Women's Basketball Preview, Part 4: Wright State
Oct. 30, 2007
It will be a new look for the Wright State women's basketball team when the Raiders take the floor this season.
In 2006-07, the Raiders were dominated by upperclassmen as the three seniors--Brittney Whiteside, Tyanda Hammock and Steph Comisar--accounted for 48 percent of the scoring and 35 percent of the rebounding. Along with that trio, the roster was made up three juniors and three freshmen.
This year, the WSU roster will again have three seniors, but the squad as a whole will have a younger look to it. All but one of the other 10 players is either freshmen or sophomores, with seven of the 10 making their Raider debuts this season.
"We definitely have quite a few new faces," says head coach Bridgett Williams, who enters her seventh year at the helm. "I'm confident, though, that they will fit nicely into our program and help us as we work towards a Horizon League championship."
RETURNERS
Leading the list of Raider returnees is senior forward Whitney Lewis, who was named to the League's Preseason Second Team.
"Whitney has been one of the most consistent players in the Horizon League the past three seasons," says Williams. "She continues to improve each year and has put together a solid career for Wright State both on and off the court."
The 2004-05 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, Lewis finished 13th in the League in scoring last season with an 11.4 average and was 11th in rebounding at 4.9. Despite missing seven games due to injury, Lewis also ranked third in the League in free throw percentage (.824) and three-point percentage (.424), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.33) fifth in field goal percentage (.521) and sixth in blocked shots per game (0.86).
Lewis saved her best for last as she recorded a career-best 29 points at Milwaukee in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Tournament and averaged 15.5 points per game over the final four contests. She reached double figures in scoring 13 times overall in 2006-07 and gathered in six or more rebounds on eight occasions.
Off the court, Lewis has already earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and did so with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Named ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-District IV by the College Sports Information Directors of America last season, she was also selected Academic All-Horizon League and was a recipient of Dr. Carl Benner Female Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given to the WSU junior or senior with the highest grade point average in the entire department.
After starting just two games her first two seasons, senior forward Sierra Crayton stepped up her game last year as she made 23 starts, averaging eight points and 4.7 rebounds a contest. She scored a career-high 17 points against Eastern Michigan and collected a career-best 10 rebounds versus Longwood. Crayton scored in double figures 11 times as she shot 45 percent from the field, good for eighth in the League.
The third senior on the team, forward Danielle Duncan, became the only Raider to start every game last season after not starting a game her first two seasons. Duncan, who averaged 4.7 points and four rebounds per game, shot 47 percent from the field and ranked fifth in the League in steals per game at 1.54.
Sophomore guard Kanisha Ward played in all but one game for the Raiders last season, making eight starts over the first month of the season. Ward scored 10 points in back-to-back games against Canisius and Eastern Michigan and dished out eight assists at Marshall. She later scored eight in a win over Cleveland State and recorded three or more assists in a game 13 times.
Erica Richardson, a sophomore forward, showed signs of improvement as the season progressed, averaging nearly eight points per game over the final six contests after averaging just over three points through the first 22 games. She hit six of seven shots in scoring 15 versus Detroit, tallied eight points and six rebounds in the regular-season meeting at Milwaukee and had seven points against the Panthers in the Horizon League Tournament rematch.
Heather Parrish, another sophomore guard, rounds out the list of returnees for the Raiders. Parrish appeared in 24 games off the bench last season, scoring nine points against Longwood and eight versus Indiana at the UM Thanksgiving Tournament.
NEWCOMERS
Along with the six returnees, the roster features seven newcomers, including two transfers who are eligible to play this season. Junior guard and Cincinnati native Mallory Wyrick comes to Wright State after playing the past two seasons at UNC Wilmington while sophomore guard Charné Dixon attended classes at Franklin Pierce College last season but did not play.
Forward Tanni Scott, who was redshirted last year due to knee injury, received Special Mention All-State honors in Division II as a senior for Centennial High School in Columbus, averaging 16.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks.
The Raiders also have four true freshmen on their roster. Guard Paige Lowe set school records in assists and steals at Maple Heights High School in Cleveland while guard LaShawna Thomas was Honorable Mention All-State as a senior as she led Columbus Eastmoor Academy to the Division II state semifinals.
Guard Sheylani Peddy averaged 21 points, 9.1 assists, eight steals, 7.3 rebounds and three blocks per game as a senior for Melrose High School in Boston, Massachusetts, and forward Tatianna Hall was named all-district and all-city as a senior with Regina High School near Cleveland, considered one of the top programs in the country.
Forward Ta-myra Davis, a transfer from Youngstown State, will sit out this season due to NCAA requirements and will have three years of eligibility remaining starting with the 2008-09 season.
THE STAFF
While the faces on the sidelines will be the same as last season, there will be one change as Joshua Snyder is now an assistant coach after serving the program as the Director of Basketball Operations last year.
The new Director of Basketball Operations is Erin Anderson, who has been a fixture of Raider athletics for the past four years with her work at the Setzer Pavilion/Mills Morgan Center along with being the official scorer for men's and women's basketball games.
SCHEDULE
Wright State again faces a tough schedule in 2007-08 and, unlike last season, a majority of the games will be away from the friendly confines of the Nutter Center as the Raiders have just 12 home games this season, including only two of the first 10.
WSU opens the season on Friday, November 9, with a matchup at Boston College, who has appeared in six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments. The Raiders then open the home portion of their schedule against Ball State on Monday, November 12.
Following road matchups with Mid-American teams Eastern Michigan and Miami, Wright State heads to California Thanksgiving weekend for the Cal Poly Holiday Beach Tournament. WSU takes on the host Mustangs on Saturday, November 24, and North Dakota State on Sunday, November 25.
A home date with Canisius kicks off the December portion of the schedule, which will also see the Raiders take on their second ACC team of the year in Wake Forest along with local rivals Cincinnati, Dayton and Evansville. The December 11 game with Cincinnati will mark the first time that Wright State and the Bearcats have met since the 1998-99 season while the December 21 encounter with Evansville will be the first with the Purple Aces since the 1993-94 campaign.
The 18-game Horizon League slate, which begins the first week of January, comprises the rest of the schedule. The travel partner format will again be in place with all the League games set for Thursdays and Saturdays, but after being paired with Butler last season, the Raiders are with Detroit this season as Valparaiso joins the League.
The Horizon League Tournament begins on Monday, March 10, with the opening round, followed by the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 12, the semifinals on Friday, March 14, and the championship on Sunday, March 16.
"The nonleague schedule is once again very challenging and should prepare us for Horizon League play," says Williams. "It should be an extremely competitive race in the Horizon League this season and I believe that we will definitely be a factor in that race."
With a mixture of youth and experience along with a challenging schedule, it should be an exciting season of Wright State women's basketball.
--Story provided by Wright State office of sports information
