SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY Savannah State 2015-16 Season Preview Savannah State defeated Coppin State (66-52), North Carolina A&T State (62-59) and Maryland Eastern Shore (65-47) to win its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship last season and received its first bid to the NCAA Tournament in school history. In the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Tigers ended its season as it fell to No. 1 seed South Carolina, 81-48, in the first round in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in the country for 12 weeks during the season and made a trip to the Final Four. The Lady Tigers finished the season with a record of 21-11 overall, the best record in the school’s Division I era (2002-03). Savannah State also had a school-best Division I winning streak of 11 games and recorded a 13-3 record, the best MEAC record in the program since its first year of competition in 2011-12. This season, the Lady Tigers are looking to defend its MEAC title, but will need to replace three starters on the championship team, including the top two scorers. Ezinne Kalu led the Lady Tigers last season with 16.5 points and 4.4 rebounds. Kalu finished her career with 2,119 points and is the only player in school history to reach the 2,000-point milestone. The Lady Tigers are also looking to replace starters Jasmine Norman and Bria Dorsey. Last season, Norman was second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Dorsey was fourth on the team in scoring with 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds. Kenyata Hendrix returns for her junior season and last season, she was third on the team with 9.0 points and led the team with 48 3-point field goals made, 171 3-point field goal attempts and 28-percent 3-point field goal percentage, which ranked 13th in the conference. She also averaged 1.5 made 3-pointers per game, which ranked eighth in the conference. Tiyonda Davis also returns for her junior season, averaging 8.5 points and 7.6 rebounds, which ranked sixth in the MEAC last season. Davis led the team in rebounds (244), rebounds per game, field goal percentage (.544), which ranked second in the conference, and with 67 blocks, which ranked third in the conference. Davis recorded three double-doubles last season, including 10 points and 16 rebounds in the MEAC Championship game against Maryland Eastern Shore. Her 16 rebounds was the sixth best performance in a single game in school history. Savannah State led the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.289), steals per game (11.8), second in the conference in points (63.6) and field goal percentage (.416), third in scoring margin (+2.9) and fourth in scoring defense (60.6). Over the last two seasons, Baker has added 12 newcomers, including four this season. The Tigers welcome three junior transfer of Chelsea Frazier, from Dakota College at Bottineau, Jeremica Edwards, from Tallahassee Community College, Taylor Shaw, from Gulf Coast and Caprisha Treadwell from Walters State Community College. Coach Baker enters his 23rd year as a head coach and his 13th year at Savannah State. The Voorhees graduate has the most NCAA Division I wins (132) in school history. 60 @MEACSPORTS MEACSPORTS SSU Team Information 2014-15 Overall 21-11 2014-15 MEAC Record 13-3 2014-15 MEAC Finish 2nd Letterwinners Returning/Lost 12/4 Starter Returning/Lost 2/3 Newcomers 4 #2 Kenyata Hendrix G – 5-10, Jr. Carrollton, Ga.
2015-16 MEAC Women's Basketball Yearbook
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