Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lions men looking to get to next round; women see more depth
SPECIAL TO THE NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FORT SMITH — Extend the season by one more game.
That’s the goal for the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith men’s basketball team after making its third first-round appearance in the past four years at the NCAA Division II tournament last season.
“We use different phrases in our program like ‘one more’,” UAFS coach Josh Newman said. “Well, we want to play in one more game than we did last year. That would mean making it to the second round of the tournament for the first time.”
Last season the Lions won their third regular season Heartland Conference championship and won their first conference tournament championship. But the Lions fell just short again of advancing in the NCAA tournament.
“What a magical year it was for us,” Newman said. “The one thing that had eluded us was the conference tournament championship. But now the one thing we are missing in our short history is an NCAA tournament win.”
UAFS will look to change that fact this season returning a talented core from last year’s 23-11 team while adding a deep recruiting class looking to make an impact right away.
The Lions will look to overcome the losses of Seth Youngblood, the leading scorer, and Alex Cooper, the leader in assists, who both played big minutes during the last four seasons.
“Those guys where program-changing talents,” Newman said. “They will be missed. But we have a lot of returners. With the number of guys coming back with their experience level, it’s a pretty special group we have.”
Returning seniors DaVaunta Thomas, Ladarius Coleman, Marcus Wallace and Brett Jolly provide experience alongside senior transfers Darrion Strong-Moore and Derrick Dandrige.
Thomas is the leading scorer from returning players after averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game a season ago. Coleman added 10 points and 6 rebounds on average, while Wallace scored 7 points per game.
WOMEN
Just off to the right of second-year UAFS women’s basketball coach Elena Lovato’s office is a whiteboard with the team’s depth chart.
The board has much more writing on
it than it did at times last season.
Lovato and the Lady Lions are very pleased to see many names under each position on the chart after being limited to a rotation of seven players toward the end of last year’s 17-13 season.
“We faced a lot of adversity last year,” Lovato said. “I thought the crew we finished with pushed through a lot with the limitations we had depth-wise on the roster. It was a decent finish. They worked hard to finish strong.”
The Lady Lions had their Heartland Conference tournament run end in the semifinal game after holding a one-point lead heading into the final quarter.
“They have that taste in their mouth from falling just short,” Lovato said. “They have been working hard to get back to where we were but have a different outcome.”
Senior forward Tayla Taylor returns after leading the team in scoring and
rebounding by averaging 12 points and nine rebounds per game. Sophomore Micayla Haynes averaged 11 points and four rebounds earning co-freshman of the year honors from the conference.
Senior guard Olivia Hanson from Fort Smith Northside will look to provide a spark later in the season after dealing with injuries in the offseason. Hanson scored nearly 10 points a game last year.
The Lady Lions will have plenty of new faces to help get back to the conference tournament with the addition of an all upperclassman recruiting class.
Junior transfers Ellie Lehne, Sarah Elkins, Mariah Green, Lundon Williams, Daijah Brown and Nasheema Oliver all have impressed looking to make a difference right away. Elkins and Williams, both from Greenwood, reunite now as Lady Lions after having success in high school as Lady Bulldogs.
“They are two-time state champions,” Lovato said. “With the culture we are trying to create, we want championship-minded people. I couldn’t ask for a better duo with them.”
“They have that taste in their mouth from falling just short. They have been working hard to get back to where we were but have a different outcome.” — UAFS women’s basketball coach Elena Lovato