MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama State University’s women’s basketball team will host the University of Mobile in its season opener Friday at 6 p.m. in the ASU Acadome.
It will be the start of a full slate of non-conference games before conference play begins in January.
The Lady Rams of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference enter the game 3-1 while the Lady Hornets will be returning to the court following a successful 2008-09 season that saw them finish 14-16 overall and 11-8 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. ASU will be returning 10 players this season, three of whom started most of the games last year.
The Lady Hornets will have three seniors, one junior and a host of sophomores returning. Shanice Merritt, a 6-2 center from Tuscaloosa, Ala., and junior Tanika Jackson, a 5-10 forward from Saginaw, Mich., will be expected to lead the Lady Hornets.
The guard position will be the hot spot for Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson’s team. Last season, Ja’Kayla Hill and Tandria Milton split time at the point guard position. Senior Jamie Chambers, who played half of the season, will vie for playing time at both the point and the guard two positions.
Along with 10 returning players, six newcomers have joined the Lady Hornets to round out the 2009-10 roster. Two of the newcomers are transfers and four are freshmen.
The newcomers are Nikel White (6-0, PF, Jr., Mobile, Ala.), Quortni Fambro (5-8, G, Fr., Ellenwood, Ga.), Yahindra Edwards (5-10, F, Fr., North Las Vegas, Nev.), Erica Henderson (5-10, G, Fr., Troy, Ala.), Artajah Collins (6-3, C, Fr., Clearwater, Fla.) and Millicent Jones (6-1, PF, So., Memphis, Tenn.).
After Friday night’s home opener, the Lady Hornets travel to New York to play Patriot League member Colgate on Wednesday and Big East power Syracuse on Thursday.
Then the week of Thanksgiving holiday, Alabama State travels to Georgia on Nov. 25 before returning home Nov. 30 to host Savannah State at 5:30 p.m. at the ASU Acadome.