Ladyjack Hoops Season Preview: Seniors
11/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
With just four days until the SFA women’s basketball team opens the 2015-16 season against UT-Tyler, SFAJacks.com wraps up its class-by-class look at the team with a preview of the Ladyjacks’ three seniors.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team will be guided by three seniors during the upcoming 2015-16 season, with each bringing something a little different to the table. The pieces are in place with a strong group of underclassmen on the current roster, but it will be up to the veterans to provide leadership essential for a successful season.
“Our senior class is made up of some veterans that understand what Ladyjack basketball and the tradition here is all about,” said head coach Mark Kellogg. “It’s a great class and they’re all great kids on and off the court. They each have some different strengths that will help us this season.”
In what will be her first year eligible for competition at SFA after sitting out all of last season due to NCAA transfer rules, 5-8 guard Taylor Schippers is expected to be one of the key pieces for the Ladyjacks in 2015-16. The Houston native began her collegiate career at Oklahoma State and transferred to Butler for her sophomore and junior seasons before making her way back to her home state.
During her last year on the court at Butler in 2013-14, Schippers averaged 10.7 points and 29.5 minutes per game. The sharpshooter ranked second in the Big East Conference with an 83.6 free throw percentage (92-for-110) and helped lead her team to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. Coupled with Preseason All-Southland Conference second teamer Taylor Ross, SFA’s backcourt tandem could be one of the best in the league when the SLC season gets underway in January.
“Schipp has a great handle, her IQ is unbelievably good and she may be one of our best three-point shooters this year,” said Kellogg. “She just gets it. We like her demeanor and she’s a really confident kid, which you love. We’re going to ask her to play the point and off the ball. She’ll have to play multiple positions for us but I think she’s a kid more than capable of doing it.”
The Ladyjacks’ most experienced senior in the system in terms of playing time is 5-8 guard Paulletta Powell. The Port Arthur, Texas product appeared in all 31 games for SFA last season, making 18 starts and averaging 4.8 points per contest. She started the year coming off the bench but really starting to excel once being placed in a starting role midway through the season.
“We’re really excited about Pep,” Kellogg noted. “She provides athleticism. I think she can really guard people and offensively she can score in a variety of ways. In her career she hasn’t shot a ton of threes but she’s shooting them with a lot of confidence right now so that statistic will be much improved. She’s always been a kid who can put it on the floor. As of now, the ceiling is high but the expectations are pretty high for Pep as well.”
Rounding out the senior class is 5-7 guard Victoria Pena. A key member for the Ladyjacks off the bench last year, Pena played in 27 games, making one start and averaging nearly 10 minutes a night. Another student-athlete who has been in the system for four years, Pena’s strong leadership presence and intelligence have been raved about by the SFA coaching staff.
“Victoria is an IQ kid – she’s really smart,” Kellogg said. We put stuff in and she gets it probably quicker than anyone else. To her credit, it’s not just about you getting it, then you’ve got to be able to teach your teammates and she can definitely do that. She’s a kid that shoots it really well. From a coaching standpoint, you trust her. When you put her in, you know what you’re going to get. Is she going to be the most athletic kid on the floor? No, but I think she understands that. She understands what her strengths are, and you can live with that as a coach for sure when you can trust a kid when you put them in. That’s certainly Vicky.”
The seniors will lead the Ladyjacks into their season opener this Friday night at 7:00 p.m. inside William R. Johnson Coliseum where SFA will take on UT-Tyler. To purchase season tickets for the 2015-16 women’s basketball season, fans can contact the SFA ticket office at (936) 468-JACK (5225).
Ladyjack Basketball Preview Series
October 9 – Freshmen
October 16 – Sophomores
October 23 – Juniors
November 9 – Seniors
-SFA-
