LAWTON, Okla. – Cameron's women's basketball team will open up the 2018-19 season by taking on Newman and Oklahoma Christian at the Heartland/Lone Star Conference Challenge this weekend in Wichita, Kan.
LSC/Heartland Schedule | Conference Challenge Hub
Friday, Nov. 9
G1) Oklahoma Christian vs. MSU Texas | 4 p.m.
G2) Cameron at Newman | 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10
G3) Cameron vs. Oklahoma Christian | 2 p.m.
G4) MSU Texas at Newman | 4 p.m.
Starting 5:
1. The Aggies, who were picked sixth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason poll, return a pair of All-LSC Honorable Mention players in seniors
Lejha Smith and
Parfitt McNair; Smith was second in the league last season with 10.6 rebounds per contest, while McNair averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.
2. Last season,
Ava Battese led CU to a win over Oklahoma Christian in their season opener with 20 points on 6-12 shooting from the perimeter, while Smith had 12 points and 19 rebounds against the Eagles.
3. Newman was picked fourth in the Heartland Preseason Poll after going 17-12 with an 8-6 conference record last year.
4. OC returns Honorable Mention All-American, first team All-South Central Region and All-Heartland performer Addy Clift, who scored 21.7 points per game while making 87 three pointers last season.
5. Cameron has accumulated a record of 3-1 against Newman and 9-14 against Oklahoma Christian, including going 2-0 against them a year ago.
About the Aggies:
The CU women's basketball team is coming off a 13-16 season where they also went 11-9 against LSC opponents, including going 4-1 in their final five regular season contests before losing to Texas A&M-Commerce in the first round of the conference tournament. The Aggies have a team comprised of eight returners (six seniors) and five newcomers with three true freshmen. They will be under the direction of head coach
Emma Andrews and assistant coach
Josh May for the duo's third year.
Joining McNair, Smith, and Battese as CU's top returners will be sparkplug
Amaka Nwakamma, who averaged 9.3 points and had 56 steals last year, and
Natalie Halbleib, who before missing last season due to injury, averaged 11.1 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2016-17. Other returners include speedster
Sydney Ellis, shooter
Andrea Martinez, and post player
Jazmin Luster.
New to the Aggies this season,
Chelsea Heidebrecht, a Cache HS graduate, brings three years of Division II experience from Harding University, where she scored 257 points in her career. JUCO post player
McKenna Spikes will also be a new asset to the squad, as well as
Maighan Hedge and
Whitney Outon.
Scouting the Jets:
Newman went 17-12 last season, and despite losing their leading scorer from last season, were picked fourth in the Heartland Preseason Poll. They will look to Bria DeGrate, who averaged 10.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season, and Abbey George and Haley Albers to fill the void. NU also added the talents of JUCO players Kaitlyn Potter, who was top-15 in the NJCAA in scoring with 20.0 points per game last season.
Scouting the Eagles:
Oklahoma Christian is coming off a 10-18 season with a 5-9 conference mark during the 2017-18 season. Not only do they return top scorer Clift, but the Eagles also have Katie Mayo, a sophomore that scored 11.3 points and grabbed 5.4 rebounds per contest last year, and Maddison Collyer back, a sophomore who scored 9.4 points per game in her debut season. Mayo led the team with 14 points and seven rebounds in an exhibition win over York College on Nov. 3, while Clift added 12 points.
Up Next:
Aggie fans will get their first chance to see the team in action at home on Tuesday, Nov. 13, as Cameron hosts Central Oklahoma starting at 5:30 p.m.
