The Binghamton women’s basketball team looks to two players to lead the way.

Senior guards Rebecka Lindgren and Shea Kenny operate as the Bearcats’ brains on the court. Running the point, they direct traffic, placing Laura Sario in the proper position to make her slashing drives and Laine Kurpniece in position to flex her muscle underneath the basket.

But the two Binghamton captains came from decidedly different basketball backgrounds.

Sweden: A Basketball Wilderness

In Sweden, hockey is king. It produces goal-scoring greats and standout goaltenders as routinely as Intel produces Pentium processors. In fact, Rebecka Lindgren sports No. 21 on her jersey as homage to her country’s rich hockey heritage.

‘Peter Forsberg,’ Lindgren said. ‘I’m wearing that number because of him.’

With the Swedish national hockey team defeating Finland for the gold medal at the Olympics last year, Lindgren probably has her fun with Finnish teammates Sario and Juta Jahilo. But as far as basketball goes, that is a different story altogether.

Swedish basketball has never made a significant mark on the world stage. Its basketball tradition is not as highly regarded as that of the United States or Eastern European nations like Lithuania, Croatia and Serbia. Lindgren grew up in a nation where basketball is easily behind skiing, soccer and hockey in popularity.

‘In Sweden, there’s only two [basketball] high schools, which is a big difference from what they have here,’ Lindgren said. ‘I went to one of them [Sandagymnasiet], which means I moved away from home.’

In Europe, the youth sports system is far different. Once players graduate high school, they play their sport professionally instead of playing in college. Lindgren ascended to the professional ranks in Sweden’s top women’s basketball league, the Damligan.

‘The year after that I played in the women’s league, on one of the clubs, and then I came here,’ Lindgren said.

Long Island: A Basketball Hotbed

In contrast, there are few places in America where high school girls’ basketball thrives more than Long Island. Professionals like Sue Bird, Nicole Kaczmarski and Sue Wicks played their schoolgirl ball on the Island.

Shea Kenny continues this rich tradition.

Top college coaches regularly attend games in Massapequa, Babylon and Copiague to scope out the best talent that Long Island has to offer. Kenny, who led her Miller Place high school team to a Long Island Class B championship in 2000, received some significant attention from college scouts, and in fact, almost joined Binghamton’s archrival out of high school.

‘I got a lot of initial letters and questionnaires, but when it came down to it, I only ended up going on two official visits,’ Kenny said. ‘Saint Louis and Albany were the only two schools.’

Kenny chose to attend Saint Louis, but transferred after her sophomore season when Binghamton offered her a scholarship.

‘I wasn’t particularly happy with the basketball there,’ Kenny said. ‘When you’re playing a Division I sport, the sport that you do play takes so much of your life, that no matter how happy you are with the city, your friends, or anything else, you’re not going to be happy in general.’

At the time, Kenny did not consider playing her last two years even closer to home, at Stony Brook.

‘No, I never wanted to [go back] on Long Island,’ Kenny said.

Lindgren and Kenny at Binghamton

Lindgren spent most of her freshman year as a reserve behind former point guard Kate Townley, but got a chance to start in her sophomore season.

‘It was rough coming in as a freshman; I didn’t get to start, which was understandable,’ Lindgren said. ‘My sophomore year, I started every game.’

With Rachel Laws, Jen Blues and Sario in the backcourt rotation and Kenny finally gaining eligibility after her transfer, Lindgren saw her playing time cut significantly as a junior.

‘It [was] a lot of good players, especially competing against them in practice,’ Lindgren said. ‘It’s not that important to me who starts; I’d rather just play and get the time that I earn.’

Although Kenny took many of Lindgren’s backcourt minutes last year, her transition into a team led by Rachel Laws, Blues, Jen Haubrich and Lindgren was smoother than expected. Kenny and Lindgren are very close friends to this day.

‘Open arms,’ Kenny said with a smile when asked about her initial experience at BU. ‘Everyone I met was just amazing. It was such an easy transition; everyone respected me from the get-go, and showed me that it couldn’t have gone any smoother.’

Kenny is energetic about Binghamton hosting the conference tournament this season and would like to cap her and Lindgren’s career with a conference title and a trip to the big dance.

‘Knowing that we have the talent to do it, it’s just so exciting and that it’s here, at the Events Center, makes it even better,’ Kenny said. ‘I can’t wait. I think it’s going to be amazing.’