2018-19 WBB Preview: Backcourt
11/1/2018 11:25:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BACKCOURT
Returners: Jenniffer Oramas, Alyssa Osborne, Dominique Maxwell, Tia Harston, Rachel Harrell
Newcomers: Destini Whitehead, Kayla Konarik, Jaylonn Walker, Ze'Nya Butler, Faith Cook
HUNTSVILLE – A new era of Sam Houston State women's basketball begins next week under first-year head coach Ravon Justice, and with a renewed focus and culture, the Bearkats look to be trending in the right direction.
The Kats return just seven players off its roster from a year ago, with five being in the backcourt, but Justice's staff also made it a focus to bring in a slew of newcomers who bring a winning mentality to the team.
“I was looking for players who are used to winning and came from programs that had a lot of success on and off the floor,” Justice said. “Jaylonn Walker won a lot of games in junior college and Faith Cook is another player that had a lot of early success and is a great student. Those are the type of players we are looking for, ones who have had great success on and off the floor.”
The mix of old and new could bode well for the Bearkats this year, and moving forward with each of its top four scorers back from last season – three of which have multiple years left with the program. Jenniffer Oramas headlines that crew of returners and enters her junior season after averaging a team-best 10.0 points per game as a sophomore.
The Florida native showed explosive potential at times in 2017-18, going for double-digit points a dozen times and maxing out with 24 points to lead the Kats to their lone win of league play at Southeastern Louisiana. She also led the Kats with 83 assists a year ago and found her way to the foul line 73 times, a mark that was second on the team only to post Lydia Baxter.
She has shot the ball from three-point range at 35.0 percent during her first two years, but according to Justice that number could see an increase in 2018-19.
“The biggest thing is that she is shooting the ball really well right now,” Justice said. “She is shooting more consistently and knocking down more of the shots that we want her to take.”
The one player on the roster who knocked down more shots from the outside last season was Rachel Harrel, who led the team with 41 three-point baskets. She finished the year with 1.5 made 3-point baskets per game, a mark that was fourth in the Southland Conference and she hit multiple triples in 14 of 27 games.
Having one of the top outside threats in the Southland Conference is a luxury that Justice is excited to work with this year, but she has also been impressed with Harrell's ability to share the ball in preseason workouts. She was third on the team in assists a year ago with 36, upping her total by nine from her freshman season.
Justice has also been impressed with the leadership and basketball IQ of junior Tia Harston who has played in 50 games over the past two seasons. She also likes the vocal leadership that she has seen from senior Dominique Maxwell, and expects sophomore Alyssa Osborne to be an impact player on the defensive end.
Someone who should be an immediate impact player, Walker was a late addition to the Bearkat roster for Justice and someone they were excited to land. A combo guard who has experience at both the point and off-guard spots, Walker averaged 16.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on her way to all-conference honors for McLennan Community College a year ago.
“She is crafty with the ball, and she'll be able to play both the 1 and 2 positions because she can make a lot of decisions with the ball in her hands,” Justice said of Walker. “She has won a lot of basketball games and that is important for our program right now. Being from a small school, she played everywhere, but when she got to junior college, she really worked on her craft as a shooter.”
Other backcourt additions include Faith Cook, Destini Whitehead, Ze'Nya Butler and Kayla Konarik who comes to Sam Houston after a year at Blinn College. The Kats will have to wait until midyear for the influx of both Whitehead and Butler due to an injury and transfer requirements, while Cook will have to sit out the year after spending the past two seasons at UTEP. But Justice considers Cook to be a true point guard and expects her to have a positive influence this year in practice before beginning to contribute on the floor in 2019-20.
“She will have to sit out this first year, but she has been a breath of fresh air,” Justice said of Cook. “It is really difficult to find a true point guard and she is just that. She is a floor leader, shoots the ball well and will be able to distribute it.”
