Swamp,
We've actually lost a couple of Lady Tops in the off-season. In addition to losing Marshall with the injury, we've also lost Carla Bartee as a transfer to Ole Miss. Both players saw significant playing time for the Lady Tops last season.
With that said, I still expect a great season for the Lady Tops. We have a terrific incoming freshman class. So far, it consists of a fewplayers in the 6'3"-6'4" range. Among them Cary Bell who grew up in Bowling Green. As a senior at BGHS, Bell averaged 21.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, while making her presence felt in the post with 132 blocked shots. She also shot 56 percent from the floor, and was a 76 percent free-throw shooter. Bell was a second-team all-state selection, and also earned all-district and all-region honors as a senior.
We also added Raquel Mattis. Mattis, a 6'1" post player from Coral Springs High School in Coral Springs, Fla., averaged 18 point and 10.5 rebounds per game her junior season for coach Misty Nee's Lady Colts. She was named to the all-Broward Class 6A-4A third team last spring, and led Coral Springs to the regional semifinals of the Florida High School state tournament. She was an early signee, but unfortunately had a torn ACL early into her senior season. While she had to sit out a season, I also understand that she has grown probably another couple of inches since her original signing and that she now is probably closer to 6'3".
The Lady Tops also added reigning Kentucky Miss Basketball Crystal Kelly to the team. The 6'3" Kelly finished her senior season averaging 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She also recorded 106 blocks, 133 assists and 91 steals. The two-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and 2004 Associated Press Player of the Year finished her prep career with 2,377 points, 1,478 rebounds, 370 steals, 366 blocks and 349 assists. She also recorded a career 64.8 field-goal percentage. She is Sacred Heart’s all-time leader in all those categories except assists, ranking fourth. Along with her Miss Basketball and Player-of-the-Year honors, Kelly was also named All-America by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, Street & Smith and Parade. She is also a three-time Courier-Journal first-team all-state selection and was twice named to the AP all-state first team. Kelly is no stranger to a winning tradition, having led Louisville’s Sacred Heart Academy to three straight KHSAA state championships, winning all three titles at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. During her four years under coach Donna Moir, the Valkyries went 139-9 (.939), and finished 2003-04 ranked seventh in USA Today’s Super 25 poll after a 37-1 season.
I'm expecting good things from the other Lady Topper additions too. One is an incoming freshman (Bridjette Brown), and the other is a JC transfer (Ashley Butler). Brown is from Beechcroft High School in Columbus, Ohio. She is a 5-10 guard who averaged 27.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 steals and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 63 percent from the field. She was selected as Division II State Player of the Year in Ohio. In addition to her athletic achievements, Brownwas also her class valedictorian, so not only is she athletic, she's smart too.
Butler, a native of Louisville, Ky., and a former standout at DuPont Manual High school, has played the last two seasons for coach Lena Campbell at St. Catharine (Ky.) College. During her two seasons in a Patriot uniform, the 5-5 point guard averaged 21.3 points, 2.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game. This past season, she dropped in 20.6 ppg, while pulling down 7.5 rebounds on her way to a second-team Junior College All-America selection. Butler shot 41.0 percent from the floor and 80.2 percent from the free throw line during her two years at St. Catharine. Butler was a 2002 Kentucky All-Star while at DuPont Manual, and guided the Lady Crimson to the state semifinals in 2000 and a state runner-up finish in 2001.
My understanding is that we also have a player walking on next year who played for the University of Evansville Purple Aces previously. Her name is Cammie Campbell. She's a 5'7" junior guard from Scottsville, KY. She is supposed to be an excellent ball handler and 3-point threat. During her time at Allen Co.-Scottsville High School, she led her team to three 4th regionl titles and appearances in the KHSAA "Sweet 16". As a senior, she was a 2nd-team All-State selection when she finished fourth in the state in scoring (22.8 ppg), third in the state in free throw percentage (87.3 percent), and fifth in the state in three-point field goals made per game (2.6) Campbell scored 1,715 career points and broke the ACSHS single-game scoring record with 42 points. She also hit seven three-pointers in a game as a senior and scored over 33 points in a game seven times during her senior season. During her freshman season at Evansville, Campbell was selected as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference's All Freshman team, and shesaw continued success from the 3-point line as she tied the Evansville single game record for 3-pointers with 7 in a game against Drake.
Finally, the Lady Tops get 6'1" forward Cacie Pope back. Pope was the player that most people thought was actually the best incoming freshman on last year's team, but she ended up out the entire season after having a brain tumor removed. It may take awhile for her to get back in the swing of things, but we are expecting big things from her. Pope, a Lakewood, Calif. native, led Artesia High School to three straight California Interscholastic Federation Division III championships. She averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds as a senior, and was the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division III co-player of the year.
Additionally, the Lady Tops have a transfer who must sit out next season. Sarah Shouse is a Bowling Green native and 2002 graduate of Greenwood High School. She has spent the last two season playing for the Marquette Golden Eagles. The 6'5" Shouse played 12.4 minutes per game last year at Marquette, averaging 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds. She also responded in her only start of the year against Notre Dame, finishing with a career-high 10 points. In her two years with the Golden Eagles, Shouse shot 33.1 percent from the field and recorded 45 blocked shots in 56 games. Shouse had an outstanding prep career at Greenwood, earning Kentucky Gatorade Player-of-the-Year honors as a senior, while also being named to the McDonald's High School All-America team. She averaged over 10 points and seven rebounds per game in both her junior and senior seasons. She also totalled 177 blocked shots in her senior season to become the all-time blocks leader at GHS. In her final year, Shouse led Greenwood to a 23-6 record and a runner-up finish in the Fourth Region Tournament.
Returning from last year's team we have:
Tifany Zaragoza G 5-6 So.-HS Chandler, Ariz.
Shardae Butler G 5-3 So..-HS East St. Louis, Ill.
Camryn Whitaker G 5-8 Sr.-2L Cynthiana, Ky.
Leslie Logsdon G 5-11 Sr.-2L Munfordville, Ky.
Krystal Gardner F 6-1 Jr.-1L Munfordville, Ky.
Tiffany Porter-Talbert G 5-7 Jr.-1L Manhattan Bch, Calif
Coming off of another terrific season, most Lady Topper fans are expecting Porter-Talbot to be a Sun Belt Player of the Year candidate. Porter-Talbot has definitely shown a lot of talent since coming to WKU, and she just keeps getting better and better.
All in all, I think this going to be a great year for Sun Belt women's basketball. It looks like the Lady Tops are going to have La Tech, Vanderbilt and in-state rival University of Louisville back on our schedule next year to provide some good non-conference challenges. Additionally, I know that MTSU has a talented team returning and that they also had a good recruiting year, so I know they are going to be a challenge. I'm not sure how a lot of the other teams will be next year, but it sounds like several schools have some good incoming talent. I think MT and the Lady Tops will both have the talent to be nationally competive next year. As always, ASU and USA should be very competitve. Throw in teams like the UL-Lafayette, New Orleans, North Texas who I know are making rapid strides towards becoming top caliber teams. Man, it looks like Sun Belt women's b-ball is going to be exciting next year. I really think the Sun Belt might have a legitimate shot at getting a couple of teams into the tournament, and if the selection committee isn't too controlled by the BCS conferences, maybe we might even get 3...that would be awesome! :bluethumb:
|
/
Charlotte Marshall To Miss 2004-05
