SEASON PREVIEW: Women's Basketball Expects To Keep Flying High In 2022-23
11/4/2022 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Anita Howard expects Georgia Southern to build off of the giant leap taken by the Eagles in Year Three
STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern women's basketball squad took a huge leap forward in Year Three of the Anita Howard era, but making sure that the Eagles are able to build off of that leap and not just plateau is the task ahead for the head coach heading into 2022-23.
The numbers speak for themselves in what the Eagles were able to accomplish last year. The best record in a decade and the best winning percentage in two decades with the 18-10 mark put up by Georgia Southern in 2021-22. Leading the Sun Belt Conference and ranking fifth nationally in scoring offense (79.3 ppg) and in rebounding (49.4 rpg), while ranking 12th in steals per game (11.0), shows the strides made offensively and defensively by the team. And even though the Eagles were able to secure a first Sun Belt tournament win in March, losing in the quarterfinals still leaves Coach Howard and her squad hungry for the ultimate goal - to bring a championship back to Statesboro.
"We always talk about getting one percent better every day," Coach Howard said. "So I think if we stick to that mindset of just trying to out-compete ourselves in practice, we should continue to see those strides. We tell our players that I don't want to compete just to get better than last year. I want to compete to dominate each game. And the way we do that is to dominate each practice."
Instilling the up-tempo offense and playing as one of the fastest teams in the nation has its downsides, but Coach Howard insists the end goal is just to make sure her team has fun while on the court.
"Playing up tempo has increased our turnovers," Coach Howard said. "But one thing about me is that I love having fun. And I equate the pace of play to having fun and playing an exciting brand of basketball. We have timing drills in practice where you get points for doing drills quicker than your opponent. Nobody wants to walk the ball down the court and set up a play every time. Our ability to play freely helps us keep the pace of play up. Turnovers still hurt us, but I think with a more veteran team this year, they understand what it takes."
Running such an up tempo offense puts pressure on the point guard position, but the Eagles have outstanding depth at that key position, starting with fourth-year senior and returning starter Ja'nya Love-Hill (5-5, Sr., Columbus, Ga.). She's joined by returning junior Constance Thomas (5-8, Jr., Plant City, Fla.) and Providence transfer Andreana Wrister (5-8, Grad., Memphis, Tenn.). Two freshman will also see time at the point this season in Paris Miller (5-10, Fr., Hampton, Ga.) and Amoni Byrd (5-9, Fr., Bayside, N.Y.).
"Point guard is the hardest spot, but it's the spot I know the best," Coach Howard said. "I played point guard, [assistant coach Elaine Powell] EP played point guard. And we're going to go as far as our point guard play allows us to. We call Ja'nya 'the brain' and she has elevated her game even more. Her scoring has been better from the outside, her decision making has gotten better, but the thing I'm most pleased about is her defense. She's stepped up her game and shown the other point guards what we expect in that role."
The two-guard spot is expected to score, and the Eagles have several candidates to fill up the point column in 2022-23, led by grad transfer Le'Andrea Gillis (5-10, Grad., Adrian, Ga.), who scored 1,120 points in four years at nearby Savannah State. Returners Simone James (5-10, Jr., San Diego, Calif.) and Hannah Fuller (5-9, Soph., Greenville, S.C.) will be in the mix as well as Andreana Wrister and Paris Miller.
The small forward spot is the domain of All-Conference returner Terren Ward (5-11, Jr., Jesup, Ga.), but the Eagles will also see contributions at the spot from Simone James, Le'Andrea Gillis, Amoni Byrd and returner Eden Johnson (6-2, R-Jr., Kissimmee, Fla.), who primarily played the four last year. And with the success Ward had for the Eagles last year, Coach Howard believes she can be even better in 2022-23.
"Terren must get better," Coach Howard said. "And we talked to her about that. She's a player who doesn't want to follow anyone else's path, she wants to blaze her own trail. And we love that about her. But to be elite, she has to elevate her game. Other team's scouting reports will have her name all over it. It will be harder for her to get open, harder for her to get shots off. But we have been most impressed this preseason with her growth as a teammate. She embodies the we over me mentality. If she can practice and compete at a high level, she's going to put us on her back and take us with her."
The four spot will still see heavy doses of Eden Johnson, but senior Taya Gibson (5-11, Sr., Rome, Ga.) shined down the stretch last year, putting up a pair of double figure scoring games in the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Tournament while shooting better than 55% from the field all year. After a year away from the game, Shondell Vickers (6-2, Sr., Waycross, Ga.) returns to the Eagles as well and the position will also see contributions from Wright State transfer Diamond Stokes (6-3, Jr., Chicago, Ill.)
"Eden can stretch the defense, while Taya is an undersized beast in the paint. Taya is loud and demonstrative and her game speaks to that as well," Coach Howard said. "We want our fours to be unguardable. Shoot the three, rebound and push the ball in transition. That's a key spot, it's one of our most skilled spots. Diamond [Stokes] will bring us a defensive presence to the spot with her shot blocking ability.
At center, returner Lydia Freeman (6-5, Sr., Atlanta, Ga.) always garners a lot of attention when she's on the court. Austin Peay State transfer Shy Booker (6-1, Sr., Charlotte, N.C.) will be a big addition in the middle as well, while Eden Johnson and Shondell Vickers will also log minutes at the spot this year.
"They are the anchor," Coach Howard said about her fives. "The grit and grind of our post play, super strong and dominant. We're excited to have more than just Lydia. Shy [Booker] is more mobile but just as strong. She may be a little shorter than [departed graduate Maya] Banks, but she's just as physical."
The schedule is an interesting mix, not only from a non-conference standpoint but in conference as well with the addition of four new schools to the league - James Madison, Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss. The Eagles will see three of those schools twice this season in JMU, ODU and the Thundering Herd. Coach Howard's non-conference strategy this year was two-fold; to improve play on the road and prepare for the new-look Sun Belt.
"Last year we played really well in Hanner," Coach Howard said. "So a big shout out to our fans and Eagle Nation. But we didn't compete as well on the road. To win a championship, that's going to come on the road. So we put some more road games in, and challenging ones at that. Gardner-Webb, for example, was picked to win the Big South. That's going to be a test for us, like it was last year. We also put in games against opponents who have different looks to prepare us for the new teams coming into the Sun Belt."
The Eagles were picked to finish seventh in a preseason poll of the league's coaches after finishing seventh last season. Three of the four new schools - JMU, ODU and Southern Miss - were picked ahead of Georgia Southern, meaning there's a lot of uncertainty in what fellow coaches think is going to happen this season in league play. The seventh spot, however, is the highest the Eagles have been picked to finish since joining the league in 2014.
A big factor for the Eagles this season will be their depth. It was one of the true strengths for the team last year, and Coach Howard expects it to be even stronger this season. Which could lead to another outstanding season for her squad in year four.
"We challenge our players that when they go into the game, they give 100% on every possession because you know you have someone else that can come in and give you a break," Coach Howard said. "We want not only our starters to be strong, but our second or third unit to be equally strong. Our depth is a little more seasoned this year. We don't have a lot of drop off from our starters to the second unit. So when our opponents' starters are sitting down, we have a team out on the floor who could easily start for us."
Georgia Southern opens up the 2022-23 season on Monday, November 7, hosting Allen University at 6 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. Sun Belt Conference play begins on December 29 against Texas State, and in all, the Eagles will host 14 games at Hanner. The 2023 Sun Belt Conference Tournament takes place from February 28 through March 6 in Pensacola, Fla.
