Head coach Sharon Fanning has her Lady Bulldogs tuned up to start a tough 2003-2004 schedule. MSU tips its season off tonight at 7 p.m. in The Hump against the Houston Jaguars.
Renea Jones and LaToya Thomas of last season’s 24-8 Lady Bulldogs will play for the Jaguars Friday night.
This year’s schedule includes 13 teams who appeared in the postseason last year. The 2003-2004 campaign is highlighted with a Jan. 4 home game against Illinois on CBS and a Jan. 11 game against Tennessee and road games facing Baylor, Louisiana Tech and LSU.
Fanning says this year’s schedule is the toughest in her nine seasons at MSU and hopes that the tough non-conference schedule will help the team prepare for SEC play.
“This is a tough schedule with the trip to the Virgin Islands, Baylor and those games on our West Coast swing,” said Fanning. “This schedule will make us better for our league.”
After the strenuous early season, the competitive SEC schedule the Bulldogs face won’t offer relief.
The Lady Dawgs start the SEC season on the road against Georgia. UGA returns nine letter winners from last year’s team that finished third in the SEC. After a tough road game in Athens, the Bulldogs return home to host perennial powerhouse Tennessee.
Fanning says she has a lot of respect for every team in the league.
“You have to be ready to play night in and night out,” said Fanning. “Teams in our league don’t rebuild, they just reload.”
Reloading is exactly what the Lady Bulldogs will have to do after graduating the four-time Kodak All-American LaToya Thomas. This year’s squad will try to fill the void with balance and quickness.
“We have three new people that will be key in our team’s success this season,” said Fanning. “It is a more balanced team this year.”
Returning players recognize the loss and are adjusting to a new system. Junior guard and spring captain Tan White says the team will rely more on ball movement and quickness.
“We are going to get up and down the floor and shoot the ball more,” said White. “This will be a different team this year.”
Junior forward Rebecca Kates said that with Thomas gone, her role in the post will increase.
“I have to produce more in the post this year since we lost LaToya and be more of a team leader,” said Kates.
“We have a long way to go (in the post) but the two freshmen coming in are really good. Mamie (McKinney) is coming on real strong,” added Kates.
The 2003-2004 Bulldogs possess good quickness and depth in both guard spots. Tan White will be a primary scorer from the guard spot. While junior Ebonie Ferguson, who is returning from an ACL injury, and junior college transfer Tiania Burns will help in the backcourt. Ferguson brings energy to the court and Burns averaged over 27 points last season at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
Sophomores Doceide Warren and Blessing Chekwa look to return from injuries and continue to bring scoring and defense to the Lady Bulldog guards. Warren netted over 200 points last season and Chekwa received the MSU Best Defensive Player Award.
Senior guards Seneca Anderson, Jessica Carter and Faith McGhee add flexibility and depth to Bulldog squad. Anderson acted as the Bulldog’s sixth man last year and Carter is deadly from the perimeter. McGhee will rotate between the point and wing this year.
To fill the hole in the post left by Thomas, Fanning brought in two freshmen post players from Louisiana. Natasha Henderson and Ashley Sentimore both look to make an immediate impact this year.
Henderson, a 6-foot-3-inch forward/center, averaged 20 points and 15 rebounds per game in high school and should add rebounding power.
Sentimore, a 6-foot forward, averaged 15.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game during her senior year in high school. Sentimore looks to add physical strength in post play.
Sentimore and Henderson join Kates, junior Tiffany Burton and sophomores Chalandra Hilliard and Mamie McKinney in the battle for time in the post.
“Everyone is gunning for MSU. We will have to step up and play,” Fanning said. “We will have to play hard nose and win games.”
White echoed Fanning by saying that the Lady Bulldogs plan on maintaining their recent winning ways.
“I think we expect things to be harder on us,” said White. “The bar has definitely been raised to a new level and higher expectations.”