Two weeks ago the Stormy Petrels traveled to Pensacola to scrimmage D-II Univ. of West Florida. We held our own, outscoring UWF during the first 20 minute segment, while UCF outscored us in the second. Our new players, as well as our sophomore crew, gained valuable playing experience as we try to lengthen our bench.
We feel this is of prime importance as we prepare to uphold our lofty season goals.
After the scrimmage we all, including all our fans that traveled to Pensacola, gathered at the Grace's home where we were treated to a backyard shrimp boil-BBQ extravaganza, topped off with smoors cooked over an open fire. That Grace Clan and friends really know how to put on a party and I know Grandmom was watching over us.
Our senior crew was not exactly proud of how they played during the scrimmage and they came back to Atlanta and we had two weeks of hard and productive practices preparing for our scrimmage against D-I Jacksonville State in Alabama.
Again, all our players received ample playing time and our D-III Petrels gave the Gamecocks all they could handle. Led by Kulavic, Findley and Richmond, the Petrels proved they can play at many levels of competition. New addition Kelley Reeves had an excellent scrimmage.
As we told the players after the scrimmage, this will be the last time they will be considered an underdog as they will definitely have a target on their back every time they walk on the floor.
LET THE SEASON BEGIN AND IT'S BUSY FROM THE GET GO
The much anticipated 2008/09 season officially begins Saturday at 2 pm (not 7 pm as shown on the original schedule) against visiting Ferrum College from the USA South Conference. Ferrum is a pre-season pick to challenge for the top spot in their conference. They play an uptempo style of game so get ready for some end to end action.
The Stormy Petrels are again on the Dorough hardwoods Tuesday at 7 pm against NCAA Tournament foe Piedmont College. Always difficult and well coached, Piedmont is coming off two consecutive NCAA appearances and are poised to make a run for three in a row.
We then hop on a plane for Chicago and play in the prestigious Wheaton College Tipoff tournament Friday and Saturday. Friday we play Grinnell from Iowa and if we win we will probably play host Wheaton Saturday afternoon.
That will be four games in eight days. This will be a good test to see where we stand and how deep we are.
MORE PRE-SEASON ACCOLADES
The ESPN/USA Today/WBCA poll came out and they also gave the Stormy Petrels a #2 ranking matching the D3 Hoops ranking. UW-Whitewater is ranked # 1 in both polls. DePauw is ranked #3 in one and #5 in the other. Trinity also received votes in both polls.
Senior Katie Kulavic has received pre-season All American recognition by D3 Hoops. She is on the second team as one of the two guards. Katie is 344 points away from becoming the leading scorer in SCAC history. Senior Anna Findley also is poised to surpass the record.
HAPPENINGS
BASKETBALL MADNESS: Friday evening at 9pm. Both the women and men will present the 2008-09 players, followed by a slam dunk contest for the guys, the 3-point contest for both the men and women, and then two 10-minute scrimmages by both teams.
Come on out and get a preview of what this season will bring.
RECRUITING: We're on to a special recruiting class and hopefully we will see them all in black and gold come next season...
SATURDAY'S HALF TIME SHOW: The St Pius X talented 8th Grade team will play a intrasquad mini-game during half time.
WEBCAST: If you can't make it to the games, you can follow along via our online webcast of all home games and this year selected away games. Also, Live Stats are available this season.
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