Women begin preseason practice Monday
10/4/2014 5:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sam Houston's women's basketball team opens preseason practice Monday and Brenda Nichols can't wait to get her ninth season as the Bearkat women's coach started.
“It's very exciting,” Nichols said. “We've had great individual and conditioning workouts leading up to Monday's first full team practice. Everyone has been working hard.”
Nine letter winners return from the 2014 squad. They are joined by a solid group of recruits. Nichols also has three new assistant coaches – Rosalind Jennings, Stacy Stephens and Jessica Salera.
“My coaching staff is amazing,” Nichols said. “They've done a great job with the individual workouts. They've really been picking up the tempo.”
Three starters return from last year's squad, headlined by All-Southland Conference center Amanda Beadle. The 6-3 senior comes into her final season ranked as sixth all-time rebound leader (677 boards) and 17th all-time top scorer (858 career points).
Junior guard 5-5 Amanda Barnes and senior forward 5-11 Jazmin Wiley also return as starters. Barnes has played in 55 games the past two seasons, starting 20 times. Wiley has played in 92 games during the past three games, starting 37 times.
Other returning letter winners include seniors Jasmine Robinson and Summer Fife, juniors Jasmin Anderson and sophomores Morghen Day and Taylor Dorsey. Sally Clavelle, a 5-8 junior guard who red-shirted last season, also returns.
“We're excited about our seniors. They will give us a lot of leadership this year,” Nichols said. “But our younger kids also look to be leaders as well. It's going to be a total team effort. Everybody is going to be a part of what happens this year.”
Four newcomers look to make an impact on the 2014-15 team.
Shernise Robertson, a 5-6 guard, averaged 18.2 points per game leading Tyler Junior College to the final eight at the NJCAA national tournament last year. Shadijah Moore, a 6-2 center, started every game for a 30-4 conference championship team at Shelton State in Alabama as a sophomore.
Two freshmen also join the squad. Angela Delaney, a 5-8 guard, averaged 14.7 points for Killeen / Harker Heights as a senior. Saundra Guillory, a 6-1 forward, posted 11.6 points and 9.7 rebounds for Anderson High School in Austin.
“Our first priority is to work on our defense,” Nichols said. “We want to be a scrappy bunch this year.”
The Sam Houston women open their season Saturday, November 8, with a 6:30 p.m. preseason exhibition game against Mary Hardin-Baylor. Regular season action begins with a trip to LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, November 15.
Season tickets for both Bearkat men's and women's basketball are on sale now at www.gobearkats.com and at the SHSU ticket office. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729. The Sam Houston women's team begins preseason practice Monday.
