Henderson men, women open basketball season on the road
ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will tip off their season officially this weekend with the men traveling to Dallas, Texas, while the women travel to Bolivar, Mo.
The men will take on the Marauders of the University of Mary at 5 p.m. today before Saturday’s noon matchup against the Augustana Vikings.
The Reddies fell in their Nov. 1 exhibition game against Louisiana-Monroe, hanging with the Warhawks for much of the first half. Ten different Reddies found their way onto the scoreboard with Chris Parker leading the team with 14 points while Raekwon Rogers had 12.
This weekend also marks the first true game for several Reddies, including Arkansas-Fort Smith transfer Jeremiah Toney, a Little Rock Mills graduate who averaged 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in his senior season.
University of Mary head coach Joe Kittell, after helping revitalize the school’s basketball program his first two seasons, struggled last year with the Marauders taking finishing with a 6-21 overall record with a 4-18 record in Northern Sun conference action. Kittell led the team to 22 conference victories in his first two seasons at the helm of the Marauders, a 10-win improvement from the previous two seasons.
The Marauders lost their top two scorers from last season but return Jaylan White, Matthew Kreklow and Tom Kubank, who combined to average 25.7 points a game last season. Kreklow shot 54.3 percent fromt he field in 25.3 minutes per game to lead the returning athletes. Wyatt Carr, who shot 42.6 percent from distance off the bench, also returns.
Augustana remains one of the top programs in Division II basketball, having won a national championship in the 2015-2016
season, and head coach Tom Billeter remains on the sideline, entering his 16th season at the helm of the program as the program’s winningest basketball coach.
Just one of the five Vikings who averaged double-digits from last season returns to the squad this season. Adam Dykman averaged 10.9 points on 53 percent shooting last season while shooting an impressive 43.1 percent from 3-point range. Sophomore Matt Cartwright is expected to step into a starting role this season after playing in all 30 games with an average of 7.2 points per game.
Henderson’s women will face Southwest Baptist tonight at 5 p.m. before a noon matchup against Sioux Falls.
The Reddies are coming off one of their best years in recent history with 21 wins last season and a 16-6 record in conference play, advancing to the Great American Conference Tournament semifinals. While the Reddies lost Haleigh Henson, who finished with over 1,000 career points, All-GAC First Teamer Pink Jones returns to the squad after becoming the third Reddie to earn First-Team honors with 16.3 points per game on 48.2 percent shooting.
Blu Jones, while joining the starting lineup midway through the season, averaged 8.1 points per game last season, and Hailey Estes is anticipated to be a significant asset to the team as well. Estes averaged eight rebounds per game with six straight games with double-digit boards, and she averaged 10.6 points while sinking 61 shots from distance.
Karrington Whaley is expected to step up to provide solid post play to replace forward Bree Bossier. Whaley shot 64.7 percent last season and set a school record for blocks in a game with eight in 18 against Harding.
Southwest Baptist have struggled the last two seasons, tallying a 14-24 conference record. Head coach Kelsey Keizer is looking to replace Megan Rosenbohm, who averaged nearly 20 points per game for the Bearcats last year. She was one of just two Bearcats to average double figures with Caylee Richardson returning to the squad. Richardson averaged 16.3 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the floor while leading the team with 8.7 rebounds per game.
Morgan Henderson is expected to take a larger role this season after averaging just under nine points per contest, and she averaged 4.3 boards and over two assists per game last year. The team struggled from distance a year ago, connecting on just 31.3 percent, but the Reddies have fallen to the Bearcats in each of their past three meetings.
Sioux Falls advanced to the NSIC semifinals last season, but they look to improve on their 16-13 overall record and 11-11 conference record. All three of the Cougars’ All-NSIC players return to the squad with Kaely Hummel and Mariah Szymanski taking Second Team honors and Jacey Huinker getting named to the NSIC All-Defensive team. Hummel averaged 15.9 points per game to lead the team while Szymanski put up 13. Huinker averaged 6.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.
Last year marked coach Travis Traphagen’s Cougars’ third-straight season to reach the conference semifinals, and they hope the Division I transfer Anna Goodhope can give them the extra push. Goodhope spent one season at North Dakota State where she averaged 4.4 points and shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range in 24 games. Traphage enters his 11th season at the helm of the program with 194 wins and a 105-81 conference record.