Greensburg Salem grad Abby Mankins ups her production in 2nd season with Seton Hill women's basketball

Abby Mankins spent most of her freshman season with the Seton Hill women’s basketball team getting adjusted to the college game. Though she appeared in all 32 games, the Greensburg Salem grad’s contributions were modest as she averaged 1.3 points in just over 10 minutes per game.

So as her sophomore season approached, Mankins was ready to take the previous year’s experience and hit the ground running. In late August, with athletes back on campus and ready to get to work, Mankins and her teammates were hit with a bombshell.

Mark Katarski, who had served as the Griffins’ coach for 10 seasons, announced he was stepping down to assume a new position as Seton Hill’s associate athletic director for internal relations.

“I remember the previous day we had just had our preseason meeting, and we were looking forward to the season and getting ready to jump into things,” Mankins said. “And then the next day we had a meeting and found out we had a coach change.”

Another year, another adjustment for Mankins and the players who had come in with her class.

The good news was that Maeve Gallagher, who had served as Katarski’s assistant the previous two seasons, would assume the head-coaching role. That put Mankins and her teammates at ease, and the transition has proven to be fairly smooth. The Griffins were 9-6 in the PSAC (12-9 overall) through their Feb. 3 win over Slippery Rock.

Mankins has transitioned well, too. In fact, her numbers have ballooned under Gallagher’s tutelage.

Through Seton Hill’s first 21 games, the 5-foot-10 forward was averaging 9.0 points and nearly 31 minutes. She set her career high with 17 points in the second game of the season against Fairmont State then matched it in January against Millersville.

Against then-No. 2-ranked Gannon on Jan. 31, she had 15 points and seven rebounds. She averages 5.2 rebounds.

“A huge part of the drastic improvement was last year was such a big … you’re kind of finding your role, you’re learning the system, you’re kind of finding out how you fit,” Mankins said. “Where this year, it’s kind of like, you have a general idea of what to expect, and you can kind of capitalize off that.”

Finding her role has been perhaps the most crucial aspect of Mankins’ season. To be more precise, finding one role for her has been key.

Gallagher said she wanted to nail down a more defined job for Mankins, who spent her high school and AAU careers playing everything from point guard to post. Gallagher has Mankins playing primarily as a three (small forward).

“I think the big thing we focused on with Abby was putting her in places where she feels very comfortable,” said Gallagher, who played three sports at Point Park. “She’s such a multi-faceted kid, which, sometimes, that can make a kid get spread too thin.

“She always had to be a utility tool for her team … and she’s still that by all means. It’s just that she has a little bit more freedom in where she feels comfortable. She doesn’t have to do things outside of her comfortability for us to succeed.”

Part of moving Mankins into a new role was improving her shot. Namely, Gallagher wanted her to be able to get her shot off quicker.

No major overhaul was required, Gallagher said. It simply was a matter of changing Mankins’ hand position to get the ball closer to her body.

Now Mankins has the ability to score from the post, off the dribble and, occasionally, from outside the 3-point line. She has made 16 of 50 3-pointers (32.0%) this season.

“I’m kind of a funny player in the sense that I don’t necessarily just score inside, but I’m not a ‘shooter,’ so it’s fun whenever you can play that way,” she said about expanding her game. “It’s a fun skill to have where you have those different options depending on how teams are playing you. You can score from all three different places on the floor.”

Mankins said she can see a difference in the way teams have started to defend her. Early in the season, teams tended to sag off her and dare her to shoot from distance. Now, though, she is able to step out and hit jumpers, which makes the opposing team change its approach.

Still, having come up as a taller player through the AAU and high school ranks, she has post moves she can fall back on. But even that part of her game has needed to expand, she said.

“Probably different ways to finish around the hoop,” she said when asked what areas she continues to work on, “because there are times you have to be crafty.”

Added Gallagher: “Now you have to guard her at the arc. You have to guard her off the bounce. You have to guard her in the post. She’s worked to earn that respect. And she doesn’t play outside of herself. Abby knows what she’s good at, and that’s what Abby does.”

Gallagher also referred to Mankins as the team’s calming presence. That, the first-year coach said, needs to be paired with some more vocal leadership as Mankins continues to get comfortable.

That leadership might be needed sooner rather than later. Seton Hill’s roster has 14 players who are freshmen or sophomores, and they are about to hit the stretch run of PSAC competition.

The Griffins have five games remaining to improve their positioning for the PSAC Tournament.

Last season, Seton Hill lost to Edinboro in the first round, and Mankins is hopeful of a better showing this time around.

She is likely to play a significant role in the team’s fortunes, but her concern is for wins and not for personal stats.

“When we play together, we can compete with anyone, and we’re really starting to get toward our best basketball,” she said. “When it comes down to it and we have those big games, we’re not afraid of them.

“All I want is to contribute and be a little more consistent in that sense this year. I’m happy when we all succeed. I find that more important than my own success.”