Friday, November 07, 2008

11 Days of A-Sun Women's Basketball stays local with a look at the Mercer Bears and year two of the Janell Jones era. Four starters return from last year's team led by LaToya Jackson.

Jackson, a guard, was one of three players in the A-Sun who led her team in points and assists a year ago, averaging 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. She is the third-leading returning scorer in the conference behind USC Upstate's Courtney Hawkins (16.4 ppg) and Kennesaw State’s Britteny Henderson (14.5 ppg).

In addition to scoring and assists, Jackson comes back for her junior season as the leader returner in 3-point field goal percentage (37.7 percent), free throw percentage (82.0 percent), steals per game (1.3) and minutes per game (33.0).

Coach Janell Jones on the Bears

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SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Mercer Media Relations)

All the signs of fall – the reddening of the leaves, the shortening days, the crisp chill in the air – are welcome sights for Mercer head coach Janell Jones and her team. After enduring a difficult, but necessary, transition season in 2007-08, Jones and a retooled Bears squad cannot wait to get back onto the court this year to show their fans (and the Atlantic Sun Conference foes) what they are truly capable of.

“I think there is a new excitement in the air,” Jones said. “We feel like we are going to be much more competitive in our non-conference and our conference this season.”

With a solid core of returning players, a hatful of talented young newcomers, and a challenging schedule designed to push the team to their very best, the Bears are aiming to turn a few heads in the A-Sun this season. Though the conference’s preseason poll estimated the team would finish in a tie for eighth place, Mercer’s team believes they are fully capable of shaking up those early rankings.

“Of course, we certainly have higher expectations than what the poll reads.” Jones said. “[Our ranking] is something we will use as a motivational tool for the girls to get them to really push themselves and exceed those expectations.”

THE BACKCOURT

Perhaps the Bears’ deepest position, the Orange and Black will have plenty of quality options to fill the guard roles on the teams, including returning their top scorer from a year ago, LaToya Jackson. Jackson paced the team with 13.8 points per game (good for fifth-best in the Atlantic Sun Conference) in her first season with the Bears following a transfer from Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas. The Oklahoma City native will look to pick up where she left off last season, when she scored a season-high and a team season-best 28 points on the big stage against ETSU in the Atlantic Sun Quarterfinals.

Starting every game in the point guard position, Jackson, who cracked double-digits in her first two Division I games, hit double-digit points in 21 of the team’s 30 matches last season, including scoring 10+ points in 10 of the last 11 games. Dishing out 105 assists for the season as well, Jackson finished the year as the sixth-best passer in the conference, averaging 3.5 assists per game. Running the point for the Bears again this season, it is safe to say the majority of the team’s offense will again come through Jackson in 2008-09.

“LaToya is such a great shooter, we would love to have her in the two position, but she’s got the most experience at the point guard position as well,” Jones said. “She had to do everything for us last year: bring the ball up, score and assist. This year, having some help around her will allow her to focus on scoring and not having to do so many other things."

In addition to Jackson, Mercer also returns senior guard Megan Lewis. Lewis enjoyed a solid campaign last year as well, averaging 4.9 points per game from the backcourt. A three-year veteran of the Orange and Black, she would set career-highs in most every major offensive category in 2007-08, including an impressive 20-point performance against Gardner-Webb on Feb. 11, where she knocked down eight of her nine shots from the floor. The Pace, Fla. Native just missed out on her first career double-double against Kennesaw State in the final regular season game as well, contributing 12 points and a career-best nine rebounds.

Another familiar figure in the guard spot for the Orange and Black this season will be Cristin Seymour. Playing in all but one game, Seymour was a consistent performer for the Bears last season, averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Seymour scored in double-figures in 10 contests last season, including posting career-bests in both points (14) and assists (5) in the team’s penultimate regular season game against Jacksonville.

Besides a solid core of veterans, the Bears will also have plenty of fresh faces battling for time in the backcourt as well. Junior Courtney Ford will be among the newcomers capable of making a significant impact on the team this season. A junior-college transfer from Orange Coast College in the competitive Orange Empire Conference, Ford set a new school record for career points with the Pirates last season, finishing with 1,416 in two seasons with Orange Coast. She also helped the school to back-to-back OEC championships, and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2007-08 after averaging 23.2 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists per game for the Pirates.

“What separates Courtney Ford from so many other players is that she is just an extreme competitor,” Jones said. “She hates to lose, and she will do whatever it takes for her team to win. She is going to go down fighting. She is a girl that will take a charge, that will go down on the floor after a loose ball; that isn’t afraid to take anyone to the hole. We didn’t have that last year. She knows the pressure she is going to have to face in the conference this season, and she is working hard every day to get her game better.”

True freshman Lorin Hammer should also see plenty of minutes in 2008-09 after joining the Bears from Sequoyah High School in Oklahoma where she helped the team to three state championships in her four-year career. Hammer, who is a Cherokee Indian, averaged 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.0 steals per game in an all-around senior season at Sequoyah, boosting the program to an impressive 107-7 record in her time there.

A transfer from Oklahoma State, Natasha Doh will likely play a large role for the Orange and Black as well. Doh averaged 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds for the Cowgirls last season, shooting over 50 percent from three-point range. Doh also has a history with Jones, having played under her at Oklahoma City University in her freshman season (2004-05), helping the team to a 32-7 record.

“Having Natasha is good because both she and LaToya can share time at point guard,” Jones said. “You can never be too deep in the point guard position.”

Freshmen Kara Powell, Anqaneice Lewis, Eryka Menzies and Porschea Jeffries will round out the minutes in the backcourt for the Bears this season. Powell, a native of Hot Springs, South Dakota, averaged nearly 20 points a game in each of her last two seasons at Hot Springs High School, while Lewis averaged 18 and 17 points per game in her senior and junior seasons, respectively, at Heritage High School. Menzies is a sharpshooter who can stretch defenses with her ability to score from behind the arc, and the 5-10 Jeffries will give size to the Bears’ guard positions.

THE FRONTCOURT

Senior TaShera Lewis tops the list of Bears competing for time at the forward position. Lewis finished second on the team in scoring last season, adding 6.9 points per game to the Mercer attack, and an impressive 9.1 ppg in A-Sun conference play. Lewis really seemed to find her stroke as the season went on, scoring in double-figures in nine of the team’s final 17 games. The Orange and Black will hope that Lewis (who averaged 10.5 in her 2006-07 sophomore campaign) can carry that momentum into this season.

While Lewis’ offensive numbers may have taken a slight drop last season, she more than made up for it with an increased presence on the glass. The Eastman, Ga. native finished third on the team with career-best 120 rebounds, topping her previous season total by over 30 boards. Her career-best 13-rebound performance in the team’s 74-61 win against USC Upstate on Feb. 2 tied a team season-high; Lewis would complete the double-double with 18 points in that game as well. All told, she finished 15th in the Atlantic Sun in offensive rebounds, hauling in 59 boards at a 2.11 rpg clip.

Senior Dominique Chism should also be a prominent feature of the Mercer frontcourt. The forward was a standout performer with Oklahoma State during the 2006-07 season, starting 17 of the 31 games she appeared in for the Cowgirls. Jones and the Bears hope Chism’s debut in the Orange and Black is as impressive as her first outing with OSU, where she scored 11 points in just 12 minutes. She would also grab a career-high 14 rebounds in a contest against Nebraska on Feb. 24, 2007: the best single-game performance by Oklahoma State on the season.

“Interestingly enough, when Dominique was at Oklahoma State, she was just expected to play defense and rebound,” Jones said. “But here, we want her to do more: she knows how to score with two or three people on here, she can see the floor and knows how to pass. She is just an instinctive player and has a good understanding of the game at both ends of the court. She is extremely athletic as well, as she can score in the post, take people off the dribble or step out and hit a 15-foot jump shot. She has lots of weapons besides just being on the block. She is such a presence on the court: she demands defensive coverage, which will really open our guard play up.”

Returning senior Nicole Leonard and incoming junior Holly Bawden will also see time at forward for the Bears this season. Leonard averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 30 games for the Bears last season, while Bawden averaged nearly a double-double while playing both the three and the four slots for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

In addition to its forwards, Mercer will have two up-and-coming talents to choose from in the center position. The lone sophomore on the roster, Kourtney Carter earned 19 starts in her first season with the Bears last year. The Fullerton, Calif. native finished the season tied for fourth on the team with a 6.9 points per game average, and led the team with her 4.8 rebounds per game. Carter was the team’s second-highest scorer in the Atlantic Sun quarterfinal game against ETSU, posting 12 points and four boards against the Bucs.

Carter will be joined in the middle by newcomer Lacy Ramon. The Norman, Oklahoma native took her Mustang and Norman High School squads to four straight state tournaments, winning a state championship in 2006. Ramon averaged 12.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists on her way to a McDonald’s All-American nomination in her senior season.

“Lacy is just a hard-nosed, tough, competitive player that understands the game. She is going to be playing against posts that are bigger than her, but she is not afraid to take on anyone. She is only going to get better as the year develops. She is another player that will bring us the toughness we lacked last year: when you have got someone that is diving on the floor and picking up charges, it fires up everyone around them.”

SCHEDULE

Following an exhibition in early November in the University Center, the Bears open the regular season with a four-game road swing beginning on Nov. 14 when they battle Texas A&M in College Station. The Aggies are coming off an outstanding 2007-08 season in which they went 29-8, garnered the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s Oklahoma City Regional, and advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Tennessee, 53-45. They also finished the season ranked No. 8 in the country and defeated Oklahoma State to claim the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Championship.

“Starting out against Texas A&M will give us a real test of pressure and playing against great athletes,” Jones said. “We are getting to play the No. 8 team in the country, and it’s a great opportunity for us to go down there and play with nothing to lose.”

Mercer then heads to South Carolina State (Nov. 18), Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 21) and South Alabama (Nov. 24) before returning to the University Center for the home opener on Nov. 28 against High Point. The Bears upended SCSU and ULL in Macon to open up the 2007-08 campaign while the meeting with High Point will be the first in the program’s history.

“We were fortunate to defeat South Carolina State and Louisiana-Lafayette last season and I’m sure they haven’t forgotten that,” added Jones. “So it’ll be a real challenge to go there as well. We will be happy to get home for Thanksgiving and meet High Point for the first time in school history.”

Due to the additional conference games this season, Atlantic Sun play will start up Dec. 3 when USC Upstate invades Macon. Two days later, Mercer hosts ETSU before embarking on a season-high seven-game road swing. The Lady Bucs represented the A-Sun at last year’s NCAA Tourney and were downed by Oklahoma State in first-round action.

The tough road stretch begins with another NCAA Tournament squad from last season as the Bears travel to Tallahassee for a tilt with Florida State on Dec. 14. FSU defeated Ohio State in the first round and lost to Oklahoma State in the Round of 32.

“I like having two Atlantic Sun Conference games before Christmas,” Jones said. “Since ETSU is the defending league champion, they will obviously be tough. That game should provide an early measuring stick of our team.”

Mercer then travels to the Bahamas for a pair of games on Dec. 18-19, where the Bears will face off against East Carolina and former A-Sun foe Florida Atlantic before heading to Kansas for a difficult test at Wichita State to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. This will also mark the Bears first ever meeting with the Shockers.

“Any time you have an opportunity to go on the road and play tough opponents like Florida State and Wichita State, and go out there and fight and battle, your team is always going to be better, no matter what the outcome,” Jones said. “Most of our non-conference games are on the road, and I think that experience will help us. In a road game, it’s just you and your coaches: you have to fight as a team. I think we will grow a lot from our non-conference schedule.”

The Bears resume conference action with a Jan. 8 match-up at Jacksonville and the lengthy road swing concludes with a contest against North Florida on Jan. 10. After 40 days without a home game, Mercer will welcome 2008 WNIT participant Florida Gulf Coast to the University Center on Jan. 15. The quick two-game home stand will see longtime rival Stetson visit Macon on Jan. 17.

A trip to Music City is next on the slate as Mercer takes on Belmont (Jan. 22) and Lipscomb (Jan. 24). The Bears then enjoy a season-high four-game home stand in which they will compete against Kennesaw State (Jan. 29), Campbell (Feb. 2), North Florida (Feb. 5), and Jacksonville (Feb. 7).

The Bears travel up I-75 on Feb. 9 for a date with in-state rival Kennesaw State before heading to the Sunshine State for match-ups with Stetson (Feb. 12) and Florida Gulf Coast (Feb. 14). Mercer’s final home contests are against Lipscomb on Feb. 19 and Senior Day is set for Feb. 21 when Belmont comes to town.

“Our conference is going to be tough from top to bottom,” said Jones. “There are several talented teams in the A-Sun and we’ll have to be ready to play every game.”

Mercer closes out the regular season at USC Upstate (Feb. 26) and ETSU (Feb. 28). For the second consecutive year, Lipscomb will host the A-Sun Tournament on Mar. 4-7 at Allen Arena.

11 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 29 - Belmont
Oct. 30 - Campbell
Oct. 31 - ETSU
Nov.  3 - FGCU
Nov.  4 - Jacksonville
Nov.  5 - Kennesaw State
Nov.  6 - Lipscomb
Nov.  7 - Mercer
Nov. 10 - UNF
Nov. 11 - USC Upstate
Nov. 12 - Stetson