Fans filtered into Humphrey Coliseum Sunday for their first chance to hear sneakers squeak as the Lady Bulldog basketball team held its first preseason scrimmage. Head coach Sharon Fanning tiered the scrimmage for a variety of competitive experience for her team that features four seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen.
In the opening 20-minute session Fanning and her staff divided the team into what would have been equal teams had it not been for a quadriceps injury to senior forward Rebecca Kates.
“We had them balanced, but with that balance we didn’t have Rebecca on one of the teams,” Fanning said. “She tried to get back into practice a little bit, but it’s premature and we didn’t want her to take a chance.”
The maroon squad forced turnovers that led to fast break opportunities and won the session 41-31.
“The maroon group played a little bit better together, but you had Mamie (McKinney), Blessing (Chekwa) and Tiania (Burns). On the other team you would have had Tan (White) and Rebecca, which was two starters.”
The second pairing put the starters in the white jerseys against newcomers and reserves.
The starters displayed better communication and fluidity, scoring 36 points and holding the reserves to 15 in the 10-minute session.
“We’re just trying to put everybody together,” Burns said. “We’ve got a couple of new players trying to learn the system. We’ve only had a couple of good practices since we started so it’s time to get more practice.”
The Lady Dawgs will have a different type of practice this year, or at least a different type of opponent.
Women’s coordinator of basketball operations Stephanie Siler formed a scout team of guys who attend MSU. Right now there are six guys competing against the Lady Dawgs but Fanning hopes to have a few more in January.
“They’re our practice team,” Burns said. “If you can play against guys, you can play against girls. It’s to help our quickness and play more as a team.”
Fanning said her squad was tired by the time they took on the guys, but that was partially by design.
“We tried to put the girls at a disadvantage by playing a 20 minute period and then another 10 minute period and then we brought the guys in,” Fanning said. “That’s where we’re checking their mental toughness.”
Burns, who is in her second season with the Lady Dawgs, led all scorers with 24 points. After transferring from Copiah-Lincoln Community College last season, Burns said she feels more at home.
“I’m just trying to feel comfortable,” she said.
Fanning cited execution, defense, rebounding and shot selection are things she wants her team to improve and added a less tangible characteristic.
“What I want us to focus on more is our demeanor on how we walk on the floor,” Fanning said. “We started out with a pretty positive mindset, but didn’t communicate the way we have to communicate to be successful.”