Lady Rams set sight on CIAA championship

Entering his second season, Head Women's Basketball Coach A.G. Hall is looking to build on the foundation he laid during his first campaign.

"I think my first season went fairly well," he said.

We have our foundation in place, and I think the returning players have a good understanding of what I'm asking of them."

Hall brought a great defensive philosophy to Winston- Salem State last season, and the Lady Rams were one of the top defensive teams in the nation. Despite the defense being great, the offense wasn't up to par, and the team finished with just a 15-13 overall record and lost in the CIAA quarterfinals. Coach Hall said there will be more emphasis placed on offense this year.

"Defensively, I think we established ourselves as one of the best teams in the country last year, and we finished second in the nation in points allowed [per game]," he said.

"We definitely need to improve when it comes to scoring the ball and in our decision making going into this season, though."

Hall has a good mix of returning and new players that should help make this year's team more balanced.

"Obviously, the players that can score the ball, their value will be a little bit higher, but that's not to slight anybody else. Everybody will have the chance to make a contribution."

Two returning players that will be key to the Lady Rams success will be junior forwards Dionna Scott and Briana Wilder. Scott started 15 of WSSU's 28 games last season and finished second on the team in scoring with 7.4 points per game. Wilder played in 26 of 28 games during her sophomore season and did a little bit of everything. She is optimistic about the season ahead.

"We have a lot of returning players and a lot of transfers coming in that have played for Coach Hall before, so I expect our chemistry to be there early because we are a veteran team. We work hard every day, and our defense is really going to help us. Our offense will be better too because we brought in more scorers, and we've been getting in the gym more to get shots up."

Coach Hall has two transfers that he coached at Bethune- Cookman during his last coaching stint and a freshman from which he expects big things.

"I have Amanda Hairston [transfer, senior forward], Jasmine Elum [transfer, senior guard] and Morgan Smiley [freshman guard]," he said.

"Those three kids will have a huge impact. Hairston and Elum are proven scorers on the college level, and Smiley is our best on-the-ball defender as a freshman."

Elum said that she is looking to help with the team's scoring deficiencies and bring leadership on and off the court.

"My goal is to score the ball and be a leader, especially because I have a lot of experience," she said.

"Those are my most important roles, to help the team in scoring and to be an overall vocal leader."

Coach Hall said that if all goes right, the team will have a real shot at winning the CIAA championship and making a run in the tournament.

"We have to stay focused on the details, stay healthy and understand that the team goal is more important than the individual goals," he said.

"If everybody can pitch in and do their part, I think we'll have good results."