Liberty to visit Texas A&M; ODU Las Vegas-bound

Thanks to the just-released Texas A&M non-conference schedule, we now know that Liberty has a date with the powerful Aggies on Nov. 20 in College Station. It will be the Lady Flames' second visit to A&M in three years. On No. 20, 2010, Texas A&M rolled up Liberty 81-49. The 32-point margin of defeat was the Lady Flames' largest in four years. That is, until two nights later, when they lost at Baylor by 39.

Still, it's easy to see why Liberty schedules these trips to Texas. Four Lady Flames - Tolu Omotola, Reagan Miller, Emily Frazier and incoming freshman Sadalia Ellis - all hail from the Lone Star State. But hey, coach Carey Green, Texas has schools that aren't in the Top 25, too, you know?

The game against Liberty will be A&M's fourth of the season, following contests at Louisville and against Penn State and UConn. All are potential Top-10 teams - UConn will almost certainly start out ranked No. 2 - so there's a fair chance the Aggies will be 0-3 and downright ornery when Liberty comes to town.

As for Liberty, the Lady Flames will open the season on Nov. 9 in the 16-team Preseason WNIT, an event that also includes defending CAA champion Delaware. The first-round pairings will be announced next week.

   - Also courtesy of A&M's schedule, Old Dominion will be one of six teams competing in the Duel in the Desert Dec. 19-21 in Las Vegas. The Lady Monarchs will play three games in a field that includes the Aggies, Notre Dame, Kansas State, UNLV and a sixth team still to be determined.

Coyer sisters, Mickens lead West in all-star game

Angela Mickens

Former Oakton stars and soon-to-be Villanova performers Caroline and Katherine Coyer combined for 38 points and JMU-bound Angela Mickens from Lee added 14 as the loaded West squad thrashed the East 98-75 in the VHSCA girls basketball all-star game Monday at Christopher Newport.

Update: West thrashes East 98-75

   EAST: Alisha Mobley 12, Jazzmin Dabney 11, Lisa Saunders 11, Sierra Leacock 9, Anika Trent 9, Denell Fox 7, Tatyana Calhoun 6, LaQuanda Younger 6, Sara Mead 2, Taiyanah Scott 2.

   WEST: Caroline Coyer 21, Katherine Coyer 17, Angela Mickens 14, Krista Cox 13, Cadence Wilmouth 10, Kemani Crawford 9, Mikal Johnson 6, Chaney Forbush 5, Jessi Strom 3.

   MVPS: East: Jazzmin Dabney. West: Caroline Coyer.

The rosters:

EAST

Katie Anderson, 5-10 F, Patrick Henry - Colonial District Player of the Year and a first-team All-Central Region pick. Averaged 18 points and 9 rebounds and led Patrick Henry to a 23-3 record. Scored 1,509 career points, second-most in school history. Will play at Randolph-Macon.

Tatyana Calhoun, 5-9 G/F, Sussex Central - Region A Player of the Year led Sussex to the Division I state title game in 2011 and the D-2 state quarters in 2012. Scored 1,105 points in her career. Will play at UDC.

Jazzmin Dabney, 5-8 G, Highland Springs - Capital District Player of the Year averaged 14 points and 15 rebounds and led Highland Springs to the state semifinals. Will play at Virginia State.

Denell Fox, 5-10 F, Nansemond River - Averaged 13.3 points and 9.7 rebounds for the Warriors and turned in a handful of monster games, most notably a 23-point, 21-rebound effort against city rival Lakeland.

Sierra Leacock, 5-6 G, James Monroe - Transfer from Caroline and an alternative school earned second-team All-Battlefield District honors in her lone season at James Madison, averaging 10.7 ppg and helping the Yellow Jackets advance to the Division 3 state quarterfinals. Will play at Hagerstown Community College for new head coach Vicky Bullett, the former Maryland All-American, Olympic gold medalist and WNBA all-star.

Sara Mead, 5-6 G, Millbrook: Brainy point guard for a team that went 105-3 during her four seasons, won a state title in each of its final three seasons and finished on a state-record 80-game winning streak. Will play for Columbia University.

Alisha Mobley, 6-0 F, Millbrook: A first-team all-region selection and one of three college-bond seniors from the Millbrook juggernaut - along with Sara Mead (Columbia) and Courtni Green (Delaware). Will play for Lenoir-Rhyne.

Chase Raynes, 5-7 G/F, East Rockingham - Group A Division I Player of the Year (VHSCA) first-team all-state pick who led the Eagles to a 30-1 record and the Division I state title in the school's second year of existence.

Lisa Saunders, 5-10 G, Hampton - Former Phoebus star who transferred to Hampton for her final season and averaged 8.3 points for the Lady Crabbers. Will play at Lincoln University.

Taiyanah Scott, 6-0 F/C, Warwick - Ranked second on her team in scoring (behind fellow all-star LaQuanda Younger) with 10.2 ppg. Will play north of the border at St. Mary's University in Nova Scotia.

Anika Trent, 5-8 F, Courtland - First-team all-region pick and her team's only senior who led Courtland to an undefeated season all the way to the state title game, where they finally fell to fellow unbeaten Millbrook. Averged 14.8 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Keyontae Williams, 5-9 G/F, James Monroe - Versatile Region I, Division 3 Player of the Year averaged 20.2 points and 7 rebounds in leading Monroe to the Division 3 state quarterfinals. Signed with Albany University.

LaQuanda Younger, 5-9 G, Warwick. High-scoring guard averaged 22 points last season and finished her career with just a shade under 2,000 (1,936). Will play for Old Dominion.

WEST

MaKenzie Cluesman, 5-8 G, Lee. Rebounded from an ACL injury her junior year to average 14.7 points and 2.3 steals as a senior. Finished her career with 1,237 points. Signed to play basketball and golf at Virginia-Wise.

Krista Cox, 5-4 G, Floyd County - Three-year starter at point guard averaged 12 points, 4 assists and 2 steals as a senior. Signed with Virginia Intermont.

Caroline Coyer, 5-10 G, Oakton - Gatorade Player of the Year for Virginia Has already had her jersey retired by Oakton. Combined with her twin sister Katherine to lead Oakton to a 110-5 record in four seasons and the 2012 Division 6 state title. The sisters have both signed with Villanova.

Katherine Coyer, 5-11 G, Oakton - The less-heralded of the twins turned out to be the star of Oakton's emphatic 59-38 rout of defending state champion Princess Anne in the state title game with a game-high 24 points. The victory capped a perfect 31-0 season. Will join sister Caroline at Villanova.

Kemani Crawford, 5-8 F, Robert E. Lee - Will play at Ferrum. Post presence on the senior-dominated Lee squad that captured the Division 3 state title. Notched a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) in the state semifinal victory over Woodbridge. Will play at Ferrum.

Chaney Forbush, 6-0 F, Centreville - Centreville's  leading scorer and a first-team All-Concorde District pick. Scored a school-record 33 points (with 11 rebounds) in a regular-season victory over Freedom. Will play at Lynchburg College.

Te'Shya Heslip, 5-5 G, Potomac. Dynamic point guard averaged 15.8 points and fueled Potomac to a 25-3 record and the program's first Northwest Region title since 1987. Co-Northwest Region Player of the Year (with Forest Park star and Dayton-bound Lexi Carpenter). Signed with Howard University.

Mikal Johnson, 5-8 G, Osbourn. Prolific 3-point shooter and Osbourn's all-time leading scorer (1,417 points). An All-Cedar Run District pick and a second-team All-Northwest Region selection. Signed with Rider University.

Lindsay Martin, 5-7 G/F, Carroll County - Deadly 3-point shooter and all-around force who earned Group AA first-team all-state honors from the VHSCA. Averaged 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in leading the Cavaliers to the Group AA, Division 4 state semifinals. Signed with Catawba College.

Angela Mickens, 5-4 G, Robert E. Lee. All-everything guard and Top-100 national recruit (ESPN)who powered Lee to a 44-37 victory over Liberty in the Division 3 state title game by scoring 32 points, assisting on her team's other four field goals and hauling down 10 rebounds. Signed with James Madison.

Jessi Strom, 5-5 G, Glenvar - First-team All-Region C performer who cracked the 1,000-point barrier for her career and led the Highlanders to the Division 2 state semifinals for the first time in 10 years. Scored 25 points in a 62-50 victory over Virginia High in the state quarterfinals.

Cadence Wilmoth, 6-1 C, Patrick Henry. Named VHSCA state player of the year after averaging 24.6 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks and leading the Rebels to the Division 2 state quarterfinals. Had 33 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks in her final game, a 61-49 loss to Gate City. Scored more than 2,000 points in her career. Will play for Mars Hill College.

Ex-VCU star Hollingsworth punches Olympics ticket

Ex-VCU star Quanitra Hollingsworth had 12 points and 8 rebounds to help Turkey qualify for the London Olympics by bouncing Argentina 72-58 in the qualifying tournament quarterfinals Friday in Ankara, Turkey.

The four quarterfinal winners each receive Olympics bids. A fifth bid will go to the winner of a four-team bracket of the quarterfinal losers. Croatia, Czech Republic and France joined Turkey in qualifying for the Olympics Friday. Quarterfinals losers Canada, Argentina, Japan and South Korea will compete for the final Olympics slot.

Hollingsworth, who recently acquired Turkish citizenship with these Summer Olympics in mind, averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the tournament for Turkey, which went 3-0 with victories over Puerto Rico and Japan in addition to the triumph over Argentina.

Teams that have qualified for the 12-team London Olympics tournament
United States
Russia
Great Britain
Angola
Australia
Brazil
China
Turkey
Croatia
Czech Republic
France
The final slot will go to either Canada, Argentina, Japan or South Korea

Whatever happened to .....ODU's Bettina Love?

She only played at Old Dominion two years but left the impression she was filled with potential.

There's not a doubt that Bettina Love has fulfilled it.

Says Love's former teammate Natalie Diaz, "Love is going to change the world."

Love came off the bench for ODU at a time when the Lady Monarchs were the fifth-ranked team in the nation. The 6-2 forward/guard from Rochester, N.Y.,  transferred to Pitt in 1999 and became a vital part of the Panthers her final two years, leading the team in blocks and starting 18 games as a senior.

"I fell in love with academics," Love says. "I decided that was going to be my primary focus at Pitt. I still loved playing basketball. I just found a new passion and went with it."

Despite transferring, Love was able to graduate from Pitt in four years, but sitting out due to NCAA rules left her with a year to continue studies beyond her bachelor's. Despite the demands of basketball, she loaded up on 20 hours of prerequisites toward her master's degree in elementary education.

"It was an awesome experience leaving college with two degrees," she says.

From there, she taught school before completing her doctorate in educational policy studies from Georgia State.  Currently she is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, where she remains passionate about social justice.

Her first book, Hip hop’s li’l sistas speak: Negotiating identities and politics in the new south, is due out later this year. The book examines how African-American girls understand body, class, sexuality and politics in the south.

"We're at the end stages," she says. "I'm very excited."

In addition to her work, Love is a mom. She and partner Chelsea Culley-Love are parents to 2-year-old twins, Chanson and Lauryn.

They will no doubt grow up appreciating of women's basketball. Love follows the game as much as her time allows, occasionally attending Atlanta Dream games and went with former teammate Lady Monarch Nyree Roberts to Tennessee's game at Georgia last winter.

She has fond memories of her time at ODU. While "It wasn't the place for me," she admits, she has never forgotten the support of the Lady Monarch fans.

"It was an unbelievable place to play basketball," she says. "We had more fans than the boys team. It was a crazy place where women's sports were appreciated. We were on a pedestal. Not that many places are like that. It was an unbelievable experience to be the top dog at your university as a female playing sports."


Wondering what happened to a former player for one of Virginia's teams? Email us at ladyswishing@hotmail.com and we'll try to catch up with her.

Ex-VCU star now one step from Olympics

Former VCU star Quanitra Hollingsworth scored 10 points despite being in foul trouble to help Turkey upend Japan 65-49 in qualifying tournament action and move to within one victory of securing a bid to the London Olympics.

With the victory, Turkey clinched first place with a 2-0 record in the three-team Group A of the 12-team tournament and will face either the Czech Republic or Argentina on Friday in the quarterfinals. A victory there will seal the country's first-ever Olympics bid for women's basketball.

Should Turkey lose in the quarterfinal, the nation would move to a four-team elimination bracket and would need two victories to secure the fifth and final Olympics bid out of the qualifying tournament.

Hollingsworth, who recently obtained Turkish citizenship to bolster the nation's hopes of qualifying, had 13 points and 9 rebounds in Monday's 65-53 opening-round victory over Puerto Rico. On Tuesday, she scored all 10 of her points in the first half but played just nine minutes after picking up her third foul before the break. She then picked up a fourth foul less than a minute into the second half and played just five of the final 20 minutes.

Argentina and the Czech Republic, which both have 1-0 records so far in Group B, will face each other on Wednesday. The loser will play Turkey in the quarterfinals.

Related

Hollingsworth, Machanguana come up big in Olympic qualifying tournament

Machanguana, Mozambique foiled in Olympics bid

Machanguana, Mozambique foiled in Olympics bid

Clarisse Machanguana turned in another strong performance (15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) and got solid support from her teammates, but it wasn't quite enough in a 71-65 loss to South Korea Tuesday that ended Mozambique's stay in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women. The loss dropped Mozambique to 0-2 and third place in its three-team tournament pool; the top two teams advance to the quarterfinals. Mozambique lost its opening game to Croatia 84-62 despite 23 points and 13 rebounds from Machanguana.

Still, the event was far from a total loss for Machanguana, the 38-year-old former Old Dominion star who in this post-game interview expressed hope that the experience would yield long-term dividends for the otherwise youthful Mozambique squad.

Hollingsworth, Machanguana come up big in Olympic qualifier

Quanitra Hollingsworth paid instant dividends for Turkey in Monday's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament opener. Meanwhile, Clarisse Machanguana turned in a LeBron James-quality performance for Mozambique. Problem is, her team apparently doesn't have a Dwyane Wade or a Chris Bosh to help her out.

Hollingsworth, the former VCU star who recently obtained Turkish citizenship to bolster the nation's bid for a spot in the London Olympics, tied for team-high honors with 13 points and pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds as Turkey knocked off Puerto Rico 65-53 in the first round of pool play. Turkey will face Japan on Tuesday.

Earlier Monday, Machanguana, the 38-year-old former Old Dominion star, dropped 23 points and 13 rebounds on Croatia. It wasn't nearly enough, though, as Croatia rolled to an 84-62 victory in Ankarra, Turkey. Machanguana's point total was more than double that of her next two highest-scoring teammates combined.

Mozambique will face Korea on Tuesday in the second round of pool play. The top five finishers in the 12-team tournament earn Olympic bids.

Hoops notes and a Heat check

How ya like me now?

We'll start out on the NBA tip: Congratulations to Tia Lewis, Kamile Nacickaite, Tiffany Suarez, Aprill McRae and all the other Miami Heat/Lebron James fans reveling in Thursday night's championship victory (by the way, we had the Heat winning in six). As Boston Celtics fans, this wasn't exactly how we wanted to see things go down. But all credit to the Heat and particularly James, who was simply spectacular throughout the entire playoff run. It's funny. A couple of months ago, despite undeniable talent Lebron was easily the most criticized player in the NBA. Now he's an NBA champion and Finals MVP. In a few weeks, there's a good chance he'll be standing on a podium with a gold medal around his neck at the London Olympics. And if that happens, even his toughest critics - we're talking about you, Skip Bayless - will have trouble dogging this man going forward.

Then again, Bayless will probably find a way.

Now, back to the women's game:


* - The Hampton Roads 7 Cities Basketball women's basketball summer league kicks off its second season Saturday at Maury High School in Norfolk. The five-team circuit features a generous assortment of players from Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Virginia Wesleyan. Click here for the rosters; here for the schedule. 

* - We'll freely admit that much of the data the NCAA reports when it comes to Academic Progress Rates (APR) goes over our head. We do know that a score of 1,000 is perfect, and that anything below 930 is asking for trouble. With that in mind, here are the multi-year APR scores for each of the state's women's basketball teams:

William and Mary - 991; Richmond - 991; Virginia Tech - 986; Liberty - 978; VCU - 976; James Madison - 967; Virginia - 966; Hampton - 964; Radford - 964; Longwood - 964; George Mason - 948; Norfolk State - 930; Old Dominion - 910

Since it's impossible for us to tell who's doing what in the classroom, we hesitate to draw too many conclusions from these numbers. But two general observations:

- It's never surprising to see William and Mary at the top of any list of academic achievement, and kudos to Richmond as well;

- Norfolk State and especially Old Dominion need to get busy raising those scores. Not only is ODU's the lowest (by far) of any CAA team, according to the Daily Press it's also the third-lowest of 342 Division I teams. To be fair, ODU's number - which are based on numbers through the 2010-11 season - is one of the main reasons why there was a coaching change last season. It will be interesting to see the Lady Monarchs' 2011-12 score and see what kind of progress was made in the first year of the Karen Barefoot regime.

* - Two reasons to keep an eye of the 2012 World Olympic Qualifying Tournament beginning Monday in Ankarra, Turkey:

Quanitra Hollingsworth: Not sure if the ink is dry yet on the former VCU star's Turkish citizenship papers, but Q looms as a key figure in Turkey's bid for an Olympic spot;


Clarisse Machanguana: The 38-year-old ex-member of ODU's famed "Portuguese Connection" is still holding it down for Mozambique. 


The qualifying tournament also includes Mali, which for years has been led by another former ODU star, Hamchetou Maiga-Ba. But the 34-year-old Maiga-Ba is not listed on Mali's roster for this event. The top five finishers in the 12-team qualifying tournament will earn bids to the London Olympics. 


* In case you haven't seen it, here's a link to the recent ESPN report on the increasing number of men coaching women's basketball teams that casts a wary eye on Virginia Tech's hiring of Dennis Wolff. We're still waiting for a balanced look at this subject. This report - and many others we've seen on this topic - cherry-picks its facts to present only one side of the issue. 


* - Finally, congratulations to former Richmond star Danielle Bell, a Virginia Beach native who has been hired by new Auburn coach and Hampton Roads homegirl Terri Williams-Flournoy (Newport News) as the Lady Tigers' director of basketball operations.

Former ODU assistant gets new job at VCU

Wendy Larry's former assistant coach is Marlene Stollings' newest assistant.

Nikita Lowry Dawkins has taken a job at VCU under Stollings, hired to replace Beth Cunningham. Cunningham left to take an associate coaching position at her alma mater, Notre Dame.

It will be the second time Stollings and Lowry Dawkins have worked together, although this time the roles will be reversed. Ten years ago, Lowry Dawkins was the head coach and Stolllings the assistant at New Mexico State.

On Dec. 20, 2002, New Mexico State placed Lowry Dawkins on administrative leave for "philosophical differences in coaching management" after complaints by several players. Stollings was named the interim head coach, but she and two other assistants ultimately walked out in protest.

Lowry Dawkins was the Lady Monarchs recruiting coordinator for seven years under Larry and held a similar position at Texas Tech. She was also head coach at New Mexico State and Detroit Mercy and has been kept busy the last year with her twins.

LadySwish congratulates Coach Nik, who will begin tackling recruiting for the Rams in their new conference, the Atlantic 10.

Lowry Dawkins joins Nathan Bellman and Franqua Bedell as new Rams assistants under Stollings. Bellman is coming off six seasons as the head coach at Ohio Dominican. Bedell spent the past four seasons as an assistant/recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State.

Former Lady Monarch finds a new home at Chicago State

Former Old Dominion center Brittany Campbell has found a new school.

The 6-4 junior from Indianapolis has transferred to Chicago State after being released from her scholarship at ODU.

Campbell saw almost no playing time in two years with the Lady Monarchs and did not score a point last season. Chicago State finished 6-24 last season and 2-18 in the Great West Conference a year ago.