Rivier University women's basketball coach Deanna Purcell, shown here during her time as interim coach two years ago, and her team finally get to play a game tonight at the Muldoon Center after last season was cancelled. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – Deanna Purcell could tell there was a difference in a recent practice for the Rivier University women’s basketball team.

“It was different than it’s been all preseason,” the first-year Raiders head coach said. “It was like, ‘All right, we’re coming to the end.”

The end of over a year’s worth of practices, not just this preseason. The pandemic wiped out the entire 2020-21 Rivier and Great Northeast Athletic Conference season, but the Raiders will finally play their first game since February of 2020 tonight at 7 when they open the 2021-22 season at the Muldoon Center vs. non conference foe Fisher College.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Purcell said. “I think our girls are as anxious as I am. … The preseason started to feel a little bit like (last year), we were just practicing every day. But now they know we’re prepping for a game. We’re doing this for a reason, we’re putting all the pieces together.”

During games at the Muldoon, spectators as well as players, coaches, and staff on the bench must be masked. Those on the court actively playing in the game do not.

Purcell, the school’s all-time leading scorer, was a Raider assistant this time two years ago, then finished the latter part of that 2019-20 season as interim head coach when Paul Williams stepped down due to personal/family reasons.

Then that spring she was named head coach, but all the team could do last year was practice.

Now, let the games begin.

“I haven’t slept since probably Thursday of last week, I’m so excited about it,” Purcell said.

When Purcell played back in 2015, the Raiders were usually a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tourney team, and made the semis one year. Now they’re looking to get back to that level with a roster of 15, bigger than its had in years.

“I spent most of my time last year recruiting, starting the building blocks of getting the program back to where it was,” she said.

Rivier has its senior captains, 5-8 guard Cydney Lessard (Pinkerton alum) and Ciera Clark (5-7, Pembroke Academy), and Purcell said that two years they told her “Coach, we want to be a different team.”

“They were the ones who kind of took the journey with me and put in the work the last two years,” Purcell said. “Having them for our senior leadership and some good young talent who are a lot of winners. Kids from southern New Hampshire, we have a lot of winning in our program now.”

The key player who had to wait a season after being recruited is Manchester Memorial alum Lyric Grumblatt, a heralded 5-9 guard that the Raiders landed in the spring of 2020.

“She’ll be a big name for us and draw a lot of attention in the conference for sure,” Purcell said. “And we have some other scorers to back her up if teams try to shut her down. And we haven’t had that the past two years.”

One of those might include 5-9 freshman Alexa Dufries out of Lancaster, Mass., along with another Manchester native, freshman Jessica Carrier, who is the point guard of the future. Also, former Bishop Guertin standout Hannah Muchemore will join the team second semester as she is still getting over a knee injury.

A couple of other locals on the team include 5-1 freshman guard Anna Stawasz (Hollis, Bishop Guertin) and 5-7 junior Jaden Smith (Nashua North). Ten of the team’s 15 on the roster are from New Hampshire.

The GNAC this year is split into two divisions, North and South. Rivier is in with Anna Maria, St. Josesph’s of Maine, Emmanuel, Colby Sawyer, and Norwich.

“It’s going to be a little tough,” Purcell said. “We’re going to have Emmanuel twice, they’re always tough in our conference. I think it will be kind of fun for our girls to use as a measuring stick. We’ve already set the goal of making the playoffs, and we’d love to get back to hosting a playoff game.”

However, the Raiders aren’t getting much respect or expected to do that this year, as a the GNAC preseason poll ranked them last.

“It’s kind of a fun role to have because they (other schools) don’t know the girls that we have,” Purcell said. “It’s an opportunity to see us play and see us change from the 4-20 team we were in 2019-20 season. The underdog role suits us well, I think.”

Purcell remembers when she first played at Riv, coming out of Alvirne, that the Raiders were picked to finish low then as well and used it as motivation.

“Kind of getting to mirror that season,” she said, “and show ‘You underestimated us.’ I think our girls have bought into that and looking forward to having a chip on their shoulder a bit.”

The Raiders weren’t able to scrimmage during the preseason; one that they had scheduled had to be cancelled.

Purcell still can’t believe it’s been so long since the Raiders have played a game.

“When COVID first came, it was in late February, March, and I said ‘It’s not going to affect our (next) season,” Purcell said. “Well the joke was on me.

“The girls I had last year and the freshmen we brought in this year, we’re just itching to get going. We just want to get out there and play and show the work we’ve put in the last 20 or more months.

“We’ve been just grinding out to better the program, and now we get to put it on display.”