COURTSIDE Preview: Longwood

TROJANS PLAY AT TROJAN ARENA IN THE THIRD GAME OF THE SEASON ... TAKING ON LONGWOOD.
10:05 A.M., FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2009
TRAVIS JAROME [EMAIL]

After a long, grueling day yesterday ... really not sure why it turned into that, or how it got there ... we are refreshed and ready to go for the third installment of COURTSIDE's preview of the 2009-10 opponents of the Troy University women's basketball team. In this contest, the Trojans will be taking on a first-timer in Longwood (VA) University, who is making the move from NCAA Division II to Division I-A status. The Lancers, a power for many years in NCAA Division II in baseball, will be making their first-ever trip to the city of Troy. Trivia question, with the answer to be provided at the end ... the Longwood Lancers have been to the state of Alabama but not in women's basketball ... what sport did they play in Alabama with, and what former professional athlete represented the university in that sport? Don't cheat, read all the info about the opponent first before you go to the answer.

LAST TIME
The two teams have never met on the hardwood, so therefore, the first time they meet will be the last meeting. Although they will play in Farmville later in the season (February 10) to be exact. That game will come on the heels of a week featuring road games at Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

THIS TIME LAST SEASON (November 25, 2008)
In the third game of the season last year, the Trojans actually returned home for the first time this season for a game, taking on Jacksonville State University. The final score ended up 59-56, but the game wasn't actually that close at all as Troy ran out to a 13-point lead at halftime, before Jacksonville State outscored them by 10 in the second half. The Trojans were led by Donette McNair with a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. With that victory, the Trojans improved to 2-1 on the season; and from the looks of the schedule to open the 2009-10 season, that is exactly where they could be heading into the fourth game of the 2009-10 season.

COURTSIDE PREVIEW TOUR, NOVEMBER 2009
Wednesday, July 29: Season Opener at Auburn (November 14)
Thursday, July 30: at Jacksonville State (November 17)
Friday, July 31: vs Longwood (VA) (November 24) - Home Opener
Monday, August 3: at Georgia State Tournament (November 28-29) - Opponents to be determined

LONGWOOD LANCERS
[Website | Roster | Schedule* | Statistics]
* LongwoodLancers.com currently does not have the 2009-10 schedule updated on the women's basketball page.
Location: Farmville, Virginia
Founded: 1839

Enrollment: 4,700
Colors: Blue and Orange
Arena (Capacity): Willett Hall (capacity unknown)
Conference: NCAA Independent

2008-09 Record: 8-21
OVC Record (Finish): n/a
Starters R/L: 2/3
Letterwinners R/L: 7/5

Head Coach: Kristin Caruso
Record at Longwood: 24-34 (Third season)
Career Record: 24-34 (Third season)
Assistant Coaches: Gayle Coats, Mike Davis, Wanisha Smith
Top Returners:
   Becky Fernandes, Sr., G (8.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
   Krystal Garrison, Jr., G (8.3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
   Cierra Baker, Jr., F (5.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Longwood is making the move from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I-A so they can expect to take some lumps every now and then for a few years until they get on their feet at the new level. Head coach Kristin Caruso is no stranger to winning as she was the associate head coach at Hartford, who was an NCAA Tournament participant while she was there. Last season, the Lancers had 12 players who were dressed for the season, and at some point during the year, all 12 started a game for Caruso and Lancers. That balance and experience will help the team as time progresses in their move between levels. They return two of their top scorers from last season in Becky Fernandes and Krystal Garrison, although the team had no one average in double figures last season.

Is this game a gimme for the Trojans? Not by any means as the Lancers got stronger down the stretch, losing contests by just two points and five points near the end of the season. They played three teams that the Trojans faced last season, dropping all three games to Richmond, Kennesaw State and to UT-Pan American in overtime. The Lancers are a different team in 2009-10 and the Trojans will get to face them twice in the season.

COURTSIDEKnowledge: The answer to your trivia question is the Longwood University baseball
team played in the DII World Series in Montgomery, led by former MLB star Michael Tucker.

Well the first week of the previews is done and I hope you have enjoyed reading up on the first three opponents that the Trojans will face in 2009-10. The rest of the day is calling which means media training for football, work on the women's basketball media guide which is almost complete and a newly designed Football Gameday to debut at the UAB contest. But for those of you taking notes and want a Cliff Notes version, here you go ... Longwood is making the transition from Division II to Division I-A, and they are coming off of an 8-21 season in 2008-09 (16-13 in 2007-08). They are young, but have experience as every player returning started a game at some point during the season, and will look to make some noise with a full Division I-A schedule ahead of them in 2008-09.

We usually prepare you for the Trojans next opponent, but on Monday we will prepare you for the Georgia State Tournament since we do not know the opponents as of this point. Instead we will look back at the rivalry with Georgia State and the Trojans trips to Atlanta recently.

Until then, I bid you adieu ... or in German, Guten Tag. Any way you want to say it, until Monday .. enjoy the rest of your day and the weekend.

TROJANS ON THE ROAD FOR THE SECOND GAME OF THE SEASON, VISITING IN-STATE RIVAL JACKSONVILLE STATE.
10:30 A.M., THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009
TRAVIS JAROME [EMAIL]

Time for the second installment of the 2009-10 schedule for the Troy women's basketball team. After an exhausting day of watching storms roll through the state of Alabama, and rain pelt the windows at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium; it makes you realize that the only good thing rain is for is to wet the lawn or sleep all day. Today, officially, marks the beginning of Trojan athletics with the football team reporting; and as one of my co-workers so eloquently put it "Welcome to the end of Summer" for the media relations staff. Although women's basketball does not report until the start of school, we will busy pushing ahead with football over the next few weeks in preparation for the season opener at Bowling Green. Nonetheless, I will still be providing you in-depth previews of the opponents for the Trojans, with this being the second game of the season scheduled on the road at Jacksonville State.

LAST TIME (2008)
The two teams have met each other over the last two seasons, splitting with each team winning on their home court. Last season, the Trojans walked away with a hard-fought 59-56 victory at Trojan Arena behind a double-double from then-sophomore Donette McNair. She posted 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in the victory, while Kylie Morrissy added 15 for the Trojans. Jacksonville State was led by Jolie Efezokhae with 18 points, while Zenobia Pitts added 17 off the bench for the Gamecocks.

Of all the Trojans returning this season, they scored 35 of the 59 total points scored in the contest.

THIS TIME LAST SEASON (November 21, 2008)
In the second game of the season last year, the Trojans traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee to face Austin Peay - the eventual Ohio Valley Champion (Jacksonville State's conference) and a NCAA Tournament participant. In that contest, the Trojans walked away with a 65-61 victory, but not without some controversy. Troy was leading when a shot was hit that called a two, but was contested as being a 3-pointer by Austin Peay. After a 10-minute delay, the decision was rendered and Troy walked away with the victory. Like I said in the first installment, wish there was more insight I could provide on this contest; but this was in the first days that I was home with my wife and baby girl after her birth. Needless to say, most people would say they would rather be at an athletic event, but I would trade those first few days of Riley's life for anything ... although I do hate I missed the game.

JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS
[Website | Roster* | Schedule* | Statistics]
* JSUGamecockSports.com currently does not have the 2009-10 season updated on the women's basketball page.
Location: Jacksonville, Alabama
Founded: 1883
Enrollment: 9,061

Colors: Red and White
Arena (Capacity): Pete Mathews Coliseum (5,500)
Conference: Ohio Valley Conference

2008-09 Record: 7-23
OVC Record (Finish): 4-14
Starters R/L: 5/0
Letterwinners R/L: 9/1

Head Coach: Becky Geyer
Record at Jacksonville State: 25-63 (Fourth season)
Career Record: 254-170 (17th season)
Assistant Coaches: Jamie Noel and Tony Mackey
Top Returners:
   Jolie Efeokhae, Sr., F (13.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
   Brittany Wiley, So., C (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
   Zenobia Pitts, Jr., G (7.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

Jacksonville State struggled for most of the season, dropping six consecutive games to open the season; including their game against the Trojans. They finally got in the win column, defeating NCAA Division II member West Georgia (12/2), before losing seven of their next nine games; including their first five conference games. The Gamecocks were never able to put together back-to-back wins last season, playing with just one senior on the team. Their biggest win of the season came in overtime on February 19, when they defeated Austin Peay in conference action 75-71.

The Gamecocks return all five starters from last season's team, including leading scorer Jolie Efeokhae who averaged 13 points per game last season a junior. She will be paired along side Brittany Wiley in the post, as the sophomore averaged 10 points per game last season in her first season of collegiate basketball.

Head coach Becky Geyer is no stranger to winning, and although she has struggled at Jacksonville State, she has a national championship to her credit from San Antonio's Trinity University.

COURTSIDEKnowledge: Troy and Jacksonville State have met 68 times before on the hardwood
with Troy winning 38 of those. The Trojans biggest streak was 19 from 1979 until 1988.

I hope you took notes on the Gamecocks, as that was a lot of information to take in on such short notice. For a quick summation on the Trojans' second opponent, here goes ... last season Jacksonville State was a young team trying to learn to play together and win. With their top three scorers back from last season, the team can be dangerous as they only lost by three at Trojan Arena last season. Coupled with the experience of their head coach and her national championship experience, this year's edition of Jacksonville State could be a dangerous team in the OVC.

Prepare for your next opponent, a first-timer for the Trojans: Longwood (VA).

Until then, I bid you adieu ... or in German, Guten Tag. Any way you want to say it, until tomorrow .. enjoy the rest of your day.

TROJANS OPEN UP ON THE ROAD FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT SEASON, AND THIRD AGAINST AN SEC OPPONENT, AS THEY TRAVEL TO THE PLAINS TO TAKE ON AUBURN UNIVERSITY.
2:45 P.M., WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009
TRAVIS JAROME [EMAIL]

Today is the first installment of COURTSIDE, your in-depth look at Troy University women's basketball. We will be here throughout the season, periodically giving previews of upcoming opponents, important dates and providing more information than you can consume as a Troy University women's basketball fan.

Sun Belt Media Days (video conferencing) are over for football, the team reports on Thursday and summer session is over on the Troy campus. The players and the rest of the student-athletes will begin reporting in two weeks for the beginning of Fall Semester and another exciting year of Troy athletics.

Beginning with this installment of the 2009-10 opponents, we will take a look back at last year's opponent in the same contest and a look at the past match-ups with this year's opponent.

With just over three months before the season opener, what better way to get the year started than with a look at the first opponent that the Trojans will take on in 2009-10: the Auburn Tigers (November 13, 2009).

LAST TIME (2007)
The two teams did not match-up last season, but they did open the 2007-08 season against each other at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. That contest featured a pair of runs by each team, with the 77-61 score not indicitive of the way the Trojans played their SEC opponent on this night (November 14). In that contest, Troy fell behind early by as many 16 points before trimming the halftime deficit to just 30-24 heading into the locker room. Troy kept fighting the entire game, but runs of 9-0 and 16-0 by the Auburn squad were just too much to handle for Troy; who got as close as 10 with 7:07 remaining in the contest.

Only two players on this edition of the Trojans played in that contest, Alyce Shearing and Brittnie Davis ... combining for a total of 25 minutes and just two points. Only two players from the Auburn team of 2007-08 team that played against the Trojans are still on the roster in Alli Smalley and Jordan Greenleaf. The duo combined for 47 minutes and 16 points.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR (2008)
The Trojans opened the 2008-09 season on the road against Georgia Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. I wish there was some useful insight that I could provide about the game, but I can only look back at the release as I was sitting in Jackson Hospital holding my four-day old little girl who was born on November 10 (by the time the Trojans take the floor this season, I will be holding my one-year old little girl). In that contest, Georgia Tech pulled away early for the victory; however the Trojans scored 15 of their baskets off of 13 assists. Brittnie Davis and Larelle Roper each scored 10 points in the loss.

AUBURN TIGERS
[Website | Roster* | Schedule* | Statistics]
* AuburnTigers.com currently does not have the 2009-10 season updated on the women's basketball page.
Location: Auburn, Alabama

Founded: 1856
Enrollment: 24,100
Colors: Burnt Orange and Navy
Arena (Capacity): Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (10,500)
Conference: Southeastern (SEC)

2008-09 Record: 30-4
SEC Record (Finish): 12-2 (SEC Champion)
Starters R/L: 1/4
Letterwinners R/L: 7/4

Head Coach: Nell Fortner (Texas, '82)
Record at Auburn: 101-57 (Five seasons)
Career Record: 118-68 (Six season)
Assistant Coaches: Kerry Cremeans, Mark Simons, Ayesha Whitfield
Top Returners:
      Alli Smalley, Jr., G (11.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 39.8% 3-pt pct)
      Jordan Greenleaf, Jr., F (7.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
      KeKe Carrier, Sr., C (4.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg)

Auburn finished the year as the Southeastern Conference champions, dropping just four games throughout the season and just three prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were ranked in the top five late in the season in the ESPN/USA Today's NCAA Division I-A Poll, before becoming a number two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Many felt as though Auburn was slighted and should have been a number one seed for the tournament, but the Tigers were seeded second and had to play away from home in the tournament ... no less, facing Rutgers in the second round on their home floor. Auburn fell to Rutgers in the second round of the tournament, ending the career of the one of the greats in school history; DeWanna Bonner. Nonetheless, Bonner was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year last season and is now playing in the WNBA.

Auburn returns just one starter from last season and that is sharp-shooting guard Alli Smalley, who averaged over 11 points per game while playing in the shadows of four seniors. Although she is the only returning starter, the Tigers have experience returning in KeKe Carrier, Jordan Greenleaf and Reneshia Hobbs. They will still be considered one of the favorites to win the conference title this season.

COURTSIDEKnowledge: Current Troy University women's basketball assistant coach Craig Kennedy
also served in that capacity with the Auburn Tigers under former coach Joe Ciampi.

I hope you took notes on the Tigers, as that was a lot of information to take in on such short notice. For a quick summation on the Trojans first opponent in the 2009-10 season ... Auburn is a very good basketball team with not a lot of starting experience returning. They are the defending Southeastern Conference champion, and once again be on of the favorites to win the league again this season. They key to the Tigers will be the inside-outside game of Alli Smalley and KeKe Carrier. And the one glaring question is ... can the Tigers find a replacement for DeWanna Bonner to take over the scoring load.

Prepare for your next opponent: Jacksonville State, coming tomorrow afternoon.

Until then, I bid you adieu ... or in German, Guten Tag. Any way you want to say it, until tomorrow .. enjoy the rest of your day.

Troy University Athletics

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