2015-16Lady Hawks Schedule

By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – Vic Mitchell clearly recalls the conversation.

Having fallen just short of pulling off an upset in the second round of the conference tournament, the opposing coach came up to the Shorter women's basketball coach and told him that Mitchell's team "just didn't have enough bullets."

On Wednesday night, the Lady Hawks will begin a new season with a stockpile of ammunition when what will be an experienced and deep team hosts Clark-Atlanta at 7 p.m. at the Winthrop-King Centre in the 19^th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Classic. The non-conference clash follows the Classic opener that tips off at 5:30 p.m. between a pair of talented high school teams, the Armuchee Lady Indians and the Rome Lady Wolves.

"We've got a very veteran team in a lot of ways. That's a positive," Mitchell said as the Lady Hawks return eight members back from last year's 13-17 squad that will combine with some key transfers and freshmen. "And we're deeper that we've ever been since we've made the transition to Division II. This year I think we have more bullets.

"Our experience and depth is our strength," said Mitchell. "You need those two things to compete in the Gulf South Conference."

Giving the Lady Hawks the experience – and leadership – as they start a new campaign are five seniors, three of them who will begin the end of their careers that has spanned the last four years: Madison Rice, Maggie Peeples and Tamarr Williams.

"They're a special group," Mitchell said of the trio, who all started throughout the season in 2014-15 and respectively averaged 5.6, 4.5 and 5.3 points a game, "knowing the sacrifices they made during our transition to Division II and not being able to play in the postseason when they got here. They made a commitment early on."

Tatiana Allen also returns for her senior year as the transfer made an immediate impact last season, her first after transferring to Shorter from Southwest Tennessee Community College, when she averaged 3.5 points but came alive over the final three weeks knocking down 11 points a game.

Rounding out the senior quintet is point guard Shakierya McClendon, who played on nearby Georgia Highlands' inaugural team for two years and played at Division I Grambling State last year where she became a starter and averaged 7.9 points and 2.9 rebounds and led team with 71 steals.

Four juniors add to Shorter's experience and depth as Shaundricka Mann returns after establishing herself as an inside threat last season (5 ppg), as does Grace Rogers (3.3) and guard Brittany Greene, who stepped into starter's role in January only to be sidelined for the rest of the season with a foot injury.

The final junior on the roster is 6-foot-1 center Taylor Adams, who was red-shirted last year with wrist injury after transferring from Gadsden State where she earned All-Conference honors after averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds an outing, and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in defensive rebounds, fourth in total rebounds and 10^th in field goal percentage.

The lone sophomore is also the lone Lady Hawk who returns with the best scoring production from a year ago as Jackie Hudson, who averaged 6.7 points, will make the transition from guard t forward where Mitchell feels will give her more opportunities score.

Rounding out the roster includes freshmen Kayla Tillie of Maryville, Tenn., Raven Fair of Union City, Tenn., Hannah Reagan of Loganville, and Andrea Taylor, who prepped at South Paulding High.

While the Lady Hawks boast the bullets, it's a matter of finding out who is ready to pull the trigger offensively as missing from the roster this season are the top three scorers from a year ago, including Ieshia Alexander, who led the team averaging 15.8 points.

"We need to identify who will give us the offensive consistency," said Mitchell, noting that the respective outside and inside combination of McClendon and Taylor has potential. "We'll rely on them heavily to come in and provide us the scoring and rebounding we need.

"We've also spent a lot of time on defense these last couple of weeks," the coach added. "That's been a big concern for us. We haven't gelled together on that end of the court.
"We need to find out during these non-conference games who can be consistent for us."

After facing Clark, the Lady Hawks remain at home to host Hiwassee on Friday, head to Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday to play Samford in an exhibition tilt, then returns the visit to Clark on Nov. 24 to close out their early non-conference tests before getting into what will be a grueling 22-game Gulf South Conference schedule.

Shorter's first GSC test comes on Dec. 3 when the Lady Hawks travel to Jackson, Tenn., to play Union, the defending conference champions and ranked No. 13 in the Division II preseason poll. The team remains in Tennessee to play Christian Brothers on Dec. 5 in Memphis, before returning to Rome for its first GSC home game against West Florida on Dec. 10.

Tickets for the Classic at the Winthrop-King Centre, which will be transferred into a pink gym thanks to Shorter's Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, are $5 for adults and $4 for students, seniors and children. Children under 5 will be admitted free and for this benefit there will be no pass list.