It’s pretty safe to say that David Stephenson hasn’t endured a whole lot of seasons quite like the one his Georgia Northwestern Lady Bobcat basketball team endured last winter.
The movement of the program’s base from Rome to Rossville meant having to start totally from scratch from a personnel standpoint. By the time, the team returned from Christmas break, the original eight-player roster was down to just five, meaning all five Lady Bobcats had to play all 40 minutes each and every game.
So it came as little surprise when Georgia Northwestern endured a winless 0-14 season.
However, once the season ended, Stephenson wasted little time in rolling up his sleeves, hitting the recruiting trail and getting back to work on retooling the program.
The results of that work can be seen in this year’s roster as Stephenson has restocked with nine incoming freshmen to go with two returners. Those nine rookies represent eight different high schools, seven of them local, and Stephenson believes he has found some hidden gems that could shine brightly as the squad gets set to open the 2015-2016 season next week.
“One of the things we kept emphasizing in the off-season is that we weren’t looking for female ballplayers,” he explained. “We were looking for ballplayers that just happened to be female. I think all 11 on our roster this time around are ballplayers that just happen to be female or well on their way to becoming ballplayers at a rapid pace.
“Obviously, we have a lot more depth and talent this year. Plus, all the girls really seem to get along great, even though we’ve only had a couple of months of playing together.”
The “old guard” will be represented by returning sophomores Ashley Farrell and Chelsea (C.C.) Ludy.
Farrell (Calhoun, Georgia) will hold the title of team captain this season. The former Gordon Central High standout had a breakout freshman campaign as she earned GCAA Division III First Team honors by averaging 12.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly two assists and two steals per game. The shooting guard was also named to the GCAA All-Academic Team.
Her classmate also had a solid rookie season as the ex-LaFayette Lady Rambler dropped in 6.5 points, pulled down 5.8 rebounds, dished out 2.5 assists and collected 1.4 steals a game fromthe point guard spot.
“Ashley just about has unlimited (shooting) range on the perimeter and she’s worked hard during the summer to get even better,” Stephenson said. “We’re moving C.C. off the point this year and she’ll play the 2 and maybe even the 3 for us. She’s a very athletic player and I think that (the move) will make her more comfortable and help her game this season.”
The rest of the team will be donning college uniforms for the first time.
Farrell and Ludy will get help in the backcourt from Katy Phillips (Rossville, Georgia) and Cricket Wyatt (Birchwood, Tenn.), who had their share of battles over the past four years while facing off for Ridgeland and Southeast Whitfield, respectively.
On the wing will be Carrie Benedict (Adairsville, Georgia), Kayla Wallace (Loganville, Georgia) and Hayley Jones (Cartersville, Georgia). Jones was unable to play her senior season at Trion High, but earned Region 6-A honors as a junior.
In the post, Stephenson was able to net a pair of LaFayette graduates in Sprite Dyer (Cedartown, Georgia) and Haley Blevins (LaFayette, Georgia), along with Holly Stanfield (Chatsworth, Georgia) and LFO’s Madison Lewis (Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia), who will be one of the tallest players in Lady Bobcat history at 6-foot-2.
“Madison Lewis is one of our biggest surprises so far,” Stephenson explained. “Someone of her size and her ability is a great addition for us and Hayley Jones is a terrific caliber of athlete. If she can play herself back into shape, she can make a huge difference for us. We have a couple of kids coming off knee injuries and hopefully they will be able to get back in a flow pretty quickly.”
It goes without saying that having a full roster of players gives Stephenson many more options than he had just a season ago.
“I think the strength for us right now is that we have a good inside-out situation,” he said. “We have people that can go inside and score, as well as some that will command double-teams. Those people can kick it out to people that can score from the outside. That’s going to be a tough thing for other teams to decide whom they want to guard.
“The weakness is obviously lack of college experience. Only two of our 11 have ever played in college before, so there will probably be a hard learning experience right off the bat.”
The Lady Bobcats may prove to be a work in progress this season, but there is a definite sense of optimism surrounding the team.
“The key will be to keep all 11 of them healthy and eligible,” he added. “If we do, we have a shot to play for a region championship. There are only three (Division III) teams in our region, so we could be in good shape to do some things by the end of the year.”
Georgia Northwestern will unveil its new-look squad on Monday, Nov. 2 when the Truett-McConnell junior varsity team pays a visit to the Rossville Athletic Center. Game time is set for 5 p.m. and it will be the team's annual Food Drive Game.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Lady Bobcats will welcome in Welch College out of Powell, Tenn. for a 5:30 p.m. tip.