2015-16 Liberty Women's Basketball Season Outlook
11/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Liberty women's basketball team will tip off the 2015-16 season Friday at Appalachian State, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The Lady Flames will then face Elon in the home opener, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. inside the Vines Center.
Coming off of its 16th Big South Conference championship in 19 seasons, the 2015-16 Liberty women's basketball team will again bring lofty expectations into a new year. The Lady Flames were voted the Big South preseason favorite for the 18th time in 19 years and redshirt senior post player Ashley Rininger was tabbed Big South Preseason Player of the Year.
Last season, Liberty finished 26-7, including 22 wins in 23 games against conference foes. The Lady Flames then made a strong run at their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2005 before falling to North Carolina by six points.
"We're excited to start a new season, after coming off of a rewarding conference championship and NCAA Tournament experience," stated Carey Green, who begins his 17th season as Liberty's head coach just 17 wins shy of 400 for his career. "That has provided confidence moving into this season, yet left a hunger due to the unsatisfied ending."
The Lady Flames return three starters from the 2014-15 season, including Rininger, senior point guard Sadalia Ellis and redshirt senior center Katelyn Adams. They are joined by redshirt senior post Catherine Kearney, senior guard Jaymee Fisher-Davis and redshirt junior guard Mikal Johnson in providing a strong core of experience for this year's team.
"We hope that having six players with a combined 27 years of experience will help us jump forward into an extremely challenging non-conference and conference schedule," Green noted. "Hopefully the leadership will help blend the enthusiasm and energy of seven new faces."
The Lady Flames' daunting non-conference slate features home games with NC State (Nov. 20) and Seton Hall (Dec. 12), visits to James Madison (Nov. 23) and Duke (Dec. 17) and battles with Ohio State and California at the Nov. 27-28 South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas.
"Our non-conference foes will give us early challenges that will mirror what we could possibly face in the NCAA Tournament," Green explained.
Liberty will tip off its 20-game Big South regular season schedule at Gardner-Webb on Dec. 2 and will head to the Big South Women's Basketball Championship, March 10-13.
Point Guard
Ellis will anchor the point guard position for the Lady Flames after making 44 starts there over the past two seasons. She was named to the preseason All-Big South second team after ranking second in the Big South in assists (4.1 apg) and fifth in steals (2.2 spg) last season.
"We expect great leadership from Sadalia this season," stated Green of the Houston, Texas native. "Her speed and being a southpaw are challenges for her opponents."
Ellis will be backed up by sophomore Candice Leatherwood, who Green noted had a "great offseason," and freshman Tatyana Crowder, who played her high school basketball at Liberty Christian Academy.
Wing
Green describes his seven options at the shooting guard and small forward positions as a "large talent pool." They include Fisher-Davis, Johnson, juniors Audrey Rettstatt and Mickayla Sanders, sophomore Sheana Vega and freshmen Brooke Alexander and Stephanie Patton.
Fisher-Davis hit a team-high 40 three-pointers a year ago and has not missed a free throw since her freshman year, making a program-record 26 in a row during that time.
Johnson will make her Liberty debut this season after sitting out the 2014-15 campaign following a transfer from Rider. The native of Manassas, Va., scored 10.5 ppg and hit 50 three-pointers as a sophomore at Rider in 2013-14.
Sanders has scored 457 points and made 76 triples during her first two seasons as a Lady Flame. However, Green stated, "Unfortunately, Mickayla is currently battling through injuries that have set her back in her progress."
Rettstatt and Vega have each seen limited playing time thus far in their collegiate careers, but Green believes both showed good improvement and development over the summer.
The versatile Alexander, who started her high school career as a point guard, led Prestonwood Christian Academy to its first-ever Texas state title in 2014. Meanwhile, Hiawassee, Ga., native Patton finished her high school years with 1,937 points and 255 three-pointers made.
Post
The 2015-16 season will mark the final go-around for the Lady Flames' "big 3" post players Adams, Kearney and Rininger, all of whom stand 6-4 or taller. The trio has combined for 288 appearances (127 starts), 2,373 points, 1,743 rebounds and 307 blocked shots for the Lady Flames.
Rininger, the 2014-15 team leader in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg), earned her second straight first team All-Big South honor and was voted MVP of the Big South Championship.
Adams, a steady rebounder and post defender, already ranks No. 6 in program history for blocked shots (111) and No. 17 for rebounds (574).
The 6-6 Kearney has been limited by injuries for much of her career, but Green is hopeful things will be different this season. "Catherine had a great offseason of healing and developing and is hungry to be an impactful player this year," he observed.
The Lady Flames will also have plenty of depth in the post, including redshirt sophomore Jordan Woods and freshmen KK Barbour, Molly Reagan and Kaitlyn Stovall.
Woods averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg at Burlington County College last season, while Reagan was busy helping Braintree High School capture its second straight Massachusetts state title. Both Barbour (Charlottesville) and Stovall (Hopewell) hail from the Commonwealth.
