Northwestern State Game Notes

NATCHITOCHES – With one season under their belts as the Northwestern State women's basketball co-head coaches, Brooke and Scott Stoehr will lead a team of seven returners and eight newcomers onto Prather Coliseum's floor in the season opener against Southern Arkansas at 5:30 on Friday night.
 
"After having a year in the program, we feel like our fitness level is much better and where it needs to be in order to be a competitive Division I program, said Brooke Stoehr. "Our returners are healthy and they understand the daily expectations we have as a program.
 
"Last season was as much about learning how we want to represent the program and what we do on a daily basis on and off the court to make that happen," said the second year co-head coach. "I believe the wins we experienced last year helped propel them in the offseason and gave them some confidence to move into next season."
 
Perhaps one of the biggest storylines of the year will be the return of seniors Trudy Armstead and Meredith Graf, who were both redshirted for the 2012-13 season.
 
Armstead has a chance to become only the seventh player in Lady Demon history to join the 1,000-point/700-rebound club. Her career scoring average is 11.7 point per game and her rebounding average is 6.4 boards per game.
 
Graf is a much-needed scoring threat when she is on the floor.  She averaged 7.1 points per game for the 2011-12 season.
 
"Having Meredith and Trudy on the floor will really provide some leadership and experience we lacked last season.  They have experienced ups and downs in their careers and have dealt with some adversity along the way," said Stoehr.  I look forward to seeing how they respond to being back in game action in the heat of the moment."
 
Also returning to the team for their sophomore seasons are reining league freshman of the year Janelle Perez and top returning scorer Keisha Lee.
 
Perez finished the year with 10.8 points and 3.3 assists per game. Her 100 assist total ranks her sixth all-time in NSU history for a freshman.  She is the fourth-leading assist-giver returning to the conference.
 
She was named first team All-Southland Conference by league coaches and sports information directors in late-October.
 
"Her growth and improvement comes more from a confidence standpoint.  She looks very comfortable having been in our system for a year and looks confident in leading the team and running our offense," said Stoehr. "The great thing about Janelle is she is never satisfied with her game and is constantly working to improve some area of her skill set."
 
Lee averaged 12 points a game last season, second behind Jasmine Upchurch.
 
"Keisha has a strong desire to win and compete.  She understands that teams will be looking to limit her looks on the offensive end this year," said Stoehr.  We've challenged her to bring the same energy on the defensive end of the floor and she's ready to do that."
 
High school standouts Amy Staha, Emily Spector, and Kourtney Penneywell as well as junior college transfers Chelsea Rogers and Presley Owens fill out a Lady Demon bench that was depleted last year.
 
The coaching staff signed four players from Louisiana (Breanna O'Conner, Penneywell, Robin Richardson, and Rogers), three from Texas (Staha, Spector, and Beatrice Attura), and one from Mississippi (Owens).
 
 "The newcomers have brought a great energy level to workouts this summer and in the preseason.  Just having a complete roster allows for depth and competition we didn't have last season," said Stoehr. "It has been nice to watch the chemistry develop amongst the group.  The newcomers, like the returners, have bought into our vision and are committed to getting the program back to a championship level."
 
Southern Arkansas comes into the game with a new head coach, Rusty Rainbolt, after having a 0-25 season in 2012-13.  The Muleriders returned two starters and three letterwinners.
 
Kathrine McBride, leading scorer (15.2 PPG) and Stevi Cooper, third-leading scorer (7.8 PPG) returned.
 
Northwestern State is 24-15 in season openers, including two opening wins over Southern Arkansas in 1985-86 and 2000-01.
 
Friday night's matchup will be the sixth between the two programs, and the Lady Demons lead the series 5-0.
 
Next up for NSU will be playing host to Houston on Wednesday at 7 o'clock.