Respectability.
That's the key word this season for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, as the Lady Lions and head coach Danny Evans continue to push for respectability in the always tough Southwestern Athletic Conference's Western Division.
Entering his fourth season, Evans has not only turned around a Lady Lions' squad that was a mainstay at the bottom of the conference, but he has also rejuvenated community and campus-wide interest in the basketball program.
Last season the Lady Lions (11-20, 10-8 SWAC) posted a noteworthy 7-2 league mark while playing in the friendly confines of H.O. Clemmons Arena, and with another brutal non-conference slate facing the Lady Lions this year wins at home become even more important.
The 2007-'08 schedule for UAPB is easily one of the most demanding and brutal of Evans' tenure.
With the likes of Indiana State, Indiana, Mississippi State, UTEP, Ole Miss, Arkansas State, Marquette, Memphis and Nebraska eagerly awaiting the Lady Lions, it could be argued UAPB will face one of the most difficult pre-conference schedules of any team, men or women, in the entire SWAC.
But as UAPB preps for the preseason, the coiffeurs are far from bare for the Lady Lions as four of last season's starters return.
Most noticeably UAPB returns Second Team All-SWAC performer Arica Green (Jr., G, 5-9, Houston, TX) and leading scorer Delores Hughley (Sr., G, 5-6, Flint, MI).
Green, who started all 31 games for UAPB last season, averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Lady Lions, while dishing out 40 assists and 32 steals.
Hughley, who led the squad last season in scoring with an average of 12.4 points per game, was also a dead-eye from beyond the 3-point line. She canned 64 long-range shots, while shooting a respectable 30 percent.
Other returning starters include Candace Ward (Sr., G, 5-8, Flint, MI), and Ciara Shields (Jr., F, 5-11, Brooklyn, NY). Ward averaged 4.4 points per game and almost 4 rebounds, while Shields averaged 5.5 points and almost 5 rebounds per contest. Ward also dished out 90 assists and pilfered 54 errant passes last season.
The Lady Lions' bench will be deeper than most as four returning letter winners should provide quality depth when called upon.
Yuliya Serebryanskaya (Sr., C, 6-2, Brooklyn, NY) is out to prove that she is more than just the owner of the longest (and hardest to pronounce) last name in the SWAC. Serebryanskaya averaged 4.6 points and 3 rebounds per game last season in 14 games. She also blocked seven shots.
Homegrown Shadae Martin (Sr., F/G, 5-10, Pine Bluff, AR) from nearby Watson Chapel High School gave the Lady Lions 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest off the bench, while Tashayla Jackson (So., G, 5-7, Benton Harbor, MI) averaged 6.7 points per game with 39 assists.
And don't forget Kim Reeves (Sr., G, 5-2, Yazoo City, MS), the smallest Lady Lion on the roster, but one of the feistiest. Reeves handed out 45 assists and registered 21steals in 16 starts for UAPB last season.
Newcomers Ava Walters (Jr., F/C, 6-2, Montgomery, AL) and Camille Cooper (Fr., F, 6-1, Memphis, TN) should provided much-needed height this season.
UAPB opens the 2007-'08 season on Nov. 11 with a trip to Indiana State University.
