Today's Contest
- This is the first meeting ever between Lindenwood at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The Cotton Blossoms play in the Great American Conference. This is the first game of the season for both teams.
- The women's athletic programs at Arkansas-Monticello are named the Cotton Blossoms, while the nickname for the men's programs is the Boll Weevils.
- The Lady Lions finished 1-1 in the preaseason, with both games against Division I opponents. The Cotton Blossoms lost their only preseason game 79-48 to Arkansas State University Monday.
- Sophomore transfer
Dru Haertling led the Lady Lions with 23 points in their two preseason games. Sophomore Tamia Grady led the Cotton Blossoms with 15 points Monday.
Lindenwood Notes
- After starting nine of the 26 games she played in last season, sophomore
Jenny Rocha has settled into the starting role as a starting guard for the Lady Lions. Rocha dished out 10 assists in the two exhibition games. Lindenwood coach
Tony Francis said he challenged Rocha to lead the team and she's responded well. "She's really risen to the occasion and now we're seeing her play with a lot of confidence," Francis said Thursday as he prepared the Lady Lions for the season opener.
- With a large influx of new talent, Francis said the starting five of Rocha,
Caroline Bourlioux,
Kassidy Gengenbacher,
Dru Haertling and
Julie Hlinak give the Lady Lions their best opportunity to win out of the gate. "We could probably start eight different girls," Francis said. "We have three or four girls that will see significant playing time off the bench."
- Lindenwood held its own against two Division I exhibition opponents. The Lady Lions beat SIU-Carbondale 70-55, and led SIU-Edwardsville midway through the second half before succumbing to the red-hot shooting Cougars.
- Two of the Lady Lions starters are from O'Fallon, Mo., one is from Jackson, Mo., one is from Quincy, Ill. and one is from Banneux, Belgium.
- With both exhibition games on the road and the first three regular season games in Arkansas, Tennessee and St. Louis, the Lady Lions return to the Hyland Arena to play McKendree University on Nov. 19 for the first of a six-game homestand.
- Francis said the two exhibition games helped expose his team's weaknesses and they are eager to play a game that counts. "We're excited to play a game that means something," Francis said. "We've gained confidence and we're eager to prove that we're a better team than we were last year."
- If the exhibition games are any indication of how the Lady Lions will shoot from the free-throw line, they should be able to count on those points in the regular season. They made 79.2 percent of their 24 charity shots against SIU-E and shot 77.1 percent in the preseason.
- Five MIAA teams -- Central Oklahoma, Emporia State, Lincoln, Missouri Southern and Northeastern State, began play Friday night. Fort Hays State (Nov. 13) is the last MIAA team to begin play.
- Nicole Collier (Lincoln), Ronda Hubbard (Mo. Southern), Michael Smith (Northwest Mo. State) and Todd Voss (Southwest Baptist) are the four new coaches in the MIAA.
Last Time Out
- Lindenwood lost to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville 85-63 Tuesday. The Lady Lions trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, but took a 53-52 lead with 8:57 left in the game. The Cougars sealed the win with a 15-1 run after losing the lead.
- Senior
Marissa Lehnig scored 11 points and had five rebounds against SIU-E. The 5-9 guard, played in 39 minutes and scored 22 points in the preseason.
- Four Lady Lions (
Caroline Bourlioux,
Julie Hlinak,
Bre Zanders and Lehnig) all picked up four fouls Tuesday.
- SIU-E shot 56.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range against the Lady Lions.
- Forward Jessie Wendt was an offensive force for SIU-E with a game-high 23 points and six rebounds.
About Arkansas-Monticello
- The Cotton Blossoms were picked to finish eighth in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches poll. The Blossoms were 6-21 overall and 3-17 in the GAC last season. The Blossoms pushed Arkansas State University, ranked No. 1 in the GAC, to overtime in last year's tournament.
- The Cotton Blossoms return six letter winners and two starters from last year's team, including GAC Freshman of the Year, Jordan Goforth, who averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 27 games last year.
