Coach Karen Kemp and her Lady Bucs are ready to kick off another strong basketball season. Although ETSU enjoyed success in last year’s campaign, Kemp – the all-time winningest coach in ETSU history – said she wants her team to play even better.”We started work for this season right after the NCAA loss last season. As soon as we arrived back in Johnson City, we were practicing,” said Kemp. “We’ve got three great seniors on the team, but they all know that there is room for improvement. We want to win in the NCAA tournament.”

“It’s great to have all our starters back,” said junior guard Tara Davis. “But we also have seven new people, six of them freshmen.

“The freshmen have really worked hard though so it’s really more of a pro than a con. This team can definitely be as good as last year.”

Senior guard/forward Siarre Evans said she wasn’t satisfied with the results from last year’s season, even though hers included the A-Sun Player of the Year award and the conference championship.

“It’s definitely good that we have so many new players on the team,” Evans said. “They’ve worked hard just like we have, and the freshmen are really playing more like sophomores.”

The improvement of the team hasn’t come without hard work and injury challenges. Senior forward/center Latisha Belcher, last year’s Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, underwent knee surgery in the offseason.

“Obviously with Tish’s surgery, the other girls and I have had to work really hard to get in shape and learn how to play big in the post,” said sophomore forward Gwen Washington. “The young girls have really stepped it up with Tish gone. “

“I’ve been in the training room and back on the court trying to get back my shot,” Belcher said. “I’ve worked really hard on the knee and I hope to be back early in December.”

Despite last year’s successes, Atlantic Sun pollsters picked the Lady Bucs to finish second behind No. 1-ranked Florida Gulf Coast.

“It definitely motivated them,” said Kemp, about the selection. “I used it to get the girls motivated. We definitely want to show people we can play.”

“It’s challenged us,” said Davis. “I think last year coming into the season we may not have been 100 percent focused because of all wins the year before. We feel real good. Being predicted second is just a challenge.

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