Lady Dogs preparing to begin practice

Mississippi State is coming off one of the most successful seasons in the women’s basketball history.

The Lady Bulldogs went 23-10 overall and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament knocking off Texas in the first round before bowing out to Ohio State by six points on their home floor. MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis has the bulk of her roster returning and is curious to see how her team will respond to the preseason hype.

“It will be interesting to see how hard we play when we open up,” Fanning-Otis said. “That right there is our concern right now and what we are addressing. How focused are we going to play? What leadership is going to step forward? We have a lot of seniors but right now I don’t hear them like we need to and that’s something that we’ve got to have.”

The Lady Bulldogs have eight seniors returning - forward/ center Rima Kalonda, guard Alexis Rack, guard/ forward Armelie Lumanu, forward/ center Chanel Makango, forward Bethany Washington, guard/ forward Tysheka Grimes, forward/ center Channa Campbell as well as point guard Marneshia Richard who missed all of last season with a knee injury.

Richard was granted a medical redshirt last year and Fanning-Otis has high expectations for the 5-foot-8 fifth-year senior.

“It looks as though she is going to be a huge factor for us right now,” Fanning-Otis said. “That’s what we are planning on and that’s how we are training that she will be on the floor. Her experience and knowledge of the game, she’s a student of the game. Sometimes when you sit out that just opens up a whole new world of experience relative to what needs to be done. As smart a young lady as she is, hopefully that will carry over into good things for this basketball team.”

State lost a lot of depth at power forward last season when Donnisha Tate, Lauren Roberts and Robin Porter graduated.

“Lauren, Donnisha and Robin all rotated a lot at that four spot,” Fanning-Otis said. “They shared minutes but I can picture in my mind some huge three’s from Lauren, Robin as just a road warrior and Donnisha as our best rebounder and defender. That’s concern right now as to who is going to bring that package?”

Fanning-Otis expects Grimes, Washington and even Lumanu at times to help fill that void.

Down low in the post at center Fanning-Otis will use Makango, Kalonda, Campbell and Danielle Rector.

Fanning-Otis has several options she can mix and match with her depth at guard. Rack, Lumanu, Richard, Mary Kathryn Govero, Diamber Johnson as well as newcomers Ashlie Billingslea and Ashley Jones will all be in the rotation in the backcourt.

“There is just going to be a lot of combinations there,” Fanning-Otis said. “I don’t have a lineup I am thinking about now. I think it’s up for grabs. I think that there will be rotations and combinations and there needs to be because we need to push the ball for 40 minutes and dictate tempo.”

Jones comes to Starkville as the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Florida. She averaged 21 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and shot 58 percent from the field during her senior campaign as a senior helping lead Lake Howell to a 29-2 record and Florida’s 5A State Championship.

“Ashley Jones is just a warrior out there,” Fanning-Otis said. “She plays so hard. She’s having to learn being a freshman but she can shoot the three and get it to the rim. She looks like she uses the ball screens pretty good and will be able to do that. She’s going to be in the mix.”

The other Lady Bulldog acquisition in the offseason was Billingslea, who is no stranger to the Southeastern Conference. Billingslea played her freshman season at South Carolina. She missed the first half of the 2007-08 season with a left knee injury but appeared in 14 of the final 15 games averaging 1.8 points, 1.4 rebounds in 11.9 minutes a game.

Billingslea was dismissed from the team following an arrest for multiple counts of financial card theft and fraud and possession with intent to distribute marijuana along with then teammate Jasmine Payne. Both Billingslea and Payne to five years of prison, suspended to 18 months of probation under the youthful offenders act, and ordered them to pay restitution to the victims whose credit and debit cards they took.

Billinglea played last season at Chipola College in Florida.

“Ashlie Billingslea is one of the quickest players on the team,” Fanning-Otis said. “She’s a point guard in terms of distribution. She likes to pass the ball but she can get the ball to the rim and shoot the three.”

Because of their successful run to the NCAA Tournament last season and the wealth of experience returning, Mississippi State is ranked as one of the preseason top teams in the country. But Fanning-Otis does not want her team reading too many of their own headlines nor does she want them to rest on their laurels from last year.

“You can put too much pressure on yourself if you look at the rankings or what you did last year,” Fanning-Otis said. “Those successes though have to carry over. Success breeds success and once you do something successfully you already know how to do it and achieve it so therefore you have to grow that. It’s your work ethic and team chemistry that is the divider. It’s going to be the little things that take you a step further.”

The Lady Bulldogs will have their first practice tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. followed by two practices Saturday from 9:30-11:30 and 1:30-3:30. They will hit the hardwood against from 12:30-3:30 on Sunday before taking a day off on Monday.

“I know that they are all going to step up,” Fanning-Otis said. “I believe in this basketball team. I believe in these kids. I believe in their passion for doing well and I believe in their expectations for success. I believe in that about them and I know that over the next few weeks we will prepare. I believe that in my heart but right now to say that thing are where we want them, we’re not ready yet and we are going to have to change our focus a little bit and bear down.”

MSU will host Delta State for a closed scrimmage before opening up exhibition play with Monticello on Nov. 8.