GAME 1
ASU Lady Indians South Dakota State

Friday, November 9, 2007 l 8:00 p.m. 
Frost Arena (6,500) l Brookings, South Dakota
Radio:  KJCF 103.9 Earl FM & ASUIndians.com
Video:  XOS Webcasting on ASUIndians.com

TIPPING IT OFF:  The Arkansas State Lady Indians take on the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State Friday, Nov. 9 in the season opener.  Every ASU Lady Indian basketball game can be heard live on 103.9 Earl FM in Northeast Arkansas.  The live radio broadcast can also be accessed through the the Arkansas State athletic website, ASUIndians.com.  Live video of the ASU-SDSU game can also be accessed by logging on to ASUIndians.com.

THE TEAMS:  While Friday night’s game is the season opener for each team, both ASU and SDSU finished 2-0 in the exhibition season.  Arkansas State defeated Harding University 103-75 in the first exhibition game, before disposing of Ouachita Baptist 83-22 in the final warm-up for the regular season.  The Tribe finished the 2006-07 season at 21-13 overall and advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, their third trip to the WNIT over the last four seasons.
South Dakota State defeated Bemidji State 91-72 in the Jackrabbits’ exhibition opener, then rolled past Southwest Minnesota State 79-44 in their second and final exhibition game.  The Jackrabbits finished 2006-07 at 25-6 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
 
THE SERIES:  Arkansas State leads the all-time series 1-0.  The Lady Indians defeated the Jackrabbits 67-52 last year at the ASU Convocation Center as then-senior Adrianne Davie poured in 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

THE COACHES:  Arkansas State Head Coach Brian Boyer is beginning his ninth season as the Lady Indian head coach.  Boyer holds a career record of 132-109 at ASU, and has directed the Lady Indians to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament four times, including three of the past four years.  The Lady Indians finished the 2006-07 season at 21-13 overall, and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.  Aaron Johnston is entering his seventh season at South Dakota State, guiding the Jackrabbits to a 170-55 record.

SCOUTING THE ‘JACKS:  The Jackrabbits return four starters  and 10 letterwinners from last year’s team that finished 25-6 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
Through SDSU’s two exhibition games, four players are averaging double figures in scoring.  Junior forward Jennifer Warkenthien scored 21 points in 18 minutes of action  against Bemidji State in the Jackrabbits’ first exhibition game, but did not play in SDSU’s Nov. 3 victory over Southwest Minnesota State.  Sophomore forward Maria Boever averaged 16.0 points in the preseason, followed closely by sophomore forward Ketty Cornemann, who averaged 15.0 points.  Senior center Courtney Grimsrud averaged 11.5 points per game in the exhibition season, and also led the team on the boards with 11.0 rebounds per game.  Grimsrud also blocked seven shots in the two exhibition games.  Warkenthien pulled down 11 rebounds against Bemidji State, and sophomore guard Alison Anderson handed out 10 assists in the preseason.

HURST HURTING:  Freshman guard Shania “Ne-Ne” Hurst will not play this season after suffering a torn ACL in her left knee during ASU’s 82-33 exhibition victory over Ouachita Baptist Nov. 5.  Hurst scored 16 points in the Lady Indians’ 103-75 win over Harding in the Tribe’s opening exhibition game.

SCHLUP, BAKER RETURN:  Sophomore forward Lyndsay Schlup returns to the lineup against SDSU after missing ASU’s two exhibition games, while freshman guard Rachel Baker will be back in action as well after missing the OBU game.  Both players missed time due to illness.

LAST TIME OUT:  JONESBORO (11-5-2007) — The Arkansas State Lady Indians used a 24-0 first half run to put Ouachita Baptist away early and went on to defeat the Lady Tigers 82-33 Monday night at the ASU Convocation Center.  
Junior guard Caroline Starr sparked the early run with a 3-pointer off the glass at the 16:44 minute mark of the first half, giving ASU a 5-4 lead, and before Ouachita scored again with 5:43 left in the half, ASU had stretched the advantage to 26-4.
Arkansas State forced 19 turnovers in the first half, including five steals by sophomore guard Jazmine Taylor to help the Lady Indians hold OBU scoreless for over 11 minutes during the 24-0 run.   ASU also got 12 first-half points from freshman Angie Criner as the Lady Indians built a 40-18 lead at the break.
Criner led all scorers in the game with 22 points, while freshman Sherina Scott delivered her second double-double of the exhibition season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.  Sophomore Veronica Smith also scored in double figures for Arkansas State, finishing the night with 11 points.
“I thought our defensive pressure was great,” said ASU Head Coach Brian Boyer.  “Anytime we play this year we will have to counter (the opponent’s) size with our speed and quickness, and I thought we did that.  As a whole, I’m pretty pleased with the effort tonight.”
The Lady Indians forced 36 turnovers on the night, including 20 steals.  Taylor led the way with six thefts, while also adding eight assists and eight points.
“I was really, really pleased with Jazmine,” said Boyer.  “I think we are really starting to see what a good player she is.  She can be such a good defender.  I think her six steals were a minor part of what she did defensively.  I think the number of deflections and the pressure that she brings on that end is very good.”
In addition to Taylor’s totals, the Lady Indians also got eight points from Ebonie Jefferson, seven from Caroline Starr and six from Brittney Hiles.  Freshman Makala McNair added three points, with Shania Hurst and Kayla Pospisil adding one point each.
With the win over Ouachita Baptist, ASU improved to 2-0 in the exhibition season.  The Lady Indians open the regular season Friday night when the Tribe travels to Brookings, S.D. to take on the Lady Jackrabbits of South Dakota State.  Tipoff for the Nov. 9 season opener is set for 8:00 p.m.

ASU PICKED FOURTH IN WEST:  The Arkansas State Lady Indians have been picked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division preseason basketball poll, voted on by the league’s coaches.  The Lady Indians received two first place votes and 58 points overall in the poll, while UALR was the preseason pick to win the division with 76 overall points and six first place votes.  Denver was tabbed second, followed by North Texas in third place.
Louisiana-Lafayette was picked to finish fifth in the West, followed by Louisiana-Monroe and New Orleans.
Western Kentucky received nine first place votes to finish at the top of the polling in the East, followed by Middle Tennessee and Florida International.  South Alabama and Troy tied for fourth in the poll, and Florida Atlantic finished sixth.

LOCK TO MISS SEASON:  Forward Kelsey Lock, the only senior on the Lady Indian roster, will not play this season after suffering what proved to be a career-ending knee injury last year.  It was the second major knee injury in as many years for the Republic, Mo. native. 
Lock averaged 8.7 points for the Lady Indians during the 2005-06 season, starting all 23 games in which she appeared.  Last year, Lock averaged 1.7 points in nine appearances, including a season-high nine points in ASU’s 80-73 victory over Oklahoma State.
“As a coaching staff, we totally support Kelsey’s decision,” said ASU Head Coach Brian Boyer.  “As much as we would love to have her competing this year for us, we’ve also been beside her the last two years to see what she has gone through.  This decision did not come as a surprise to us.  Kelsey has done a great job of communicating with us throughout this process, and we feel that this is the best decision for her future.”
“We are going to keep Kelsey involved with the program,” added Boyer.  “She is still going to be a valuable part of this team from a leadership and maturity standpoint, but in the end, this is in the best interest for Kelsey physically.”

HOT SPRINGS NAMED FUTURE SITE FOR SBC MEN'S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS: The Sun Belt Conference announced at its annual media days that Hot Springs, Ark., renowned for its appeal as a great tourist destination across the state and the country, was selected by the Sun Belt Conference Executive Committee as the host for league’s annual men’s and women’s basketball tournaments from 2009-2011.

SEASON OUTLOOK:  Rebuilding or reloading?
Regardless of how one views the upcoming women’s basketball season at Arkansas State, there is no denying that head coach Brian Boyer’s 2007-08 Lady Indians will have a distinctively different look from the past few seasons.
Boyer and assistants Tanya Ray, Rebecca Chilton-Peoples, and Carrie Redman have assembled a solid recruiting class to help replace three of the most prolific players ever to wear the scarlet and black of ASU.
Gone are three career 1,000-point point scorers who started all 34 games for the Lady Indians a year ago, part of six players lost from last year’s team that finished the season at 21-13 overall and advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.  The Lady Indians must replace forward/center Adrianne Davie, who finished her career as ASU’s leading shot blocker and rebounder, notching 132 blocks and 1,147 rebounds in her four years at Arkansas State.  Davie also finished as the school’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,978 points, just ahead of guard Rudy Sims who finished her career in 2007 as the Tribe’s fifth all-time scorer with 1,664 points.  Sims also finished as ASU’s career assists leader with 548, and is fourth on the ASU career steals list with 229.  Sims finished fifth on the career 3-point field goals list with 159, just ahead of guard Ali Carter, who finished her career in 2007 sixth on the 3-point field goals list with 149.  Carter finished her career with 1,030 points, shot .334 from behind the 3-point arc, and .793 from the free throw line.  Davie, Sims and Carter were each named All-Sun Belt Conference, earning the honor a combined eight times.
After relying heavily on Davie, Sims, and Carter in recent seasons, this year’s Lady Indian team expects to be more balanced, more athletic, and play with more speed.  Seven new players join one returning senior, three returning juniors, and four returning sophomores to make up the 2007-08 Lady Indian roster.
Guard/forward Kelsey Lock (6-0, Republic, Mo.)  returns as ASU’s only senior, although she will not play after suffering two major knee injuries over the past two seasons.    After starting 23 games for the Lady Indians in 2005-06, Lock suffered a knee injury and missed the remainder of the season and the beginning of the 2006-07 while rehabbing the injury.  She played in nine games midway through last season before re-aggravating the injury and being sidelined once again. 
Forward Ashley Anderson (6-2, Cabot, Ark.), guard Brittney Hiles (5-7, Baton Rouge, La.), and guard Caroline Starr (5-10, Benton, Ark.) make up the Lady Indians’ returning junior class.  Anderson started 26 of ASU’s 34 games last season, averaging 2.7 rebounds and 4.2 points.  She scored a career high 16 points in ASU’s 67-54 victory at Missouri State last year. 
Hiles has been a tough defender for the Tribe, and played in all 34 of ASU’s games last season, drawing three starts.  She averaged 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 2006-07, to go along with 25 steals. 
Starr is ASU’s leading returning 3-point shooter, connecting on 41 shots from behind the arc in 2006-07.  She scored a career-high 23 points to help the Lady Indians overcome a 21-point deficit and rally to defeat NCAA Tournament participant Louisiana-Lafayette 77-61 last season.  She recorded a 4-for-4 3-point shooting night in an 80-64 victory over Louisiana-Monroe, the best performance from behind the arc in ASU history, and averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds on the year.
Sophomores Ebonie Jefferson (5-9, Laurel, Miss.), Jazmine Taylor (5-8, Memphis, Tenn.), Lyndsay Schlup (6-1, California, Mo.), and Veronica Smith (5-10, East St. Louis, Ill.) return with a year of experience under their belts.  Jefferson, a guard who played in 19 games for the Tribe last season, looks to play an expanded role after averaging 1.1 points and 0.6 rebounds per game last season.  She scored a personal best six points in the season opener at Charlotte last year. 
Taylor played in all 34 games at guard as a true freshman a year ago, starting in three.  She averaged 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds during her freshman season, scoring a career-high six points in an 87-55 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. 
Schlup saw significant playing time at forward last season, logging time in all 34 games, while starting seven.  She averaged 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, scoring in double figures in four games. 
Smith played in 28 games for the Lady Indians last year, and came on strong as ASU entered post-season play.  She scored in double-figures in all three of the Lady Indians’ Sun Belt Conference Tournament games, and averaged 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game on the season.
Junior college transfers Crystal Kirk and forward Kayla Pospisil join five freshmen for their first year with the Lady Indians.  Kirk (6-2, Lonoke, Ark.) transferred to ASU from Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Okla., after averaging 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. 
Pospisil (6-1, Marion, Iowa) transferred to Arkansas State after leading Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to the 2007 NJCAA Division II National Championship.  Pospisil started all 36 games for Kirkwood, averaging seven points and seven rebounds for an Eagle team that defeated its opponents by an average of 42.8 points per game.
Freshmen Rachel Baker (6-0, Mexico, Mo.), Angie Criner (5-8, Jenks, Okla.), Shania “Ne-Ne” Hurst (5-10, St. Louis, Mo.), Makala McNair (5-10, Alpena, Ark.), and Sherina Scott (6-2, North Little Rock, Ark.) will be counted on to contribute early.  Baker averaged 17.7 points in high school, Criner came to ASU with a 13.3 points-per-game average, Hurst averaged 22.4 points, and McNair scored 20.4 points per game.  Baker, Criner, Hurst, and McNair are all guards, while Scott will play the forward position at ASU after averaging 15.5 points, 8.5 boards, and 1.8 blocked shots in high school.