Lady ‘Cats set for season

    After visiting the Sweet- 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history at the end of last season, the Lady Bobcats have another exciting season. Last year the Lady Bobcats finished with a 22-10 record with this season promising to be just as thrilling as the last.
    The Lady Bobcats are just finishing up about two months of intensive conditioning, a yearly routine that, according to head coach John Carrick, breaks the young women back into shape.
    “We’re hurting them,” said Carrick. “We’re getting them into shape. Then after Oct. 15 we start putting in offenses and defenses.”
    This season brings several new faces to the Lady Bobcat team with three incoming freshmen and one transfer student. Carrick cited freshman guard Dominique Huffin as one of the potential standouts for the new ladies on the team.
    “Dominique will make a big impact on this year’s season. She has potential to be a standout,” said Carrick. “But potential is a scary word because it means what you’re capable of what you’re doing, not that you’ll do it.”
    As for the pre-season and practices, the girls are trying to get to know each other just like any other sports team.
    “The team has been trying to better our chemistry,” said Huffin. “Trying to figure out each player and how they play. It helps us be more intense in the game.”
    Returning player Emily Bixler, a redshirt-junior guard, echoes Huffin saying that the Lady Bobcats have always had a good chemistry and that finding that chemistry really helps their game on the basketball court.
    Bixler is returning to the Lady Bobcats for her fourth season on the team and her third year playing after red-shirting her freshman year. Bixler saw quite a bit of playing time last season and was valuable to the teams outside shooting. Other returning players include Lindsey Smith, who placed fourth in the league for assists last season, and Ashley Williams, who placed thirteenth in the league for blocks.
    When it comes to this season’s strength, Carrick said that having a deep team is definitely going to work to their advantage.
    “We have a lot of depth this year,” Carrick said. “I think we’re (going to) be able to substitute without losing any talent.”
    But some players look to other strengths as this season’s greatest advantage.
    “Shooting. Everybody can shoot,” said Huffin. “Everyone has scoring ability and that’s a plus. We bond well. We’re a real team. It’s not “I.” It’s actually a team effort with everything. And everyone knows that.”
    As for games the team is looking forward to, the consensus seemed to have everyone’s eye fixated on the game against Clayton State on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
    “We played them four times last year and lost all four times,” said Bixler. “I think everyone is really pumped about that game.”
    On a final note, Coach Carrick wanted to encourage not only the student body, but the women of GCSU to come out and support the Lady Bobcats.
    “Come see us play,” Carrick said. “Come support women. Women already have an uphill battle against men and other women. Why can’t women get together to support each other?”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 16 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry