Senior duo leads way for Cardinals

Comfort and Taliento give leadership

By: Brett Hurley

Posted: 11/18/09

Four years ago, Kristen Taliento and Mary Kate Comfort were among 15 freshmen playing for the St. John Fisher women's basketball team.
Now, they are the only two still playing as seniors. Together, they hope they can lead a group of underclassmen to success on and off the court.
Kristen Taliento is a 5'8" forward from Henrietta. She feels that she can help the team by bringing intensity and experience, and use her aggressive style of play to help play defense and get rebounds.
"I'm not one of the leading scorers but I do what I can [to contribute to the team's success]" Taliento said.
Being one of the upperclassmen on the team, she wants to help guide the younger players and support her teammates on and off the court. Over her four years on the Fisher team she has learned to be more of a team player and be more supportive.
Mary Kate Comfort, standing at 6'1", is one of the centers on the team and is from Orchard Park. She plans to help the team by getting more rebounds and being a force inside the paint.
She hopes by being vocal on and off the court she can get closer to her teammates and be a role model for the younger women on the team.
"Over the past four years I've learned to become a better leader and role model," she said. "A lot of my teammates look up to me, and it has helped me grow as a player."
She hopes her leadership will also help the other players on the team grow.
The Cardinals start their season 2009-2010 season against Colby-Sawyer in Saratoga Springs on Nov. 21. This game will mark the official debut of Marianne O'Connor Ermi as head coach of the woman's basketball team. O'Connor Ermi was promoted to interim head coach in November of 2008 after the retirement of Phil Kahler.
With it being the final season for both Comfort and Taliento, they hope it will be a special year.
"We've never won the Empire 8 Tournament and I hope this year is the year," Taliento said.
"This is our last year so it's an important season" said Comfort. "This might be my last year playing competitive basketball and I'm trying to take it one day at a time".
As the two upperclassmen on the team, they hope their leadership and play will make their teammates better players and people, and bring the team success in their final season.
They plan to leave it all on the court, and although this may be there last year on the team, they will always be St. John Fisher Cardinals.

bdh01602@sjfc.edu