11/4/2009 - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 11 Days of A-Sun Women's Basketball: Kennesaw State

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Interview with Head Coach Colby Tilley

SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Kennesaw State Media Relations)

Kennesaw State’s women’s basketball team has seemingly been in purgatory for the last four years. Going through the NCAA’s mandated transition period from Division II to Division I, the Lady Owls have had good teams which haven’t been allowed to compete at the A-Sun Championships or in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.

Finally, the transition is over and Head Coach Colby Tilley’s Lady Owls are now ready to gun for an automatic berth into the NCAA’s. This year’s team has a mix of senior leadership and underclassman youth which will be put to the test early and often in the 2009-10 season, all in hopes of making a run through the A-Sun Championships in March in order to earn the coveted NCAA bid.

“For the last four years, we’ve had teams that have mostly tried to improve every game and have a winning record,” Coach Tilley said. “Our goal is to win the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. We know that’s not going to be easy, but we believe it’s a goal that we can reach.”

Four seniors will be leaned on heavily by Coach Tilley this season. One of those seniors is Greteya Kelley, who is unquestionably one of the premier defensive players in the A-Sun. Named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year her sophomore year, the senior finished her junior season with 2.64 steals per game, good for a second place ranking in the A-Sun.

“As a Preseason All-Conference player, Greteya has gained the respected of the other coaches in the league, and rightfully so,” Coach Tilley said. “Her offense has improved to the point where she’s become a complete player.”

DeAndrea Bullock worked her way into the starting lineup last season and proved to be a valuable asset for Coach Tilley. The senior averaged a solid 6.4 points per game against A-Sun foes during her junior year, in addition to leading the Lady Owls in rebounding on four occasions. This season, the 5-foot-9-inch Bullock will move to the wing.

“We’ve finally been able to move DeAndrea back to her natural position,” said Coach Tilley. “Moving her back to the wing will allow DeAndrea to play to her strength of playing on the perimeter. Being on the wing will let her do the things she does best.”

Senior Gia Lockett is a shooter that can take over a game when she gets in rhythm. That was never more in evidence than on Dec. 15, 2008, when Lockett lit up Georgia Southern for a KSU D-I record 36 points. The scoring effort proved to be the highest point output by any women’s basketball player in the A-Sun last season. Lockett led the Lady Owls in scoring four times last season, with KSU winning all four games.

“Gia had one year of eligibility left, so she came back to start graduate school,” Coach Tilley said. “That shows me she really wants to go out as a winner with the opportunity to play for a conference championship.”

Montinique Nixon is the fourth senior that will see action for the Lady Owls. Nixon is an intimidating post player for the Lady Owls, averaging almost one blocked shot per game last year while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game. Nixon led the Lady Owls in rebounding in seven of the last 10 games KSU played last season, including a season-high 15 in a victory at Stetson.

“We’re expecting Montinique to pick up right where she left off,” Coach Tilley said. “She really came on strong for us at the end of the season and picked up several double-doubles.”

With no juniors on the roster, the onus falls on the sophomores and freshmen to develop quickly if the Lady Owls are to have any success this year. One of KSU’s sophomores is Angie Smith, who is returning after a fine freshman campaign. The guard played in all but one game for the Lady Owls, averaging 6.0 points and 1.5 assists in an average of 17.6 minutes per game.

“Angie’s going to be in charge on the court this year,” Coach Tilley said. “With the graduation of Ashley Johnson and Lennisha Johnson, it falls on Angie to lead our offense. We have the confidence that she can do that. She runs our break really well, and does a good job running the offense. There’s going to be a lot of responsibility on her shoulders this year.”

Sophomore Tamasha Bolden will add post presence for the Lady Owls. Bolden played in 14 games last season, averaging 6.9 minutes of action, connecting on 50 percent of her shots from the field.

“Tamasha is a gifted athlete who has the opportunity to show the things she can do after playing behind Montinique and DeAndrea last year,” Coach Tilley said. “She’s a quick post player, and she can run the floor very well on the break. A lot of the success we have this year will be based on how Tamasha plays.”

Eight freshmen join the Lady Owls in 2009-10, with many of them coming from championship pedigrees. Lisa Capellan comes from the Orange Belt Conference Champs in Osceola, Fla. Sametria Gideon’s team at Bob Jones High School won the Alabama State Championship in 2009 and 2009, with the KSU newcomer earning Second Team All-State honors. Brandi Jones from Jones County High School in Gray, Ga., was named All-Region I-AAAA while reading her team to the first round of the State Championships. Briona Jones spent a year attending George Mason University, but now joins Kennesaw State for four years of eligibility. Her senior year team at Churchville-Chili High School went 21-3, with the KSU newcomer earning All-Greater Rochester Honorable Mention honors. Kayla Weaver’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School squad was a Georgia State semifinalist last season. Alexiss Griffin scored over 1,000 points in her high school career at Cape Coral High School in Cape Coral, Fla., helping her team to the 5A District Championships in 2008 and 2009. Greenville S.C.’s Ashley Holliday won the AAA State Championship in 2007-08. Rounding out the list, Rachel Loe was a four-time All-Region performer at North Cobb Christian High School in nearby Acworth, Ga.

“This is our best class of recruits that we’ve had since we’ve moved to Division I,” Coach Tilley said. “Every position that we needed to fill, we did. We have posts that we feel will be able to dominate, we have guards that can shoot, we have players that can run the court. There will be times this year when we have five freshmen on the court. But we’re expecting great things from this group this year and in the years to come.”

Kennesaw State will open up with four straight home games, with former A-Sun member Georgia State opening the 2009-10 season at the KSU Convocation Center Nov. 14. After hosting Jacksonville State and Longwood Nov. 20 and 22, the Lady Owls will host an Atlantic Coast Conference team for the first time in program history when Clemson visits Nov. 24.

After a trip to the Chattanooga Classic Nov. 27-28, the Lady owls will host Belmont and Lipscomb Dec. 3 and 5, with ACC and metro Atlanta rival Georgia Tech visiting Kennesaw for the first time Dec. 18. After a trip to Georgia Southern Dec. 21, the Lady Owls will close out the 2009 portion of their schedule at North Carolina Dec. 29.

Nothing but A-Sun games dot the schedule in 2010 for KSU, all leading to the A-Sun Championships which start March 3 in Macon, Ga.

11 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 28 - Campbell 
Oct. 39 - Lipscomb
Oct. 30 - UNF 
Nov.  2 - USC Upstate
Nov.  3 - Stetson 
Nov.  4 - Kennesaw State
Nov.  5 - Mercer
Nov.  6 - Jacksonville 
Nov.  9 - Belmont 
Nov. 10 - ETSU
Nov. 11 - FGCU