DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman begins its journey BACK to the NCAA Tournament Thursday when the Lady Wildcats open their 1919-20 season against Edward Waters at 6 p.m. in Historic Moore Gymnasium.
After three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season titles came up short in producing a trip to "The Dance," the an injury-riddled Lady Wildcat squad crashed the party last year by upending Norfolk State in the MEAC tournament for BCU's first-ever appearance in the tournament. BCU drew two-time defending champion Notre Dame in the opening round.
Thursday's game begins a 28-game regular season culminating with the MEAC tournament in Norfolk, Va., in March, and where ever the post-season takes them after that.
THE QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH VANESSA BLAIR-LEWIS: "Now that they've had a taste of the NCAA Tournament, they want that taste every chance they get. We started the season off in the huddle, and I told everyone to take a deep breath. Then I said, now hold it until March, because it's going to take everything we have to get back to that moment."
GOOD BYE AND THANKS: Two key parts of the 2019 championship bid farewell to the program –
Angel Golden, who finished her career as the fourth all-time leading scorer along with
Chasimmie Brown, who set BCU's record for rebounds in a MEAC tournament with 16 in the championship game win against Norfolk State.
BUT ASHANTI'S BACK: The good news?
Ashanti Hunt, whose senior year ended after just games due to an ACL injury, was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and is slated to start. The 2018 MEAC Defensive Player Of The Year was named to the MEAC Preseason First team. Also back from injury:
Kiana Williams, whose Rookie Of The Year run was halted with an injury in the MEAC opener at North Carolina Century.
THEY'RE BACK TOO: Junior
Amaya Scott garnered a berth on the MEAC Preseason Third team, while sophomore
Camary Harris made a late season surge replacing Williams that she earned an All Rookie team spot. Senior
Armani Walker also returns.
THEY GET TO PLAY NOW: Thursday will see
Daniella Hatcher and
Ashlie Howell make their first official BCU appearance after redshirting last year.
THE NEW FOLKS: Making their BCU debuts: Freshmen
Tatum Hayes,
Morgan Beacham and
Imani Reid along with JUCO transfer
Ciara Thompson.
MILESTONES TO WATCH: Blair-Lewis needs seven wins for her 300
th career coaching victory and 27 for 200 at BCU …Hunt needs 209 points to reach the 1,000 career mark.
OPENING NIGHT: BCU is 8-3 on opening night in the Blair-Lewis era and has won the last three – all over Edward Waters. The Lady Wildcats are 42-10 in Moore Gym the past four seasons.
ABOUT EWC: The Tigers, coached by former BCU assistant Charmaine Wilson, are off to a 6-0 start. On the roster: former Atlantic HS guard Shakawanza Brown and former Mainland HS guard D'Zharyia Hawkins.
THURSDAY COVERAGE: Follow the official Twitter feed @BCUWBB for pithy in-game updates and links to live stats. The BCUAthletics and BCU_WBB Instagram pages will have highlights as well.
