The Lady Panthers of Prairie View A&M University have found themselves making history once again before their season has even started.
They are picked to win the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC), over the nine other teams in the conference.
The selection was done by a poll conducted by the conference office and votes were received from the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
The Lady Panthers, who finished with a 14-4 record in the SWAC last season, edged out last year’s SWAC runner-up Jackson State, receiving 15 first place votes while the Lady Tigers of Jackson State received one.
The Jackson State Lady Tigers finished last year with the best record in the conference at 22-10, but finished second in the SWAC tournament.
Defending the SWAC title, something the Lady Panthers here never had to do, will prove to be difficult starting early in the season.
They will play a 29 game schedule during the 2007-2008 season, taking on teams from powerhouse conferences from the SEC, BIG 12, Conference USA, PAC-10, and the ACC. The team had a first round exit from the NCAA tournament last year to ACC foe University of North Carolina.
Prairie View will be facing five of their 11 non-conference opponents for the first time in team history. The Lady Panthers tip off the season in the Basketball Travelers Tip Off Tourney against St. Mary’s College of California, then play Howard the next day and end with Baylor the following day.
Helping to make the season a little easier are preseason honorees Shavonne Smith and Gatti Werema. Both Smith and Werema were selected to the SWAC’s Preseason First Team. Werema was also selected as the SWAC’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Gatti, who is a 6 ft. guard from Florida, is only a sophomore and was named the 2006-2007 Freshman of the Year. Last season, she was the definition of a “true freshman”. She led Prairie View in points per game (14.5) and was first in SWAC in rebounds per game (9.9). She also shot a team high of 72 percent from the free throw line and ranked number one on the team in blocks per game.
Smith, a senior guard from California, is one of the Panthers’ leaders when on the court. Smith, who is in her last season as a Lady Panther, finished last year second in scoring right behind Werema with 13.9 points per game and also averaged 3.2 rebounds per game as a 5 ft. 7 in. guard. Smith knows all about stepping up her game as she did a lot last season in big games.
The Lady Panthers are returning four of their five starters from last season and are returning 10 lettermen. Candice Thomas, sophomore shooting guard, who was last year’s SWAC tournament MVP, is also a returning starter who played a key role in the Panthers’ first ever SWAC title. She averaged 11.2 points per game while leading the team in steals with 57. She said “this year the team has matured, we know what it takes to get where we want to be, and we are also more prepared.”
During the off-season, the Panthers brought in freshmen Trinity Robinson, Whitney Ligons, and Dominique Smith, who both sat out last season. Former classmates of Werema, Smith, and Robinson will add a more offensive attack to the Lady Panther explosive offense.
Fans can begin to cheer on their champs in early January. The Lady Panthers start clawing their way through SWAC opponents with two home games beginning on Jan. 5 against Southern University and later taking on Alcorn State University.