With the season finally underway, the Piedmont College women’s basketball team is looking to repeat the same success it had last year. The Lady Lions boasted a 23-6 record last season that led to a USA South Tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the second year in a row. Success like last season’s will be tough to repeat, but the Lady Lions are off to a fast start and are trending towards another promising year. The team came out strong, winning their first 4 games of the season by an average margin of victory of just over 10 points a game. Since then, the Lady Lions have continued moving forward in their schedule and are now 5-2.
“I think it was a great start, with how we finished last year,” said Kelly Ackerman, a junior guard. “I think we need to keep that pace going. It is still the beginning of the season. We have a lot of work to do. We have to keep the pace up.”
The Lady Lions had the daunting task this year to replace two senior guards that graduated last year, Bridgette Kelly and Carlie Shields, who were the USA South Tournament MVPs the last two seasons. Kelly and Shields were the Lady Lions’ top scores in the USA South Championship game. However, Ackerman feels that the team as whole has really stepped up, and is ready to compete at an even higher level.
“Everyone had to step up,” Ackerman said. “Not everybody is a superstar on our team, and it was an opportunity for the team to really step up and show we are here to play. We are still a great team. We still have all the skill players we need. We have freshmen that have stepped up. I would expect another championship this year.”
After coming off a 61-49 win against Berry College, the Lady Lions open USA South play on Friday, Nov. 30, at Covenant College. The team is hoping to ride the momentum of the Berry win and get off to a solid start this year in conference play.
The first opportunity of the year to see the Lady Lions at home is Wednesday, Dec. 5, for their conference home opener against Wesleyan College at 6 p.m.
