Women's Basketball Outlook

Over the past two seasons coach Marty Rowe has lost two of his women’s basketball all-time leading scorers. Katie Nelson graduated after the 2009-10 season and tallied 2,096 points during her four-year tenure. Brooke McKinnon finished in 2010-11 and posted 2,216 career points. That leaves Rowe with a 4,300-point hole to fill.

Veteran players asked to step up
With 6-foot-1 Kayla Carlisle also lost to graduation, Rowe, whose Lady Flames have averaged 28 wins over the past seven seasons, will be calling on several players that will need to step up and assume greater roles. “We need seniors Angela (Spann) and Kally (Eldridge) to be good leaders,” said the veteran coach, “But more importantly, we need sophomore point guard Hollie (German) to want to take up a lot of the responsibilities McKinnon handled.”

Depth should be a major plus
The coaching staff expects newcomers Jenna Adams (McMinn Central) and Jordan Neuharth (Walker Valley) to help out immediately. “We think our overall depth is really good this year,” Rowe added. “Hopefully that, combined with our ability to defend and shoot the basketball, will pay dividends for us.”
The roster includes seven or eight players who started at different times during the 2010-11 campaign. Spann, Eldridge and German were the leaders in that department. Madison Lee, Karley Miller and Rachel Lockhart received their share of minutes, as did Brooke Hamby, Kari Jo Harris, Julia Zimmerman, Madeleine Doyle and Myriah Iles.

Inside players need to step up
The Lady Flames will need to have the 4 and 5 spots step up and score for the club this year, according to Rowe. “We’ve had a year to mature inside and with the addition of Jenna (Adams); we think that area will improve.”
The overall team goals remain really simple; work hard to improve every day and every game! “If we do that, then at the end of the year, things will take care of itself,” Rowe noted.

SSAC continues to grow stronger
The Southern States Athletic Conference has steadily grown stronger in recent years. “I think Shorter is going to be very good this year again,” said Rowe as he began taking a look at the overall SSAC picture. “Southern Poly lost six seniors, but I would anticipate that they will reload and be strong again. The West side of the conference is very solid and deep with three or four teams being capable of winning their side. No doubt, it will be very competitive again this season on both sides.”

Things are changing in the NAIA
Of course the Lady Flames always take a hard look at the overall national picture, especially since Lee has enjoyed a spot in the national tournament for seven consecutive years. “Things are changing in the NAIA with teams leaving and going NCAA Division II,” stressed Rowe. “But for this season I see it being much of the same as in years past. Union (Tenn.) and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) are expected to be the lead teams in the country again. Hopefully, before the end of the year, we can be in the mix a little.”

Another solid schedule for Lady Flames
A solid schedule should help the Lady Flames mature and fit into the mix again in 2011-12. “We added Lindsey Wilson and Trevecca this year, and as always playing Union in Jackson will be challenging. I think it is a fair schedule that should allow us to improve before the meat of our conference schedule hits.”

Rowe excited about coaching staff
The overall coaching staff will sport a new member. “It’s an exciting time for our staff,” said Rowe. “Losing a long-time assistant as good as Mindy (Kiser) was for our program is never easy, but being able to add someone of the quality of Jan (Spangler) is great for our program. Our players are at ease with our coaching staff and I can see so many positives to the situation. I’ve been so lucky since I’ve been here to be surrounded by great assistants and this year is going to be no different.” The 2011-12 staff also includes Caleb Hindman and Brooke McKinnon.