England. Leazier spent several years coaching boys high school basketball in Vermont before answering the call to higher education.

And when the position opened at St. A, Leazier saw an opportunity he couldn’t ignore.

“At Dartmouth I really enjoyed the environment of recruiting and coaching kids that were both great students and athletes,” he said. “I just saw this as a good opportunity to be in a situation with a school with a strong academic profile and the opportunity to be in a premier league in the Northeast-10 where, if you’re at or near the top, you are likely to be competitive on a national scale as well.” But Leazier understands the climb can be an arduous process.

“We just want to be better today than yesterday and better tomorrow than today,” he said. “First and foremost we are trying to establish and identify an identity as a team.”

Though the Lady Hawks lost their season opener, 92-71, at Southern Connecticut State University, the second-ranked team in the country, Leazier said he is satisfied knowing the team is progressing in the six areas he deemed essential to D-II success.

“It was a little disappointing from a defensive standpoint. I mean, we’re not going to beat anyone on our schedule giving up 92 points,” he said. “We’re far from a finished product, but I can’t question these kids’ commitment to absorb what we’re trying to do.”

Defensively, Leazier said the Lady Hawks are working on handling the opposing dribbler as a team, disturbing foes’ rhythm with constant ball pressure, blocking out and rebounding, and conversion from offense to defense.

On offense, the coach has his players focusing on shot quality and ball handling.

Maintaining a strong assist-toturnover ratio is also imperative, he said.

Freshman Katie Larkin of Goffstown, who played for the 2005 Trinity High School team that won a state title, said the coaching staff realizes if the team is fundamentally sound, it can compete with anyone in D-II.

Leazier’s coaching style, she added, makes the 6:30 a.m. practices relatively painless.

“I have never met anybody with so much energy in my entire life,” said Larkin. “He has so much to offer and loves the game so much. You just can’t help but feed of that and get pumped up to play with him as the coach.”

Though Larkin has been sidelined thus far with a knee injury, she said she can hardly wait to get on the court and put the knowledge she is receiving to practical use.

The improvement in the team from the first practice to now, she noted, is clearly evident.

“Just hearing comments from other people at the school, I know everyone sees a great change with this program,” Larkin said.

“The coaches work us hard, but they’re motivational. They know we’re going to make mistakes, but they know what happened last year, and they have very high goals and a really positive attitude going into this season.”