Ball State and Bowling Green Tabbed as Women's Basketball Preseason Favorites
CLEVELAND, OHIO -- Ball State (West Division) and Bowling Green (East Division) have been selected as the women’s basketball preseason favorites as voted by members of the MAC Media Association and league head coaches. Bowling Green was also voted the favorite to capture this season’s MAC Tournament Title.
The two-time defending Mid-American Conference West Division champions begins a new era under the direction of head coach Kelly Packard in 2008-09. Packard was named the 10th head women's basketball coach in Ball State history May 12, 2008. She was the former head coach of the Colorado Chill of the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) and a long-time assistant at Colorado State. The Cardinals head into the new season after earning the fourth MAC West Division title in program history in 2007-08, accompanied by a 15-15 overall record and a 11-5 mark in conference play. The women's basketball program has three seniors on its roster in 2008-09. Kiley Jarrett, who earned MAC West Division Player of the week last season, joins First Team All-MAC selection Porchia Green and classmate Dana Moorman. For just the second time in program history, the Ball State women’s basketball team has been invited to play in the 2008 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The Cardinals accepted the invitation to participate in the 16-team tournament for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Ball State faces Indiana in its season opener Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
Northern Illinois was tabbed to finish second in the West Division this season. NIU was coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, but they also lost four seniors, lost a good portion of their scoring, welcomed six newcomers to the squad and were implementing a new offensive system. So there was definitely a learning curve for both players and coaches. The Huskies head into 2008-09 with a wealth of experience, returning four starters and nine letterwinners. Eight of the nine letterwinners have started at least one game last season. Three of the eight have started at least 20 games in 2007-08, while two others have started in 10 or more games. Along with experience and depth, Owens’ squad also has strong leadership. Northern Illinois has four seniors and two juniors to provide guidance to the underclassmen. Two seniors, Becky Smith and Jessie Wilcox, are entering their fourth and final season with the Huskies.
Central Michigan and second year head coach Sue Guevara were picked to finish third in the West. The Chippewas have put together a strong recruiting class, ranked among the top-100 in the nation, and will look to turn things around after a 6-23 campaign in 2007-08. Returning for the Chippewas are seniors Angel Chan and Latisha Luckett, junior Britni Houghton, along with sophomore Shonda Long. Chan finished third on the squad a season ago with 13.2 points per game and is among the program’s best in several offensive categories, including three-pointers made and free throw percentage. Luckett spent most of last season as an undersized post player that used her quickness and agility to lead the Chippewas in rebounding at 7.0 per game. She was also fourth on the team in scoring at 9.8, and led the team in steals with 75. Houghton ranked No. 10 in the MAC in scoring at 13.1 and finished among the league leaders in rebounding (5.8) and steals (58) as well. She shot a team-high 48 percent from the field.
Western Michigan and new head coach Tasha McDowell were tabbed to finish fourth in the MAC West Division. Five of WMU’s returning 10 letterwinners averaged eight points or better in 2007-08, as the team posted a record of 13-19 and 9-7 in the Mid-American Conference. A 2008-09 MAC Player of the Year and All-American candidate, senior point guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye ranked third in the nation in assists (7.8) and eighth in steals (3.3) last year, and has ranked in the top 15 in the country in both categories the past two seasons. She is the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC selection.
Rounding out the West Division are Eastern Michigan and Toledo respectfully. EMU claimed a share of the West Division title, its third division title in the past five seasons. Returning for the Eagles are senior forward Amber Land and sophomore guard Cassie Schrock. Toledo returns six letterwinners in 2008-09, including two starters, from last year’s squad that finished 14-16 overall and 5-10 in Mid-American Conference action. Guided by first year head coach Tricia Cullop, the Rockets welcome back 44.9 percent of their scoring, 47.4 percent of their rebounding, 36.2 percent of their assists and 61.2 percent of their blocked shots in 2008-09.
The Bowling Green Falcons were chosen by pollsters to finish first in the East Division and take home the tournament title. BGSU lost only two starters from last year’s team, which went 26-8, posted the MAC’s best regular-season record and advanced to national postseason play for the fourth-straight year. Lauren Prochaska, MAC Freshman of the Year returns for the Falcons., Prochaska led the team in scoring, becoming the first Falcon freshman to score more than 500 points, and she also paced the club in assists. Prochaska had 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game en route to earning MAC Freshman-of-the-Year honors.
2007-08 MAC Champion Miami was tabbed to finish second in the East. While the RedHawks lost record-setting star Amanda Jackson to graduation, they return second team All-MAC point guard, senior Jenna Schone. She joins a core of returners, including senior Ashley Hawkins, junior Courtney Reed, sophomore Briana Dunlap, and redshirt freshman Michelle Oswalt. The key to the backcourt will be Schone. Heading into her senior season, she has proven to be a leader on both ends of the floor. She is the top returning scorer with an average 13.7 points per game last season. She was also the team’s top three-point shooter with 84 treys. In 2007-08, the RedHawks floor general set a new Miami single season record as she dished out 175 assists.
Picked to finish third in the East Division are the Kent State Golden Flashes. KSU will return all five starters from last seasons squad. The Golden Flashes will be lead by fifth-year senior Asheley Harkins, who was one of the top cover guards in the league last season. In MAC games, Harkins finished second in the conference in steals per game (3.38) and helped the Flashes on offensive end as well. She finished third on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and nailed 30 three-pointers. Sophomore Chenel Harris turned her game up a notch during the final 13 contests of last season, earning spots on the All-MAC Honorable Mention Team and the MAC All-Freshman Team. In that stretch, Harris averaged 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while shooting .458 (22-of-48) from three-point range.
Last season’s MAC tournament runner-up Ohio was tabbed to finish fourth in the East. The Bobcats return three starters from a squad that won 20 games a year ago, as seniors Lauren Hmiel and Chandra Myers will be joined by junior Jenny Poff to form an experienced nucleus for first-year head coach Semeka Randall’s club. With sophomore Kamille Buckner back in the fold after a breakout rookie season, juniors Jennifer Bushby and Catherine Cain returning after averaging double figures in minutes played last year and five new faces on the roster, Randall will have a blend of youth and experience on the floor this year. She will also have the opportunity to create mismatches with lineups of varying sizes and strengths.
Rounding out the East Division are Buffalo and Akron at fifth and sixth, respectfully. UB welcomes back nine returning players from last season. Helping to lead the Bulls is Jamie Schiebner. Schiebner started in 29 games last season and is one of the conference’s most dangerous returning rebounders. Schiebner finished seventh in the MAC last season in rebounding and was third in the conference in defensive rebounds only. Akron welcomes seven newcomers and just four returners, this season. Kara Murphy, an all-conference honoree who started every game last winter, and guard Amanda Sedlack, who made 20 starts as a first-year player, return with for their sophomore campaigns.
The 2008-09 Women’s Basketball season will begin on Friday, November 14. The Mid-American Conference season will begin on Wednesday, January 7, 2009.
