Ladyjacks Open 2008-09 Season
11/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2008
NACOGDOCHES - With the start of the 2008-09 season just a little more than a week away, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team will take to the court to face Arkansas-Monticello Wednesday night in an exhibition contest. The game against the Cotton Blossoms is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
"Scrimmaging against your own team is one thing, and facing a team that you know very little about is quite different," said SFA head coach Lee Ann Riley. "Right now we're looking for the right combinations. We're fortunate enough not to have just five players who are head and shoulders above everyone else. I've got a bunch of kids I can rotate in and out at several different positions."
Despite the overall youth of the current Ladyjack roster, with only two seniors and one junior, there is a ton of excitement surrounding the SFA women. The Ladyjacks were picked as the favorite to win the Southland Conference's East Division according to a preseason poll of the league head coaches and sports information directors.
"I feel the preseason poll is due in large part to the number of returning players we have on this team," said Riley. "It is nice to receive that kind of respect from member coaches, but in all my years of coaching, I've never seen a preseason championship banner hanging from anyone's roof. We are one of 12 team's that will be fighting for the title, and we have to be ready to play each and every night."
The Ladyjacks are coming off a season that saw them go 12-17 (.414) overall, and finish fifth in the league with a 9-7 (.563) record. Senior Natashia Green is the team's top returning scorer from last year's squad averaging 9.6 points per game. SFA also welcomes back junior Whitney Cormier who averaged nearly 11 points and six rebounds per contest in 12 games last year.
SFA returns to the court Monday, Nov. 10, for one final exhibition before opening regular-season play. SFA kicks off the regular season Friday, Nov. 14, at Prairie View A&M, before returning home Monday, Nov. 17, to host Houston Baptist.
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