Women’s Basketball Set to Tip Off New Era Sunday at Home
11/12/2015 12:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Georgia Southern women’s basketball opens regular season at 2 p.m. Sunday against Lipscomb in Hanner Fieldhouse
STATESBORO, Ga. - With Tuesday's exhibition against Coastal Georgia in the rear view mirror the Georgia Southern women's basketball program can officially turn the page to a new era under the direction of a new coach while playing with some new rules.
The team begins the regular-season on Sunday, Nov. 15 at home against Lipscomb at 2 p.m. and that is when the Kip Drown era will officially get underway in Statesboro.
For Sunday's game, it will be the last opportunity for fans to donate canned goods to those in need during the holiday season. All goods collected will be donated by the GSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to the Statesboro Food Bank.
Also, for Sunday's game, the first 100 Georgia Southern students in the doors will receive a free t-shirt and general admission tickets will be just $5.00, saving fans $3 off the regular adult ticket price.
"I think all coaches going into that first game, there are just so many question marks," stated Drown. "You've seen things in practice but how are we going to transfer that over into a real game? I thought the other night in our exhibition game that we did a lot of good things but there were also a couple things that we just went blank on. It just takes a little while for players to really settle in, particularly when you have a new coach and a new system that they are trying to get used to."
The 2015-16 Eagles got off to a good start Tuesday as they pulled away in the final three quarters of play to win 76-51 over the Mariners and those in attendance were able to get a decent first look at what Drown brings to the program.
"We have what we call the 'Eagle Way,' how we want to play the game," Drown said. "Number one is we want to play together. When fans come to see us play I want them to see a basketball team. I don't want them to see five individuals on the floor and then seven or eight individuals on the bench. I want fans to see a basketball team that functions together and is in sync together and plays well as a group.
"Number two," continued Drown, "I want them to see a team that is aggressive. I tell our players all the time that I want us to be aggressive and attack and go after the ball. The third thing goes hand-in-hand with that and is we need to be smart. There is a fine line between being aggressive and smart and you sometimes have to push that line but you can't go over it because then you start seeing turnovers, bad shots, foul trouble and just poor execution in general. There is a mixture and you want to be aggressive and you want to attack but we also want to be smart and make good decisions.
"And the fourth thing of the 'Eagle Way' is we want to finish," stated Drown. "I tell people all the time that it's amazing how much smarter I get when players make shots. But if you're not able to finish then you have to rebound or get to the foul line. Statistically wise, if you want to gauge how we're doing then you can look at our turnover margin, our rebounding margin, and our free throw margin. Historically my teams have made more free throws than the other team has taken over the course of the year. Getting to the foul line is a very important part of what we are trying to do."
Not only are the Georgia Southern players having to learn a new system, but they are also having to adjust to new rules that the NCAA implemented for women's basketball during the 2015-16 season. The new rules include going from two 20-minutes halves to four 10-minute quarters, the number of fouls each team has per period, changes to the number and length of media timeouts (both by the NCAA and Sun Belt) as well as the number of timeouts each team has and how they are called, especially in the second half. (More information on those changes can be found here)
Despite the big changes to the game, the Eagle women could not ask for a better coach to guide them through the various hurdles they will face this season. Drown brings a wealth of knowledge to the program that spans 27 years and his collegiate head coaching record stands at 463-327 (.586). Drown's experience includes a 10-year stint at Colorado State-Pueblo, four years at Grand Canyon University, seven years at Georgia Southwestern and six seasons at Southwest Baptist University. At each stop along the way, Drown was able to take the program to new heights and instill a new sense of a winning tradition.
Drown will most certainly benefit this season from a roster that remains mostly intact with 13 letterwinners returning from last year's squad. 10 of those returners played in 22 or more games a season ago and the other three, all sophomores, combined to play in 29 games with three starts. The best part of having 13 returners does not come in the form of stats but is the camaraderie that is already there and good team chemistry off the hardwood.
The Seniors
The 2015-16 squad features two very strong seniors to provide veteran leadership in forwards Briana Jones and Sierra Kirkland. Between the two, they have played a combined 149 games, including 52 starts, while in Statesboro. A season ago, the tandem accounted for 247 points and 270 rebounds between the two of them and both averaged over 20 minutes per game. Jones also enters the season climbing into the top-20 in program history for blocked shots after swatting away 38 balls last season.
"Both Briana and Sierra have been really great from the beginning," said Drown. "They both provide really great leadership and both are seasoned veterans. When they step on the court, they are all business and they are both model student-athletes. We are expecting a big year from both of them because we will really be relying on their experience. Briana is a low forward who really pounds the basketball and Sierra is a hybrid between a small and power forward and she will play both for us."
The Juniors
The second-largest class on the team, there are four juniors returning this season headlined by Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler. McGowan led the team last season with 13.1 points per game while shooting 39.6% (131-331) from the field and also added a team-best 46 steals. Butler was not far behind as she finished the 2014-15 campaign averaging 12.2 points per contest and was one of the team's leading rebounders with 5.5 boards per game.
The junior class also includes Alexis Sams who returned to action last season to log 30.7 minutes and 5.3 points per contest and was the team's most efficient free throw shooter as she hit on 81.5% (22-27) of her attempts from the charity stripe. Jessica Marcus is also back after playing in 17 games, averaging 7.6 minutes per game a season ago.
"Angel is a great scorer but she also compliments that with great defense," Drown stated. "She's a great defender who takes pride in that and works hard at it. Patrice has a lot of ability to score the basketball from anywhere on the court. She is very explosive and has a lot of tools that we will continue to work to expand on.
Drown continued, "Jessica Marcus will play inside at the four position for us but she will also pop out from time-to-time and is a very physical player. Alexis Sams is going to have to play a lot of minutes for us, but she's doing a great job stepping up and can knock down all the shots we ask from her. She's a great leader, but she's still learning our system just like everybody else is."
The Sophomores
The Eagles' largest class, the sophomores boast seven players who will certainly be called on at points this season to step up now that they all have collegiate playing experience. Trellanie English-Lurry and Alexis Foulks each earned a start in Tuesday's exhibition and that carried over from what they displayed as freshmen a season ago.
Like English-Lurry and Foulks, Sierra Butler, Jakayvea Akins and Abby Hix also proved their mettle as freshmen as they played in 22, 28 and 26 games respectively, giving the Eagles plenty of depth at the forward and guard positions. The final two sophomores are Bri Reece and Jessica Mlaska. Both saw playing time during the 2014-15 season and logged valuable minutes during Thursday's exhibition.
"(Having seven sophomores with collegiate game experience) helps, but at the same time everybody is still learning because of our new system," said Drown. "Once they all start clicking with what we are trying to do here, then you will see the experience kind of pop into play more. Right now, we're all going through those growing pains of learning the new system together, both offensively and defensively.
"Trellanie had a great game the other night in the exhibition," continued Drown. "I think she gained the most confidence from anybody because she's naturally a shooting guard and we're asking her to play point a lot. She can really shoot the ball and Tuesday she really stepped up. Sierra Butler has a lot of potential. She's still raw in some areas. The tools she has you can't teach, they're just God given talent. We're going to continue to work with her and mature her skill work but she has a really bright future ahead of her as an impact player.
"Jakayvea is probably the best athlete we have on the team and she had a really great summer and she worked on her jump shot a lot," Drown said. "Sometimes she gets going too fast and we have to teach her to harness that athleticism, but I'd rather have to tell her 'Whoa' than 'Go'. Jessica Mlaska has gotten a lot better in the short time I've been here. Her low post has really improved especially on offense. She really works hard to execute what we ask her to do on both sides of the ball. She's still young and learning, but she also plays in probably our deepest position. We have four or five players who could play there. She just keeps getting better.
"Alexis Foulks has a great body type for her position. We'd like for her to get a little stronger but she can score, shoot, she gets her hands on the basketball a lot so we can do a lot of things with her defensively as well," stated Drown. "She is very aggressive out on the court because she wants to play and play a lot. Abby Hix is just a great shooter with great range. We're working on expanding her game a bit and she's working hard at becoming more well-rounded especially with her defense and playing without the basketball. She is one of those players who can get you a couple really quick buckets and make a difference in key times of the game. Bri Reece is another great athlete and is just very hard to learn the new system and is getting better at the execution."
The Freshmen
For the 2015-16 season, Drown and staff brought in a pair of freshmen guards in Ashley Burke and Rhein Beamon who will most certainly earn playing time this season.
"Ashley Burke is a local kid and is a great player who is just going through typical freshman things, especially as a point guard," said Drown. "Point guard is one of the most difficult positions, especially for a freshman to come in and play. She's really working hard and picking up things that go along with our new system. She is probably going to have plenty of opportunities to come in and contribute for us.
"Rhein is another great raw athlete," said Drown. "She's now learning how to play more without the basketball than she ever has before. She's typically had the ball and been attacking and shooting where now we're asking her to do more screens and make cuts. She's a great, lock-down defender and I've been amazed at how quickly she has picked things up since she arrived on campus."
The Schedule
The Eagle women will start the season off with nine out of conference games including marquee games against three teams that played in post-season tournaments. Those opponents include the Mercer Bears which went 20-15 and made an appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament, Savannah State which went 21-11 with an appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Division I Tournament, and Stetson which went 23-8 with a trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
Other marquee out of conference games include a trip to Athens to face the Lady Bulldogs and home contests against Robert Morris and Charleston Southern. The Eagles will also face off against Jacksonville State at home and Bethune-Cookman in DeLand, Fla. after opening the season at home against Lipscomb for the second straight year this coming Sunday.
"I may have inherited our out of conference schedule, but I'm a big believer in trying to play good teams because I think that makes you grow and adapt," Drown stated. "I really do think that we are going to be very competitive this year. Our team feels like they are a good basketball team and while they haven't had the success that they'd like to have, they aren't going to walk on the floor this season intimidated by anybody. We are obviously going through growing pains and you learn from being in situations where you play good teams. Right from the get go we're playing good teams that will challenge us. This will definitely make us grow and it's the only way that we're going to be ready for Sun Belt play."
Once the end of the calendar year rolls around, the Eagles will turn their attention to their Sun Belt Conference slate which begins with a road trip to Texas where they will face Texas State and the University of Texas at Arlington. The 2015-16 SBC schedule will feature 10 home contests and 10 road games. The Eagles will benefit from having two stretches of four games at home, once in January and the second to close out the month of February.
"Georgia State is obviously one that is circled and highlighted for everyone, especially with the new series we have going on with them," said Drown. "But some of these places I have never been to before, and I've been to a lot of places in my career. I've never been to Boone, N.C. nor to Texas State so I'm excited to see new places and to meet and coach against new coaches. The Sun Belt is a very good league so it's a great opportunity to get to coach in this league. I'm most anxious to finally be able to gauge where we are as a team. I keep hearing about the athleticism of the league and so I'm excited to see how we stack up against those other teams. It's very difficult to get a feel for it on video, it's something you just have to experience in person.
The team begins the regular-season on Sunday, Nov. 15 at home against Lipscomb at 2 p.m. and that is when the Kip Drown era will officially get underway in Statesboro.
For Sunday's game, it will be the last opportunity for fans to donate canned goods to those in need during the holiday season. All goods collected will be donated by the GSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to the Statesboro Food Bank.
Also, for Sunday's game, the first 100 Georgia Southern students in the doors will receive a free t-shirt and general admission tickets will be just $5.00, saving fans $3 off the regular adult ticket price.
"I think all coaches going into that first game, there are just so many question marks," stated Drown. "You've seen things in practice but how are we going to transfer that over into a real game? I thought the other night in our exhibition game that we did a lot of good things but there were also a couple things that we just went blank on. It just takes a little while for players to really settle in, particularly when you have a new coach and a new system that they are trying to get used to."
The 2015-16 Eagles got off to a good start Tuesday as they pulled away in the final three quarters of play to win 76-51 over the Mariners and those in attendance were able to get a decent first look at what Drown brings to the program.
"We have what we call the 'Eagle Way,' how we want to play the game," Drown said. "Number one is we want to play together. When fans come to see us play I want them to see a basketball team. I don't want them to see five individuals on the floor and then seven or eight individuals on the bench. I want fans to see a basketball team that functions together and is in sync together and plays well as a group.
"Number two," continued Drown, "I want them to see a team that is aggressive. I tell our players all the time that I want us to be aggressive and attack and go after the ball. The third thing goes hand-in-hand with that and is we need to be smart. There is a fine line between being aggressive and smart and you sometimes have to push that line but you can't go over it because then you start seeing turnovers, bad shots, foul trouble and just poor execution in general. There is a mixture and you want to be aggressive and you want to attack but we also want to be smart and make good decisions.
"And the fourth thing of the 'Eagle Way' is we want to finish," stated Drown. "I tell people all the time that it's amazing how much smarter I get when players make shots. But if you're not able to finish then you have to rebound or get to the foul line. Statistically wise, if you want to gauge how we're doing then you can look at our turnover margin, our rebounding margin, and our free throw margin. Historically my teams have made more free throws than the other team has taken over the course of the year. Getting to the foul line is a very important part of what we are trying to do."
Not only are the Georgia Southern players having to learn a new system, but they are also having to adjust to new rules that the NCAA implemented for women's basketball during the 2015-16 season. The new rules include going from two 20-minutes halves to four 10-minute quarters, the number of fouls each team has per period, changes to the number and length of media timeouts (both by the NCAA and Sun Belt) as well as the number of timeouts each team has and how they are called, especially in the second half. (More information on those changes can be found here)
Despite the big changes to the game, the Eagle women could not ask for a better coach to guide them through the various hurdles they will face this season. Drown brings a wealth of knowledge to the program that spans 27 years and his collegiate head coaching record stands at 463-327 (.586). Drown's experience includes a 10-year stint at Colorado State-Pueblo, four years at Grand Canyon University, seven years at Georgia Southwestern and six seasons at Southwest Baptist University. At each stop along the way, Drown was able to take the program to new heights and instill a new sense of a winning tradition.
Drown will most certainly benefit this season from a roster that remains mostly intact with 13 letterwinners returning from last year's squad. 10 of those returners played in 22 or more games a season ago and the other three, all sophomores, combined to play in 29 games with three starts. The best part of having 13 returners does not come in the form of stats but is the camaraderie that is already there and good team chemistry off the hardwood.
The Seniors
The 2015-16 squad features two very strong seniors to provide veteran leadership in forwards Briana Jones and Sierra Kirkland. Between the two, they have played a combined 149 games, including 52 starts, while in Statesboro. A season ago, the tandem accounted for 247 points and 270 rebounds between the two of them and both averaged over 20 minutes per game. Jones also enters the season climbing into the top-20 in program history for blocked shots after swatting away 38 balls last season.
"Both Briana and Sierra have been really great from the beginning," said Drown. "They both provide really great leadership and both are seasoned veterans. When they step on the court, they are all business and they are both model student-athletes. We are expecting a big year from both of them because we will really be relying on their experience. Briana is a low forward who really pounds the basketball and Sierra is a hybrid between a small and power forward and she will play both for us."
The Juniors
The second-largest class on the team, there are four juniors returning this season headlined by Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler. McGowan led the team last season with 13.1 points per game while shooting 39.6% (131-331) from the field and also added a team-best 46 steals. Butler was not far behind as she finished the 2014-15 campaign averaging 12.2 points per contest and was one of the team's leading rebounders with 5.5 boards per game.
The junior class also includes Alexis Sams who returned to action last season to log 30.7 minutes and 5.3 points per contest and was the team's most efficient free throw shooter as she hit on 81.5% (22-27) of her attempts from the charity stripe. Jessica Marcus is also back after playing in 17 games, averaging 7.6 minutes per game a season ago.
"Angel is a great scorer but she also compliments that with great defense," Drown stated. "She's a great defender who takes pride in that and works hard at it. Patrice has a lot of ability to score the basketball from anywhere on the court. She is very explosive and has a lot of tools that we will continue to work to expand on.
Drown continued, "Jessica Marcus will play inside at the four position for us but she will also pop out from time-to-time and is a very physical player. Alexis Sams is going to have to play a lot of minutes for us, but she's doing a great job stepping up and can knock down all the shots we ask from her. She's a great leader, but she's still learning our system just like everybody else is."
The Sophomores
The Eagles' largest class, the sophomores boast seven players who will certainly be called on at points this season to step up now that they all have collegiate playing experience. Trellanie English-Lurry and Alexis Foulks each earned a start in Tuesday's exhibition and that carried over from what they displayed as freshmen a season ago.
Like English-Lurry and Foulks, Sierra Butler, Jakayvea Akins and Abby Hix also proved their mettle as freshmen as they played in 22, 28 and 26 games respectively, giving the Eagles plenty of depth at the forward and guard positions. The final two sophomores are Bri Reece and Jessica Mlaska. Both saw playing time during the 2014-15 season and logged valuable minutes during Thursday's exhibition.
"(Having seven sophomores with collegiate game experience) helps, but at the same time everybody is still learning because of our new system," said Drown. "Once they all start clicking with what we are trying to do here, then you will see the experience kind of pop into play more. Right now, we're all going through those growing pains of learning the new system together, both offensively and defensively.
"Trellanie had a great game the other night in the exhibition," continued Drown. "I think she gained the most confidence from anybody because she's naturally a shooting guard and we're asking her to play point a lot. She can really shoot the ball and Tuesday she really stepped up. Sierra Butler has a lot of potential. She's still raw in some areas. The tools she has you can't teach, they're just God given talent. We're going to continue to work with her and mature her skill work but she has a really bright future ahead of her as an impact player.
"Jakayvea is probably the best athlete we have on the team and she had a really great summer and she worked on her jump shot a lot," Drown said. "Sometimes she gets going too fast and we have to teach her to harness that athleticism, but I'd rather have to tell her 'Whoa' than 'Go'. Jessica Mlaska has gotten a lot better in the short time I've been here. Her low post has really improved especially on offense. She really works hard to execute what we ask her to do on both sides of the ball. She's still young and learning, but she also plays in probably our deepest position. We have four or five players who could play there. She just keeps getting better.
"Alexis Foulks has a great body type for her position. We'd like for her to get a little stronger but she can score, shoot, she gets her hands on the basketball a lot so we can do a lot of things with her defensively as well," stated Drown. "She is very aggressive out on the court because she wants to play and play a lot. Abby Hix is just a great shooter with great range. We're working on expanding her game a bit and she's working hard at becoming more well-rounded especially with her defense and playing without the basketball. She is one of those players who can get you a couple really quick buckets and make a difference in key times of the game. Bri Reece is another great athlete and is just very hard to learn the new system and is getting better at the execution."
The Freshmen
For the 2015-16 season, Drown and staff brought in a pair of freshmen guards in Ashley Burke and Rhein Beamon who will most certainly earn playing time this season.
"Ashley Burke is a local kid and is a great player who is just going through typical freshman things, especially as a point guard," said Drown. "Point guard is one of the most difficult positions, especially for a freshman to come in and play. She's really working hard and picking up things that go along with our new system. She is probably going to have plenty of opportunities to come in and contribute for us.
"Rhein is another great raw athlete," said Drown. "She's now learning how to play more without the basketball than she ever has before. She's typically had the ball and been attacking and shooting where now we're asking her to do more screens and make cuts. She's a great, lock-down defender and I've been amazed at how quickly she has picked things up since she arrived on campus."
The Schedule
The Eagle women will start the season off with nine out of conference games including marquee games against three teams that played in post-season tournaments. Those opponents include the Mercer Bears which went 20-15 and made an appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament, Savannah State which went 21-11 with an appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Division I Tournament, and Stetson which went 23-8 with a trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
Other marquee out of conference games include a trip to Athens to face the Lady Bulldogs and home contests against Robert Morris and Charleston Southern. The Eagles will also face off against Jacksonville State at home and Bethune-Cookman in DeLand, Fla. after opening the season at home against Lipscomb for the second straight year this coming Sunday.
"I may have inherited our out of conference schedule, but I'm a big believer in trying to play good teams because I think that makes you grow and adapt," Drown stated. "I really do think that we are going to be very competitive this year. Our team feels like they are a good basketball team and while they haven't had the success that they'd like to have, they aren't going to walk on the floor this season intimidated by anybody. We are obviously going through growing pains and you learn from being in situations where you play good teams. Right from the get go we're playing good teams that will challenge us. This will definitely make us grow and it's the only way that we're going to be ready for Sun Belt play."
Once the end of the calendar year rolls around, the Eagles will turn their attention to their Sun Belt Conference slate which begins with a road trip to Texas where they will face Texas State and the University of Texas at Arlington. The 2015-16 SBC schedule will feature 10 home contests and 10 road games. The Eagles will benefit from having two stretches of four games at home, once in January and the second to close out the month of February.
"Georgia State is obviously one that is circled and highlighted for everyone, especially with the new series we have going on with them," said Drown. "But some of these places I have never been to before, and I've been to a lot of places in my career. I've never been to Boone, N.C. nor to Texas State so I'm excited to see new places and to meet and coach against new coaches. The Sun Belt is a very good league so it's a great opportunity to get to coach in this league. I'm most anxious to finally be able to gauge where we are as a team. I keep hearing about the athleticism of the league and so I'm excited to see how we stack up against those other teams. It's very difficult to get a feel for it on video, it's something you just have to experience in person.
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