Women's Basketball | 11/11/2016 8:49:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, La. (Women's Basketball)--The Grambling State University Lady Tigers basketball team will officially open up the 2016-2017 season this Saturday, at 2p.m. in New Orleans, La. The Lady Tigers will face-off against the Green Wave of Tulane University in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Interim head coach Freddie Murray is in his first season at the helm of Grambling State. Coach Murray served as an assistant coach in the 2015-2016 season under the leadership of Nadine Domond, who is now an assistant coach at Rutgers University.
"As far as transition, it's been challenging and rewarding to say the least," said Murray. "The players respected me last year and what I was able to bring to the table in terms of coaching and it has made things smoother in the changeover."
Last season, the Lady Tigers finished (13-5) in SWAC play with a (17-14) record overall. The Lady Tigers had a commendable performance in the SWAC tournament but were knocked out in the semi-finals by Alabama State, the 2015-2016 SWAC Champions. Based upon last year's performance, Grambling State fans can expect nothing less from the Lady Tigers this season. With 10 returning players and only 3 new additions, the Lady Tigers are in good position to be successful.
"It's always great to approach the start of any season with experience. Last season, my first season at Grambling we were very young and inexperienced. We lacked chemistry and everything was just new for everyone," said Murray. "We grew a lot throughout the year with a very competitive non-conference schedule and we will benefit from that going into this season.
Sophomore guard Skakyla Hill is a key returner for the Lady Tigers. She led the team averaging 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Also, sophomore Jazmine Boyd who averaged 10 points per game and junior Monisha Neal who contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds per game.
"Our goals and expectations haven't changed and we're poised for the task ahead of us. We're fortunate to have 10 returning players back from last year's team and everyone will be asked to make huge contributions this year," said Murray.
The new additions consist of 6'2" center Alisia Machado from Brooklyn, New York who averaged 13.4 points and 8 rebounds, sophomore transfer Jazmine Torian from Clarksville, TN who averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds, and finally, freshman guard Khadijah Pearson from Silver Spring, MD.
Saturday will set the pace for the Lady Tigers as they face off against Tulane and hope to start the season off with a victory.
"Tulane is a very talented, well coached team that made it to NCAA post season play last season and we respect them and expect a tough battle on Saturday," said Murray.
For complete coverage of Grambling State University Lady Tiger basketball, please follow @GSU_Tigers on Twitter, GSU Tigers on Facebook, and @gsu_tigers on Instagram. You can also find up-to-date information on all things Grambling State Athletics at www.gsutigers.com.
