f
5
gies 'yaat ^te^down
• The Texas A.^.lVl W«*iii«‘ii"’s Basketball Teanci
A&M women build
up hopes for season
ripe with potential
// rphe Young and the Restless" may be the
best way to describe my outlook on the
X. season at this time of the year. I wish I
could say I am the youthful
part of this scenario but alas, I
am probably more of the rest
less part of the description.
I have always had a love-
hate relationship with this
part of our season. It is a time
of great anticipation and ex
citement, and a time to right
all of the wrongs of last season
— a time to get a fresh start on
your dreams.
But it is also a time of wor
ry and stress. The fall is an
emotional period of prepara
tion for "opening night."
It is so hard to let two
months of school go by and
not even be allowed to watch
our players shoot or scrim
mage, so to say I'm anxious by
the day we hit the practice
floor on Nov. 1 is an understatement.
My fundamentalist philosophy has definitely
been challenged the past few years with the loss of
more and more practice time to NCAA regulations.
I never dreamed that I would install an offense on
just the first day of practice! But, I've been in coach
ing long enough to remember the AIAW rules when
we were allowed to practice year-round for as many
hours as we felt necessary. That was basketball
heaven to me.
I also am restless because we believe this is the
finest group of players we've ever had here. Ten out
of fifteen players are either sophomores or freshmen.
The youth is negated to some extent by the
amount of experience our sophomores received last
year, but the maturity factor will be a question mark
early on for us.
Our non-conference schedule is very competitive
and provides the opportunity to play against teams
from the top leagues in the country. We have a
tough home schedule that will be both advantageous
to our success and good for our fans. Key non-con
ference opponents this season will be Arizona State,
Oklahoma State, Louisiana State and Oklahoma.
The Southwest Conference is coming off a great
year of success due to Texas Tech's national champi
onship but we also are stepping into an era of our
greatest parity.
Each team will naturally gauge itself on how well
it competes against Tech, but we will not have an
easy evening any time on the schedule. Overall, the
conference is young, but all eight teams are com
prised of All-American and All-Conference candi
dates and have the strongest coaching staffs in the
history of the SWC.
For the first time in several years, Texas will be
one of the smaller teams in the conference. The Lady
Longhorns have signed some great three-point
shooter, so look for the old Texas press and running
game to be back in full force.
Southern Methodist played very well in postsea
son play last year, and once again, it will be a strong
contender.
Baylor is young, but they had a good recruiting
See Hickey/Page 8
LYNN
HICKEY
Head coach,
A&M women's
basketball
Sophomore Lisa Branch lived up to preseason expectations last season
as she was the 1993 Southwest Conference Newcomer of the Year and
second team All-SWC...Freshman Lana Tucker from Duncanville is ex
pected to give Branch a breather at times...Branch averaged 13 points,
five assists and one steal...Branch set a SWC record with 19 assists
against Texas Christian...Tucker helped Duncanville register a 109-4
record during her three seasons...Branch had a career high 12 rebounds
in A&M's 63-61 loss to Baylor in the first round of the SWC tournament.
Shooting Guard
Canada
Sophomore Donyale Canada had a golden performance over the sum
mer as she starred for the South team that won the 1993 U.S. Olympic
Festival...Fellow sophomore Bambi Ferguson averaged almost two as
sists last season...Freshman Shanae Ford is a powerful performer who
might also see time at forward...Sophomore Jennifer Christian is re
turning from a knee injury that caused her to miss all of last
season...Sophomore Andrea Williams will join the team once volley
ball is over...Canada and Ferguson will see action at point guard also.
Small Forward
Burkef
Senior Beth Burket, a two-year starter, has been named as a co-captain
this season.. Junior Cami Williams, a transfer from Farmington (N.M.)
Junior College, is expected to combine with Branch to give the Aggies
two consistent three-point shooters...Junior Debbie Biermann runs the
floor well and could see time at center...Burket averaged seven points
and four rebounds last season...Williams poured in 17 points and
pulled down five rebounds for Farmington...Burket recorded her first
double-double against Baylor when she had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
y
Littles
Senior Nikki Littles joins Burket as a co-captain...Freshman Marianne
Miller, who hails from Stratford, Oklahoma, was regarded as the top re-
| cruit out of Oklahoma...Miller averaged 25 points per game last sea
son...Littles finished second on the team in free throw percentage by
hitting 69 percent of her attempts...Miller has good range, can run and
handle the ball...Miller's father, James, is a member of the NAIA Hall of
Fame after a stellar career at East Texas State...According to A&M head
coach Lynn Hickey, Littles is the best defensive player on the team.
At 6-foot-4, sophomores Martha McClelland and Kelly Cerny, along
with 6-foot-5 Teri Bartlett, gives the Aggies the second tallest team in
the nation behind Vanderbilt...McClelland registered a double-double
against Eastern Michigan with 14 points and 10 rebounds...Bartlett and
Cerny received GTE Academic Awards for '92-'93...Bartlett had a dou
ble-double against Baylor when she had 14 points and 14
rebounds...McClelland made 58 percent of her shots last season...Me-
McClelland V ' cielland will also see action at the power forward spot this season.
: : ' ' ' ' Cl - a
: