Becker, Scorpio, Valerio tabbed to lead Seahawks

NEWPORT, R.I. (November 14, 2019) - Salve Regina University women's basketball head coach Cori Hughes has announced three seniors as her captains for 2019-20 season - Lauryn Becker (Hanover, Mass.), Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.), and Olivia Valerio (Proctor, Vt.) - who aim to lead the Seahawks towards a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship.

Becker actually returns for her fifth season as a graduate student after earning her diploma in May; she missed all but four games during her sophomore season in 2016-17. Her most significant playing time came last year with 21 games played and 17 starts. Becker shot a career-best .418 from the floor while averaging nearly seven points per game (6.7 ppg).

Scorpio is a three-time All-CCC second team performer and was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2016-17. She has started all but one game (76 of 77 thus far) in her career, and that reserve role came in favor of starting five seniors for Coach Hughes' 2018-19 squad on Senior Day last February. Scorpio posted a career-high 28 points last November against Gwynedd Mercy, and finished her junior season with her most 3-pointers made (48).

Valerio earned her first career start last night in the season-opener against Smith College. Her single-game high for points (10) came in a 63-54 win against St. Lawrence last New Year's Eve during Babson's Mary Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament. Valerio posted career-best four blocks at Roger Williams last January.

The trio is tasked with leadership for a fairly young squad that includes nine players (seven freshmen) with zero experience in a Seahawk uniform. Salve Regina returns three of its top five scorers from 2018-19 with junior Mary Rorke (Norton, Mass.) (10.0 ppg) in addition to Scorpio (12.8 ppg) and Becker (6.7 ppg)