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Danbury's Erin Boggan Shines For Scranton Basketball

DANBURY, Conn. – Erin Boggan’s basketball journey started in Danbury, traveled to North Carolina and is winding up in Pennsylvania. In a little less than two months, the path that began as a second-grader in the Danbury Police Athletic League house division will end with the University of Scranton women’s team.

Erin Boggan has started every game but one since joining the University of Scranton women's basketball team in 2011.

Erin Boggan has started every game but one since joining the University of Scranton women's basketball team in 2011.

Photo Credit: Contributed by University of Scranton

“It’s definitely hard to believe,’’ said Boggan, who has started every game but one since joining Scranton in the 2011-12 season. “It’s definitely hit me. I’m trying to enjoy it for as long as I can.”

Boggan, a 6-foot, 1-inch center, twice earned all-Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference honors at Danbury High under coach Jackie DiNardo. She averaged more than 15 points per game in her final two years for the Hatters, played for four years and helped the team amass 48 wins. She also surpassed 1,000 career points.

She spent her first two college years at Division I Gardner-Webb in North Carolina. After playing in the low post all of her career, the coaching staff asked her to play guard.

"They had a 6-foot, 6-inch girl and a 6-3 girl,’’ Boggan said. “At Division 1, a 6-foot girl is not uncommon. My outside shooting was definitely something I had to work on, along with all of the other skills that you need to be a guard.”

Now, her parents, Greg and Kathleen, can get to some of the games in Scranton along with her older brother, Ryan, and younger sister, Mary Kate.

“I had an awesome time in North Carolina, but I wanted to be closer to home and play more,’’ Boggan said. “Scranton had a great counseling program, and the education provided here was strong.”

Since joining the team, Boggan has been a fixture in the lineup. She averaged 10.2 points and 8.0 rebounds, finishing fourth in the Landmark Conference in rebounding and third in blocked shots. This season she is averaging 11.1 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds. She tied her career high with a 19-point game in a 61-45 win over Rochester on Nov. 17. She had 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 64-59 win over King’s on Nov. 20.

Scranton, 11-4, has been a longtime power under veteran coach Mike Strong. The Royals went 16-10 last year and are looking to return to the NCAA Tournament. They have been to the tournament 24 times, reached the Final Four seven times and won the championship in 1985.

“It’s a great team with a lot of great players,’’ Boggan said. “I was surprised I was able to get a lot of minutes right away. But coach Strong does a good rotation. Everybody gets a chance. He tries to run the program like a Division I program. We have the same work ethic and desire as the programs in Division I.”

The time at Gardner-Webb helped Boggan become more offensively diverse. “I enjoy shooting the 12-15-foot jumpers, but I think I’ll stay away from shooting threes,’’ she said. “I think coach will be happy if I stay away from the threes, too.”

Boggan’s goal is to help Scranton win the conference tournament and get back to the NCAAs. “We’ll keep focused and take it one day at a time,’’ she said. “We have a lot of tough games coming up.”

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