The Women's Basketball Team has been busy both on and off the court as a new season begins next week in North Carolina against Maine.
The Tigers hired new head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy and a new staff, was ranked No. 10 in a SEC preseason media poll and had senior guard/forward Blanche Alverson crowned Miss Homecoming.
These changes drew the attention of the public, and Sunday, Nov. 4 the team held its first public event of this season.
The Season Tipoff allowed fans to get autographs, be introduced to the new staff lineup, watch a scrimmage and see a sneak preview of the new pre-game introduction.
Now the team's eyes turn to the start of the season.
The team began practicing on Oct. 1 for the season that will begin with the Wolfpack Invitational in Raleigh,N.C. against Maine Friday, Nov. 9.
"I think still we have a lot of work to do on just still being comfortable with each other and running offense and being patient. And I think it's just going to come with time, with just playing," Alverson said after the Tipoff. "And you know you can only practice for so long. So the more games we get under our belt the better we'll be."
Flournoy, or "Coach Flo," said practice has been "going OK."
"As everyone knows (it's a) new coach, new concept, new style of play, everything's new. Instead of having a few upperclassmen, at this point we have 12 freshmen, because everything's new to them," Williams-Flournoy said. "So right now we're in the process of them figuring out how to play the way I want them to play. It's been a challenge for them, but we're getting better every day."
Alverson, one of four seniors on the team, said the team is beginning to grasp the new style of play.
"It's starting to sink in. Everybody's starting to just buy into the system, and hopefully come the end of this week we're going to be able to show what we've been doing for the last month."
According to Alverson, the new system focuses on energetic defense, and the Tigers, a 12 woman team that's half underclassmen, are still making adjustments in preparation for the season.
"We're just working on getting into this high, fast-paced defense and getting going with that," Alverson said.
After the event, Alverson, spoke about the team's experience gained from their tour in Australia from Aug. 4-14, and how that will translate into the new season.
"I think in Australia we really started to get acclimated to each other and to the new coaching staff, and I think that's the biggest thing we brought back from that," Alverson said.
"You know, we were a little low in numbers in Australia, and we just learned to push through different difficulties, and I think it helped us out to the best this year," Alverson said referring to the absence of players during the team's time there.
In a press interview on Oct. 30, head coach Williams-Flournoy said the tour helped a bit, but the loss of key contributers left the team shorthanded.
"It was hard, because we only had seven players instead of our full team." Williams-Flournoy said. "So now when you come back and you start practice with the ones who didn't play, you have to re-teach everything."
The helpful part of the tour was the experience the younger players received, according to Williams-Flournoy.
"In a sense I guess it was good for those who were able to go over there and play." Williams-Flournoy said. "We were able to get ten practices in before we left. It gave us a chance to get terminology down, how we want to play, all of that did help."
Hasina Muhammad, a sophomore guard who received attention for her consistent double-digit scoring and a 29 point total against the Sydney Flames during the Australia tour said she wants to replicate her success in the regular season.
"I just want to bring back the intensity and my will to score against these teams, and do well both on the offensive side and the defensive side," Muhammad said.
The women's basketball team will play its first home game on Thursday, Nov. 15 against Alabama State.
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