2008 Woodie Awards
Lady Warriors Prepare for Upcoming Challanges
Ethan Moore
Issue date: 1/27/06 Section: Sports
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With one of the top five scoring offenses in the nation at 81.2 points per game, it is no surprise that the Hendrix College women's basketball team is off to a 13-5 start. However, in the SCAC, a conference that features two of the top 25 teams in the country in DePauw and Trinity, it's not going to be easy to rise to the top and capture the conference title come February at the tournament.
Regardless, with seven games left, starting tonight against Centre, head coach Chris Hitchcock is satisfied with where the team currently stands. "[From the beginning of the season], we expected to put ourselves in position at the end of each game to win every game, and we have done that in 17 of our 18 games," said Hitchcock. He also reiterated that that was the team's goal for the remainder of the season as well as the conference tournament.
But with a tough schedule remaining, including rematches against DePauw and Trinity, both of whom defeated the Warriors earlier in the year, Hitchcock knows that there is much to be done if they are to be in a position at the end of each game to win.
"[To put ourselves in that position], we need to play up-tempo basketball, score in transition, have balanced scoring, out-rebound our opponent, and have more assists than turnovers," he said. "We also have to play aggressively on defense."
This past weekend, the Warriors journeyed to Texas to take on Southwestern and Trinity, and came back with mixed results, a loss to the latter ending the team's four-game winning streak.
"We had a solid weekend in Texas," he said. "We won a good road game at Southwestern. Unfortunately we had some foul trouble at Trinity but we still were in the game until the very end. Winning at Rhodes [the weekend before] was also a big win for us."
And as Hitchcock said, scoring has certainly not been a problem, as the team scored 82 points in the four wins prior to the Trinity loss. In addition, all five upperclassmen - Bonnie Hicks, Tori Huggins, Erin McKenzie, Kyra Shachmut, and Casey Smith are averaging in the double digits, while freshmen Samantha Clark, Krista Goss, Devin Smith, Ashton Wells, and Kallie Wilson "have made great strides in developing into impact players."
A couple of individuals have also reached career statistical milestones this season, with McKenzie and Huggins each reaching 1,000 points and Casey Smith reaching 500 rebounds.
And if the team can begin to balance out its incredible scoring offense with some more defense, Hitchcock knows that the SCAC title is well within reach. "I think there are about six or seven teams in the SCAC that are capable of winning the SCAC Tournament," he said. "We are certainly in the mix to be able to win the tournament."
The team will take on Centre tonight at 6 p.m. in Grove Gymnasium, which it will follow up by hosting Sewanee at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Regardless, with seven games left, starting tonight against Centre, head coach Chris Hitchcock is satisfied with where the team currently stands. "[From the beginning of the season], we expected to put ourselves in position at the end of each game to win every game, and we have done that in 17 of our 18 games," said Hitchcock. He also reiterated that that was the team's goal for the remainder of the season as well as the conference tournament.
But with a tough schedule remaining, including rematches against DePauw and Trinity, both of whom defeated the Warriors earlier in the year, Hitchcock knows that there is much to be done if they are to be in a position at the end of each game to win.
"[To put ourselves in that position], we need to play up-tempo basketball, score in transition, have balanced scoring, out-rebound our opponent, and have more assists than turnovers," he said. "We also have to play aggressively on defense."
This past weekend, the Warriors journeyed to Texas to take on Southwestern and Trinity, and came back with mixed results, a loss to the latter ending the team's four-game winning streak.
"We had a solid weekend in Texas," he said. "We won a good road game at Southwestern. Unfortunately we had some foul trouble at Trinity but we still were in the game until the very end. Winning at Rhodes [the weekend before] was also a big win for us."
And as Hitchcock said, scoring has certainly not been a problem, as the team scored 82 points in the four wins prior to the Trinity loss. In addition, all five upperclassmen - Bonnie Hicks, Tori Huggins, Erin McKenzie, Kyra Shachmut, and Casey Smith are averaging in the double digits, while freshmen Samantha Clark, Krista Goss, Devin Smith, Ashton Wells, and Kallie Wilson "have made great strides in developing into impact players."
A couple of individuals have also reached career statistical milestones this season, with McKenzie and Huggins each reaching 1,000 points and Casey Smith reaching 500 rebounds.
And if the team can begin to balance out its incredible scoring offense with some more defense, Hitchcock knows that the SCAC title is well within reach. "I think there are about six or seven teams in the SCAC that are capable of winning the SCAC Tournament," he said. "We are certainly in the mix to be able to win the tournament."
The team will take on Centre tonight at 6 p.m. in Grove Gymnasium, which it will follow up by hosting Sewanee at 3 p.m. on Sunday.