HC Anita Howard Looks Back On First Year At Helm Of GS Women's Basketball

STATESBORO - One year ago today, Anita Howard was introduced to the Georgia Southern community and #EagleNation as the first African-American female head coach in women's basketball history in a spirited press conference at Bishop Field House at Paulson Stadium.

Fast forward to today, and as Coach Howard reaches that first year anniversary of taking over the women's basketball program, we sat down with her to talk about how the season went and her expectations for the future of Eagles going forward.

In terms of numbers, the Eagles had several high points during the year:

• Head coach Anita Howard's first win was at Winthrop (W 91-47) on Dec. 1. The 44-point win was the largest road win for Georgia Southern women's basketball in nearly 30 years - it was the biggest road win since a 106-44 victory at Charleston Southern on Dec. 9, 1991.

• Georgia Southern hit a school-record 14 three-pointers in 83-67 win over Louisiana on Jan. 4, breaking the old record of 13 set four times previously.

• The Eagles' 2-0 start to Sun Belt Conference play was the first time since joining the league that has happened and it was the first 2-0 start in Conference play in a decade.

• Georgia Southern's Kids Day crowd vs. North Dakota on Nov. 26 was the largest single-game crowd to see a Georgia Southern women's basketball contest in Hanner Fieldhouse, eclipsing the previous single-game record of 2,356, set vs. Georgia State on Dec. 31, 2016.

• In the Eagles' 70-57 win at Wofford on Dec. 1, Georgia Southern made its first 21 free throws of the day and finished the contest 26-of-27 from the line, a new single-game school record percentage of 96.3% with a minimum of 15 free throws made. The old record of 95.7% was set vs. Appalachian State on Feb. 27, 2010, as GS went 22-of-23 from the line.

• Georgia Southern won 7 Sun Belt Conference games in 2019-20, the second-most league games won since the Eagles joined the league in 2014.

• Georgia Southern swept the two-game series against rival Georgia State for the first time since 1990.

• The Eagles averaged 40.0 rebounds per game in 2019-20, the best single-season rebounding average since 2006-07. The +3.5 rebounding margin was the best single-season rebounding margin since 2005-06. Four times this season, Georgia Southern outrebounded an opponent by 20 or more, including outrebounding Arkansas State by 28 in an 80-67 win over the Red Wolves on Feb. 8.

These highlights and more show the step in the right direction Coach Howard has started the Eagles on. Below we asked Coach Howard to reflect on this season's successes, challenges, and get her thoughts about the road ahead for Eagle women's basketball.

How have you laid the foundation in this first year for Georgia Southern women's basketball to be successful in the future?

"I think we did a really good job this year. It was tough laying the foundation, trying to figure out what that was going to look like. But the biggest thing was building that championship mindset. We had to change the mentality of 'we should' win, to 'we can win', and then 'we will win'. And that showed in our wins overall, and the fact that we won more conference games. Although the record wasn't a winning record like I'm used to, it was one that it was a step in the right direction. 

We also learned to compheat - C-O-M-P-H-E-A-T. We learned to bring the heat and just compete with teams, even in losses. That's one of the things I want people to know that we're going to do day in and day out. And of course, the defensive intensity. We showed people we can defend when we wanted to, and to do it with different styles, whether it's zone, man, or junk defenses. We showed that we should be one of the better defensive teams in the league. 

And then just the tempo. When we got going, we got going. When we were hot, we were hot. laughs And when we we're not, we're not! But I think everyone saw glimpses of what is to come."

What were your proudest moments of the season for the Eagles?

"My very first Division win at Winthrop. And with the Anita Howard stamp of a blowout. It was a great feeling to get that monkey off my back, to realize that everything I've done thus far in Division III and Division II,  I was able to bring to DI. So just getting my first DI win was great."

"Also, breaking different records. I like to break records, whether it's hitting the most three-pointers in a game or setting an attendance record. We also beat Georgia State, a rival, and that was something the seniors wanted to do. And to be able to give them that in the fashion we did - win or go home fashion, on their home floor, that was one of my biggest moments. Because we work on end-of-game situations at the end of practice every day.. For an end-of-game situation to come, late in the season, to get us into the tournament, it was just poetry in motion. For Tatum to hit that shot, that's something we practice - get a shot off, get a rebound, get another shot off, getting a rebound, and we did just that. Seeing everything we've been working on all year come together in that one moment."

Conversely, what were the most challenging moments of the season?

"The most challenging part was the buy-in. Anytime when you have a new staff, and a new system - you know, change is hard. Some people don't like change. We had six seniors, and it was almost like teaching an old dog new tricks. They did it kicking and screaming, but they realized we could be good if we just had the buy-in. We had so many talented seniors, and we almost had to have them go back to freshman year with learning the system.

Another challenge was playing in this league. The Sun Belt was harder than I initially thought it would be. To be playing the top tier teams, on their home floor, was pretty challenging, but it absolutely helped me prepare for next year. I know what I'm going into now, and not just seeing it on film like last year."

What do the next four to five months look like for the Eagles in terms of basketball?

"It's picking up where we left off. Making sure the incoming freshman and recruits are ready to go. We've sent out some workouts to our returners to make sure they're doing what they need to do at home to get back. But it's really just making sure we finish off this recruiting class strong, and then getting our players in here and starting all over again. We'll have a lot more fresher faces and so it's really the 'culture under construction' that's still going on. Construction is not just done in a day, or a year. To build a mansion, it takes a while. We want to build a powerhouse. 

With our staff, it's just seeing how we can be better for our players next year. Going over things we like, things we didn't like. Also, getting the schedule together. We still have a few more games to close out our schedule. We want to do a little more at home and allow our fans to see us. We played a lot on the road last year, which took a toll on our bodies. So recruiting, scheduling, self-assessing. And going over things we want to change or improve."

Do you have any final thoughts as you look back on your first season leading the Eagles?

"It was exciting. It was everything I thought it would be and more. Division I is exciting, and the Sun Belt Conference is extremely exciting. Being the coach at Georgia Southern and having the fans behind you is refreshing. We had our group that came to the coaches show and really supported women's basketball. I was unsure what the support would look like and I'm really excited about how people stood with us during our challenging times. And I'm super excited to putting something on the court that people will really enjoy."