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For Immediate Release 21 November 2002
Southwest
Baptist’s women’s basketball team will open the
2002-03 regular season on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22-23
in Pittsburg, Kan. at the 9th Annual Kitchen Pass Tipoff Classic.
The Lady Bearcats will play Southern Illinois-Edwardsville
on Friday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. in John Lance Arena on the campus
of Pittsburg State. The women will then play against East
Central (Okla.) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23.
SBU won its exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 15 against the
Southwest Missouri All-Stars, 73-57. Senior Allison Davis
led SBU with 15 points. She also recorded four rebounds. Sophomores
Natasha Goldsmith had 14 points and eight rebounds while Alicia
Mercer had 13 points and led the team with 14 rebounds. Sophomore
Gwyn Smith also finished in double figures for SBU with 10
points.
The Lady Bearcats shot 36.8 percent in the game from the field,
25 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 85.7 percent
from the line.
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville lost its exhibition game on
Nov. 15 to Southeast Missouri State, 81-65. SIUE was down
43-28 at the half, but in the second half, the Cougars were
only outscored by one point. However, the margin was too much
to overcome. Leading the way for the Cougars was senior forward
Ruth Kipping with 23 points and six rebounds. Also scoring
in double figures for SIUE was junior guard Jessica Robert.
SIUE was outrebounded 40-30, however, they shot 42.2 percent
from the field Friday. The Cougars shot 57.1 percent from
the arc and 69.7 percent from the free throw line.
Last season, SIUE finished with a 14-13 record and tied for
eighth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference
with a 12-8 record. They return seven of nine letterwinners
and three of five starters to this year’s squad. SBU
leads the series between the two teams, 8-4.
East Central has not played a formal game so far this season.
This year’s Lady Tiger team was a unanimous pick as the
preseason No. 1 in the North Division of the Lone Star Conference.
The team returns four of its five starters from last year’s
11-14 team. In 2001-02, ECU finished 4-8 in the LSC. However,
this season, the Lady Tigers return honorable mention All-American
Stormy Griffith to their lineup. A 6-0 junior center, she
shot 62 percent from the floor last year and averaged 19.8
points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Also returning are Laura
Gragg, a 5-7 senior who averaged 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds
last season while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.
ECU’s second leading scorer last year, Lesli Shores,
also returns as a 5-10 junior forward. She averaged 11 points
per game while leading the squad with 8.1 rebounds per outing.
The Lady Tigers have only 10 players on their roster this
season. SBU leads the series, 1-0.
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