Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team will open the
Lisa Curliss-Taylor era when the Cru women tip off the 2012-2013 season with trip to the Southwestern University Tip-Off Classic this weekend in Georgetown. The UMHB women will face tournament host Southwestern University and Whitworth University during the two-day event.
UMHB opens the season with against Southwestern University in an 8:00 PM start on Friday. The Cru will then face Whitworth in a 5:00 PM tip on Saturday afternoon. UMHB returns nine letter winners and two starters from a team that finished 6-19 overall and 5-16 in American Southwest Conference play last season. The Cru missed the ASC Championship Tournament for the first time in the last seven seasons and Curliss-Taylor took over as head coach after Kim Kirkpatrick-Thornton accepted a job in the UMHB Exercise and Sport Science Department.
Curliss-Taylor is promising to bring an up-tempo offense and pressure defense to the program and will build around that core of returners and a talented class of newcomers. Forward
Jovana Miles (Jr., Luling) started 20 games last season and averaged 7.0 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game. Forward
Gabby Guzman (Sr., Belton) averaged 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in 16 starts last season, but she will likely miss at least the early part of the season with an injury. Forward
Brandy Dittert (Sr., Katy) averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game as she recovered from a knee injury. She is healthy again and should be one of the team's leaders on and off the court.
Simone Moreno (So., Victoria),
Taylor Creamer (So., Comstock) and
Shelby Simonton (So., Mineral Wells) also return in the front court and will help provide depth and experience. The back court will be bolstered by the return of
Katelyn Smith (Jr., Boerne),
Macy Moore (So., Houston) and
Samara Williams (So., San Antonio). Smith is one of the team's top outside shooters and Moore and Williams should compete for time at point guard and off guard after seeing significant playing time as freshmen last season.
The back court will also benefit from the arrival of twins Tiara and
Tori Tucker (Fr., Montalba).
Kourtney Bevers (Fr., Liberty Hill) should help provide scoring punch and
Chantal Franco (Fr., Conroe) and
Jessica Martinez (Fr., Granbury) will also have a chance to claim playing time at the guard position.
The frontcourt will be bolstered by the addition of
Taylor Tucker (So., Montalba), a transfer from Kilgore Junior College and she will also have a chance to step right in and contribute at either forward or center. Forward
Ashlee Sargent (Fr., Arlington) will also have a chance to play her way into the rotation in the front court.
You can follow the Cru women at the Southwestern Tip-Off Classic through live statistics. The links are available on the Cru Athletic Department web site at
www.cruathletics.com. Following the tournament, UMHB will return home to face Southwestern University in a rematch of the season opener on Tuesday at 5:30 PM. The Cru women will open American Southwest Conference play with a home game against LeTourneau University on December 1
st at 1:00 PM.
