Women's College Basketball: St. Edward's University: Season Preview
2015–2016 season preview
women's basketball Head Coach J.J. Riehl is entering her fourth season at the helm of the St. Edward’s University women’s basketball team. Her exciting first year was followed by a record-setting second year in which the Hilltoppers won the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship and went to the national tournament for the first time in school history. Year three provided opportunities for the Hilltoppers as they rebuilt the program by bringing in 10 new players. Coach Riehl and her staff hope to continue their winning ways, and they are eyeing another postseason berth. The squad will look a little different from last year as St. Edward’s said goodbye to three starters. Two starters are returning to the 2015–2016 team, as well as five other letterwinners. Off-season additions provide the team with the talent, depth and experience needed at each position. “We are really excited about this group. We have a talented squad on the court, including some positions we haven't felt this strongly about in a while. We truly believe we can make a little noise and be something special,” Riehl said. “The returners are highly motivated to be a more consistent team than last year, and the incoming players are providing an energy and work ethic that are helping to keep everyone focused on the moment and not worrying too far ahead.”
THE TEAM A strong core of players returning, combined with the addition of five talented players, points to a promising 2015–2016 campaign. Junior transfer Shakera Barnes (Snook, Texas) hopes to take the reins at the point guard position; she is expected to provide experience and a contagious positive spirit and work ethic. Barnes arrives from Blinn Junior College, where she averaged 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last season. During her high school career, Barnes was first-team all-state and led her team to a state championship. She was also a four-time state champion in track and field. Joining Barnes at the point guard position is freshman Bailey Hill (San Marcos, Texas). At San Marcos High School, Hill was named first-team all-district and all-region her senior season after amassing 440 points, which included 53 three-pointers. The depth at the perimeter positions will provide the Hilltoppers the ability to play the up-tempo style they are looking for. St. Edward’s returns its most important asset at the wing, Mileka Loydrake, who was named All-Heartland Conference for the second-straight year. Loydrake was the second-leading scorer on the team at 13.9 points per contest. The Hilltoppers will also depend on sophomore letterwinners Kayla Goebel and Essence Sauls as viable options off the bench. Additionally, Hill will see time at the wing positions. The frontcourt for St. Edward’s has the potential to be a strong suit, as the Hilltoppers return junior forward Lexi Fatheree, who started 25 games last season. Fatheree led the Hilltoppers in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per contest. Fatheree is again expected to have a dominant year at the forward position. Joining Fatheree on the block is junior Khiani Clark. The forward had a solid season last year, appearing in every game and averaging 6.1 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Ateh Ade and Haley Joly gained valuable experience last season off the
bench and hope to earn a larger role in 2015–2016. Adding to the group are transfers Carissa Diaz (Houston Baptist) and Alex Box (Angelo State), along with freshman Abby Hopper (Lubbock, Texas). Diaz was the district MVP her senior year at Tomball High School, and Hopper was first-team all-state her junior season at Frenship High School. “We have a versatile team this year with multiple people being able to play multiple positions. This will help to provide a competitive spirit in practice and create a more energized and intense environment leading into the season,” Riehl said. “We are really athletic in the backcourt and we want to use that speed to get up and down the floor to create a faster pace of play. Our inside game is very good, with a size and skill set that we haven’t seen in a while, and it really helps to balance out the team, making it difficult for our opponents to defend against us.”
SCHEDULE The Hilltoppers start the 2015–2016 season with four games in front of their home fans. Matchups against Southwest Christian and cross-town rival Huston–Tillotson are sandwiched around an early-season test against regional power West Texas A&M. The squad will then embark on a post-Thanksgiving trip to the Northeast to take on Merrimack College and Southern Connecticut State. Two more regional matchups versus Lone Star Conference opponents Angelo State and Texas A&M–Commerce will close out non-conference play. The week prior to Christmas signals the beginning of conference play for St. Edward’s as the Hilltoppers host Newman and Oklahoma Christian. St. Edward’s continues league play in early 2016, hoping to make a run for the Heartland Conference Championship. The team will hit the road for five of the first seven contests to begin the new year, before flipping to the opposite in the second half of the schedule. The Hilltoppers will end the regular season with key road games against the same Oklahoma Christian and Newman squads they started with. Oklahoma Christian and Lubbock Christian are now eligible to compete for the conference crown this season. However, Rogers State remains as a transition school to NCAA Division II for one more year. This should make for a very tight race for the eight spots available in the new format for the Heartland Conference Tournament that will take place in Tulsa, Okla., March 2–5. “As I’ve said every year, the schedule is just that, the schedule. It is a sheet of paper with 26 games listed on it and we aren’t going to get wrapped up in whom we play,” Riehl said. “We need to worry about us and what it is that we do and not look forward to a certain opponent or a date on the calendar.
Learn more about Hilltopper women’s basketball at: GoHilltoppers.com (continued, page 2)
2015–2016 season preview
women's basketball As we talk about frequently within our program, we have to have faith in our preparation and each other, focus on the moment at hand, and, most importantly, we have to finish each and every moment. If we do these things, we will be successful.” “The Heartland Conference is getting better and better, tougher and tougher, and is a highly competitive and balanced league,” Riehl said. “You look at the last three years and you’ve had a completely different group of teams in the conference race each year, which speaks to the balance across the league, and I expect no different this year. The conference schedule will be extremely tough, highly competitive and very entertaining to watch as the season progresses.”
FINAL THOUGHTS With J.J. Riehl at the helm, along with new faces on the coaching staff in assistant coach Matt Miner and graduate assistant coach Jaimie Kadlecek, the St. Edward’s University women’s basketball team is looking to continue its rise up the ranks of the Heartland Conference. “I am thrilled with the full-time addition of Miner and with Kadlecek coming on board. We are keeping it in the family and it has been really nice. They both understand me and understand that we are going to do it the St. Edward’s way, and it is really working. We have great chemistry between us and we are really functioning as one unit,” said Riehl. Riehl stated, “We’ve really done a great job of turning this thing around in a very short period of time. Over the last three years, we’ve had as big of a turnaround as any staff in program history. We are one of two teams to appear in the conference tournament every season for the past three seasons. So we’ve established that we expect to win and we’ve done a good job meeting those expectations. The question for this year’s group is can we take the next step? Can we be in the conversation regionally and nationally? The level of determination is at an all-time high for this year’s squad, and we as a staff are really excited to embark on this journey with this year's additions to the Hilltoppers!”
women's basketball Head Coach J.J. Riehl is entering her fourth season at the helm of the St. Edward’s University women’s basketball team. Her exciting first year was followed by a record-setting second year in which the Hilltoppers won the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship and went to the national tournament for the first time in school history. Year three provided opportunities for the Hilltoppers as they rebuilt the program by bringing in 10 new players. Coach Riehl and her staff hope to continue their winning ways, and they are eyeing another postseason berth. The squad will look a little different from last year as St. Edward’s said goodbye to three starters. Two starters are returning to the 2015–2016 team, as well as five other letterwinners. Off-season additions provide the team with the talent, depth and experience needed at each position. “We are really excited about this group. We have a talented squad on the court, including some positions we haven't felt this strongly about in a while. We truly believe we can make a little noise and be something special,” Riehl said. “The returners are highly motivated to be a more consistent team than last year, and the incoming players are providing an energy and work ethic that are helping to keep everyone focused on the moment and not worrying too far ahead.”
THE TEAM A strong core of players returning, combined with the addition of five talented players, points to a promising 2015–2016 campaign. Junior transfer Shakera Barnes (Snook, Texas) hopes to take the reins at the point guard position; she is expected to provide experience and a contagious positive spirit and work ethic. Barnes arrives from Blinn Junior College, where she averaged 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last season. During her high school career, Barnes was first-team all-state and led her team to a state championship. She was also a four-time state champion in track and field. Joining Barnes at the point guard position is freshman Bailey Hill (San Marcos, Texas). At San Marcos High School, Hill was named first-team all-district and all-region her senior season after amassing 440 points, which included 53 three-pointers. The depth at the perimeter positions will provide the Hilltoppers the ability to play the up-tempo style they are looking for. St. Edward’s returns its most important asset at the wing, Mileka Loydrake, who was named All-Heartland Conference for the second-straight year. Loydrake was the second-leading scorer on the team at 13.9 points per contest. The Hilltoppers will also depend on sophomore letterwinners Kayla Goebel and Essence Sauls as viable options off the bench. Additionally, Hill will see time at the wing positions. The frontcourt for St. Edward’s has the potential to be a strong suit, as the Hilltoppers return junior forward Lexi Fatheree, who started 25 games last season. Fatheree led the Hilltoppers in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per contest. Fatheree is again expected to have a dominant year at the forward position. Joining Fatheree on the block is junior Khiani Clark. The forward had a solid season last year, appearing in every game and averaging 6.1 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Ateh Ade and Haley Joly gained valuable experience last season off the
bench and hope to earn a larger role in 2015–2016. Adding to the group are transfers Carissa Diaz (Houston Baptist) and Alex Box (Angelo State), along with freshman Abby Hopper (Lubbock, Texas). Diaz was the district MVP her senior year at Tomball High School, and Hopper was first-team all-state her junior season at Frenship High School. “We have a versatile team this year with multiple people being able to play multiple positions. This will help to provide a competitive spirit in practice and create a more energized and intense environment leading into the season,” Riehl said. “We are really athletic in the backcourt and we want to use that speed to get up and down the floor to create a faster pace of play. Our inside game is very good, with a size and skill set that we haven’t seen in a while, and it really helps to balance out the team, making it difficult for our opponents to defend against us.”
SCHEDULE The Hilltoppers start the 2015–2016 season with four games in front of their home fans. Matchups against Southwest Christian and cross-town rival Huston–Tillotson are sandwiched around an early-season test against regional power West Texas A&M. The squad will then embark on a post-Thanksgiving trip to the Northeast to take on Merrimack College and Southern Connecticut State. Two more regional matchups versus Lone Star Conference opponents Angelo State and Texas A&M–Commerce will close out non-conference play. The week prior to Christmas signals the beginning of conference play for St. Edward’s as the Hilltoppers host Newman and Oklahoma Christian. St. Edward’s continues league play in early 2016, hoping to make a run for the Heartland Conference Championship. The team will hit the road for five of the first seven contests to begin the new year, before flipping to the opposite in the second half of the schedule. The Hilltoppers will end the regular season with key road games against the same Oklahoma Christian and Newman squads they started with. Oklahoma Christian and Lubbock Christian are now eligible to compete for the conference crown this season. However, Rogers State remains as a transition school to NCAA Division II for one more year. This should make for a very tight race for the eight spots available in the new format for the Heartland Conference Tournament that will take place in Tulsa, Okla., March 2–5. “As I’ve said every year, the schedule is just that, the schedule. It is a sheet of paper with 26 games listed on it and we aren’t going to get wrapped up in whom we play,” Riehl said. “We need to worry about us and what it is that we do and not look forward to a certain opponent or a date on the calendar.
Learn more about Hilltopper women’s basketball at: GoHilltoppers.com (continued, page 2)
2015–2016 season preview
women's basketball As we talk about frequently within our program, we have to have faith in our preparation and each other, focus on the moment at hand, and, most importantly, we have to finish each and every moment. If we do these things, we will be successful.” “The Heartland Conference is getting better and better, tougher and tougher, and is a highly competitive and balanced league,” Riehl said. “You look at the last three years and you’ve had a completely different group of teams in the conference race each year, which speaks to the balance across the league, and I expect no different this year. The conference schedule will be extremely tough, highly competitive and very entertaining to watch as the season progresses.”
FINAL THOUGHTS With J.J. Riehl at the helm, along with new faces on the coaching staff in assistant coach Matt Miner and graduate assistant coach Jaimie Kadlecek, the St. Edward’s University women’s basketball team is looking to continue its rise up the ranks of the Heartland Conference. “I am thrilled with the full-time addition of Miner and with Kadlecek coming on board. We are keeping it in the family and it has been really nice. They both understand me and understand that we are going to do it the St. Edward’s way, and it is really working. We have great chemistry between us and we are really functioning as one unit,” said Riehl. Riehl stated, “We’ve really done a great job of turning this thing around in a very short period of time. Over the last three years, we’ve had as big of a turnaround as any staff in program history. We are one of two teams to appear in the conference tournament every season for the past three seasons. So we’ve established that we expect to win and we’ve done a good job meeting those expectations. The question for this year’s group is can we take the next step? Can we be in the conversation regionally and nationally? The level of determination is at an all-time high for this year’s squad, and we as a staff are really excited to embark on this journey with this year's additions to the Hilltoppers!”
