OBU to start season
By BRIAN HOWARD
OBU Sports Information
ARKADELPHIA – The face roaming the sidelines is very familiar and so is the team on the court as the Ouachita Baptist University women’s basketball team boasts the return of three starters as the Lady Tigers begin the season at the West Florida Classic, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17 against West Georgia and West Florida.
“We are excited to start a new season,” Ouachita Baptist head coach Gary Crowder said. “We’ve played two exhibition games and had a scrimmage. West Florida and West Georgia are two solid programs in the East Division. We certainly will have to play well to have a shot to be able to come away with a couple of wins down. West Georgia is a very athletic team. They have several newcomers added to their squad that should make them a much better team than they were last year.”
One of the biggest absences from the preseason was point guard Bethany Turner, who missed the end of last season with an ACL injury, but Crowder expects her to back healthy and ready to play when the ball tips-off 4:00 p.m. Friday.
“We’re excited about having our point guard Bethany Turner back on the floor,” Crowder said. “She struggled with her knee ever since the ACL tear last January. She missed the exhibition season and I think that played a big role in the way we struggled offensively with a lot of turnovers. We’re looking forward to having her back and hopefully adding something to our team.”
Turner (5-7, Guard, SO, Mountain View, Ark.) played in 14 games, all starts before injuring the ACL. She averaged 10 points, three rebounds and had 54 assists.
The three returning starters – Candise Hurdle, Lindsey Dooley and Haley Griffin -- played and started all 27 games as the Lady Tigers went 13-14 last season, including 4-10 in the Gulf South Conference.
Hurdle (6-2, Post, SR, Keller, Texas) averaged four points and 3.4 rebounds with 21 assists, while Dooley (5-8, Guard, SR, DeQueen, Ark.) added 12.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and dished out 65 assists. She was also named to the All-Gulf South Conference Preseason West Division Team. Griffin (5-11, Post, JR, Arkadelphia, Ark.) was second on the team in scoring with 12.4 a game, while adding 6.7 rebounds and 33 assists.
Also seeing action last season was Melissa Richardson (5-10, Guard, SO, The Woodlands, Texas) and Angela Colliver (6-0, Post, SO, Harrison, Ark.). Richardson played in 25 games, scoring 1.7 points and hauling down 1.8 rebounds with 10 assists, while Colliver added 7.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 15 assists in 26 games.
Ouachita Baptist will try to replace six players off last year’s squad, including a pair of starters – Kim Beverly (5-8, Guard, JR) and Lizz Webb (5-4, Guard).
Beverly played and started all 27 games, averaging nine points and 6.5 rebounds with 35 assists. Webb started 13 games and competed in 27. She added 4.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and dished out 41 assists as the Lady Tigers went 9-3 at Bill Vining Arena.
Besides Beverly and Webb, Ouachita Baptist graduated Kayla Hulsey, Sara Surratt, Kendra Pruitt and Whitney Beavers.
Hulsey (5-11, Forward) played in 25 games, averaging 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds, while Pruitt (5-7, Guard) added 1.7 points and one rebound in 27 games. Beavers saw action in 25 games with three points and 1.6 rebounds. Surratt played in just four games, averaging 0.5 rebounds.
Despite losing six players, Crowder and assistant coach Jason Jones regrouped with a solid recruiting class of six newcomers – Maranda Parker, Amy Wood, Alyssa Pickett, Gaby Coleman, Kim Arledge and Lauren Kollmorgen. Karlee Wilson, who was named as one of the top newcomers in the Gulf South Conference, transferred during the offseason from Stephen F. Austin.
Parker (5-10, Guard, FR, Strong, Ark.) averaged 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, while leading Strong to state titles in 2005 and 2006. She earned All-Tournament honors at state during her final three years.
Coleman (5-7, Guard, FR, North Little Rock, Ark.) averaged 16 points, six rebounds and 5.3 assists on her way to earning All-State honors for the second consecutive year. As a junior, she led North Little Rock to the 5A State Championship and was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In three seasons, she had compiled a 70-17 record. Coleman also earned recognition as one of the top newcomers in the Gulf South Conference.
Kollmorgen (6-0, Post, FR, Tulsa, Okla.) played at Metro Christian Academy, averaging 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds and also received Conference Most Valuable Player and All-State honors.
Wood (5-4, Guard, FR, Carrollton, Texas), Pickett (6-0, Guard, FR, Pleasant Grove, Texas), Arledge (5-4, Guard, FR, Hot Springs, Ark.) and Wilson (6-1, Post, SO Hallsville, Texas) will also for playing time for the Lady Tigers this season.
The Lady Tigers again will face a very tough non-conference slate, starting Friday and Saturday at the West Florida Classic – one of four tournaments Ouachita Baptist will take part in this season.
After the West Florida Classic, the Lady Tigers will play Thanksgiving weekend in Russellville, Ark., at the Arkansas Tech Classic against Texas A&M-International and West Florida. Central Baptist is the only home game scheduled in November (27th), followed by the third tournament on the schedule at the Harding Classic against UAH and York College.
Ouachita Baptist will hold the Lady Tiger Classic December 7 and 8 at Vining Arena. Arkansas-Monticello, Montevallo and St. Mary’s have been invited to the tournament. North Alabama comes to town on Dec. 17 to conclude the home portion of the schedule for 2007. The Lady Tigers travel to Missouri-Rolla on Dec. 29.
A pair of non-conference games against Gulf South Conference East Division foes begins the 2008 year as the Lady Tigers make a three-day trip in Alabama to face Montevallo and UAH. The Gulf South Conference portion of the schedule with back-to-back home dates against Delta State and Arkansas-Monticello on Jan. 12 and Jan. 17. The regular season concludes with home game against Arkansas Tech on March 1.
The Gulf South Tournament will be played again at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss.
Ouachita Baptist was picked fifth in the Gulf South Conference West Division by the coaches. The Lady Tigers can make a huge step will a pair of victories Friday and Saturday at the West Florida Classic in Pensacola, Fla. Ouachita Baptist takes on West Georgia 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16 and will conclude tournament play 6:00 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17.
OBU Sports Information
ARKADELPHIA – The face roaming the sidelines is very familiar and so is the team on the court as the Ouachita Baptist University women’s basketball team boasts the return of three starters as the Lady Tigers begin the season at the West Florida Classic, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17 against West Georgia and West Florida.
“We are excited to start a new season,” Ouachita Baptist head coach Gary Crowder said. “We’ve played two exhibition games and had a scrimmage. West Florida and West Georgia are two solid programs in the East Division. We certainly will have to play well to have a shot to be able to come away with a couple of wins down. West Georgia is a very athletic team. They have several newcomers added to their squad that should make them a much better team than they were last year.”
One of the biggest absences from the preseason was point guard Bethany Turner, who missed the end of last season with an ACL injury, but Crowder expects her to back healthy and ready to play when the ball tips-off 4:00 p.m. Friday.
“We’re excited about having our point guard Bethany Turner back on the floor,” Crowder said. “She struggled with her knee ever since the ACL tear last January. She missed the exhibition season and I think that played a big role in the way we struggled offensively with a lot of turnovers. We’re looking forward to having her back and hopefully adding something to our team.”
Turner (5-7, Guard, SO, Mountain View, Ark.) played in 14 games, all starts before injuring the ACL. She averaged 10 points, three rebounds and had 54 assists.
The three returning starters – Candise Hurdle, Lindsey Dooley and Haley Griffin -- played and started all 27 games as the Lady Tigers went 13-14 last season, including 4-10 in the Gulf South Conference.
Hurdle (6-2, Post, SR, Keller, Texas) averaged four points and 3.4 rebounds with 21 assists, while Dooley (5-8, Guard, SR, DeQueen, Ark.) added 12.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and dished out 65 assists. She was also named to the All-Gulf South Conference Preseason West Division Team. Griffin (5-11, Post, JR, Arkadelphia, Ark.) was second on the team in scoring with 12.4 a game, while adding 6.7 rebounds and 33 assists.
Also seeing action last season was Melissa Richardson (5-10, Guard, SO, The Woodlands, Texas) and Angela Colliver (6-0, Post, SO, Harrison, Ark.). Richardson played in 25 games, scoring 1.7 points and hauling down 1.8 rebounds with 10 assists, while Colliver added 7.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 15 assists in 26 games.
Ouachita Baptist will try to replace six players off last year’s squad, including a pair of starters – Kim Beverly (5-8, Guard, JR) and Lizz Webb (5-4, Guard).
Beverly played and started all 27 games, averaging nine points and 6.5 rebounds with 35 assists. Webb started 13 games and competed in 27. She added 4.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and dished out 41 assists as the Lady Tigers went 9-3 at Bill Vining Arena.
Besides Beverly and Webb, Ouachita Baptist graduated Kayla Hulsey, Sara Surratt, Kendra Pruitt and Whitney Beavers.
Hulsey (5-11, Forward) played in 25 games, averaging 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds, while Pruitt (5-7, Guard) added 1.7 points and one rebound in 27 games. Beavers saw action in 25 games with three points and 1.6 rebounds. Surratt played in just four games, averaging 0.5 rebounds.
Despite losing six players, Crowder and assistant coach Jason Jones regrouped with a solid recruiting class of six newcomers – Maranda Parker, Amy Wood, Alyssa Pickett, Gaby Coleman, Kim Arledge and Lauren Kollmorgen. Karlee Wilson, who was named as one of the top newcomers in the Gulf South Conference, transferred during the offseason from Stephen F. Austin.
Parker (5-10, Guard, FR, Strong, Ark.) averaged 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, while leading Strong to state titles in 2005 and 2006. She earned All-Tournament honors at state during her final three years.
Coleman (5-7, Guard, FR, North Little Rock, Ark.) averaged 16 points, six rebounds and 5.3 assists on her way to earning All-State honors for the second consecutive year. As a junior, she led North Little Rock to the 5A State Championship and was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In three seasons, she had compiled a 70-17 record. Coleman also earned recognition as one of the top newcomers in the Gulf South Conference.
Kollmorgen (6-0, Post, FR, Tulsa, Okla.) played at Metro Christian Academy, averaging 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds and also received Conference Most Valuable Player and All-State honors.
Wood (5-4, Guard, FR, Carrollton, Texas), Pickett (6-0, Guard, FR, Pleasant Grove, Texas), Arledge (5-4, Guard, FR, Hot Springs, Ark.) and Wilson (6-1, Post, SO Hallsville, Texas) will also for playing time for the Lady Tigers this season.
The Lady Tigers again will face a very tough non-conference slate, starting Friday and Saturday at the West Florida Classic – one of four tournaments Ouachita Baptist will take part in this season.
After the West Florida Classic, the Lady Tigers will play Thanksgiving weekend in Russellville, Ark., at the Arkansas Tech Classic against Texas A&M-International and West Florida. Central Baptist is the only home game scheduled in November (27th), followed by the third tournament on the schedule at the Harding Classic against UAH and York College.
Ouachita Baptist will hold the Lady Tiger Classic December 7 and 8 at Vining Arena. Arkansas-Monticello, Montevallo and St. Mary’s have been invited to the tournament. North Alabama comes to town on Dec. 17 to conclude the home portion of the schedule for 2007. The Lady Tigers travel to Missouri-Rolla on Dec. 29.
A pair of non-conference games against Gulf South Conference East Division foes begins the 2008 year as the Lady Tigers make a three-day trip in Alabama to face Montevallo and UAH. The Gulf South Conference portion of the schedule with back-to-back home dates against Delta State and Arkansas-Monticello on Jan. 12 and Jan. 17. The regular season concludes with home game against Arkansas Tech on March 1.
The Gulf South Tournament will be played again at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss.
Ouachita Baptist was picked fifth in the Gulf South Conference West Division by the coaches. The Lady Tigers can make a huge step will a pair of victories Friday and Saturday at the West Florida Classic in Pensacola, Fla. Ouachita Baptist takes on West Georgia 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16 and will conclude tournament play 6:00 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17.
posted by Tony at
3:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home