The Southeast women’s basketball team is looking to start the season on the right foot as they travel south to Mississippi State on Nov. 6 for the opening act of the 2018-19 season.
Among the returners for the Redhawks is reigning Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Adrianna Murphy and reigning OVC Freshman of the Year Tesia Thompson.
Murphy led the team with 5.4 assists per game and 2.8 steals per game, and was third on the team in rebounding with 5.2 rebounds per game. Her 1031 minutes led the team. Thompson led the team in points, averaging 12.8 points per game, and led the team in free throw percentage at .724 percent. Her 5.3 rebounds per game were second most on the team, and she also contributed 1.6 steals per game, second most on the team.
Murphy, a senior, has brought intensity and grit to practices so far, and looks to improve the team as a unit defensively.
“As a leader, it’s definitely important for me to set the tone and make sure that everyone is going off my energy and my efforts,” Murphy said. “So I make sure every day that I bring it 100 percent, and so that way they can follow suit, and we can get things done. We’re being more aggressive, trying to get into the passing lanes and just trying to be all over the place and trying to disrupt any offense that we can.”
Thompson said she feels her intensity will be triple what it was last season, as she knows what to look for now during games. She has evolved her game to include a deep shot as well.
“I’ve been working on a lot of shooting, because teams don’t expect me to shoot the ball,” Thompson said.
The return of redshirt senior guard Carrie Shepard has the team buzzing after she missed all of last season with an ACL tear in her left knee. She has yet to play a game for the Redhawks after serving a year of residency during the 2016-17 season after transferring from the University of Missouri.
“Carrie is an amazing leader and she can get [the team] to follow her,” Southeast coach Rekha Patterson said. “That was one of the reasons that she travelled with us last year, because her voice really resonates in that locker room. We’re looking forward to having Carrie get on the court, because she can do a lot of things to make this team better.”
Patterson is most impressed with the depth of her team and has yet to decide on a front eight to start off the season.
“I like the competition that we have every day, and so that is making some of our returners have to play better,” Patterson said. “Because our newcomers are pushing the envelope by pushing those returners, it makes a great competition. Whether you start, you finish, you get minutes or not, I think we have a deep bench that will allow for us to play fast, stay aggressive and put some pressure on our opponents.”
The team has lost four seniors since last year, including guard Ashton Luttrull and forward Deja Jones, a duo that contributed heavily on the offensive side, averaging 11.5 and 9.8 points per game respectively.
The team added freshmen Tionne Colyer, Taelour Pruitt, Sarah Balfour and Brittney Cupp, as well as redshirt freshman Celeste Akoro. Patterson is happy with the depth and shooting ability that this freshman class brings to the table.
“I think we’re going to have more balance on the court,” Patterson said. “Last year our focus was on defense and rebounding, because if you can do those things, you can put yourself in position to win a lot of games.”
The Redhawks were 9-9 last year in conference play — all but one of those losses was decided by less than 10 points.
“You go back to those, and if you win one possession, you can go from 9-9 to maybe 12 wins or 13 wins, which is a big difference,” Patterson said. “So I’m looking forward to us having more balance both offensively and defensively. But our focus is always going to be on defense and rebounding, because I think that’s what wins championships.”
