It was a tough 2014-2015 season for the Georgia Northwestern Lady Bobcats basketball team.
Wins proved difficult to come by, but the team showed tremendous heart and grit by playing out the second half of the season with just five players on the roster.
However, with some key starters returning for their sophomore seasons, and the infusion of new talent from the prep ranks, the Lady Bobcats are hoping that the 2015-2016 season will be the year to turn things around.
Their first chance to right the ship begins on Nov. 2 in the friendly confines of the Rossville Athletic Center (R.A.C.) when they host the junior varsity squad from Truett-McConnell College. That will be followed with a Nov. 5 home date against the Welch College Flames from Nashville, Tenn.
The Lady Bobcats’ first road game will take place in Huntsville, Ala. on Nov. 10 as the team will travel to face the Ambassadors of Oakwood University. The two schools have had some fierce battles on the volleyball court in the past, but this will be the first meeting on the hardwood between the two schools in a number of years.
The Lady Bobcats will take part in the Flames Classic at Welch College on the weekend of Nov. 13 before returning home to face another new basketball opponent on Nov. 17 when the Brenau University JV team comes to Rossville. They will close out the pre-Thanksgiving portion of the slate at home on Nov. 23 with the first of two meetings with the Bryan College JV team.
The second date against the Bryan JV team will take place in Dayton, Tenn. on Dec. 2. A home game against Georgia Gwinnett College follows on Dec. 4 and the Lady Bobcats will head to Cleveland, Ga. on Dec. 7 to face the JV squad from Truett-McConnell.
The R.A.C. will be the center of two days of wall-to-wall college basketball action on Dec. 11 and 12 as the first-ever Bobcats Invitational will pit the Lady Bobcats against Truett-McConnell, Welch and Hines Prep Academy out of North Carolina.
The team will play its first GCAA conference game of the year at West Georgia Tech on Dec. 14 before breaking for the Christmas holidays.
A month-long break will finally end on Jan. 14 when Hines Prep returns to Rossville for a regular season contest. Trips to Toccoa Falls College (Jan. 19) and Welch (Jan. 21) will be the final two road games of the month before the Lady Bobcats begin a four-game home stretch.
The homestand will start with a visit from the Covenant JV team on Jan. 26 and continue with dates against conference foes Southern Crescent Tech (Jan. 29) and West Georgia Tech (Feb. 6) before the Lady Bobcats entertain Oakwood on Feb. 9.
Two final road games on back-to-back nights close out the regular season as Georgia Northwestern will play at Southern Crescent (Feb. 12) and Georgia Gwinnett (Feb. 13) a week before the start of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Conference (Region XVII) Tournament.
The tournament will take place on Feb. 20 and 21 in historic Williams Gymnasium on the campus of Emory-Oxford College in Covington with the winner set to pick up a national tournament berth.
Since 1962, Georgia Northwestern Technical College has been instrumental in providing quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. The mission of Georgia Northwestern Technical College is to provide accessible, high quality technical education and workforce development opportunities. Serving the nine counties of Catoosa; Chattooga; Dade; Floyd; Gordon; Murray; Polk; Walker; and Whitfield, GNTC has five convenient campus locations in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. With programs of study in business, health, industrial, and public service available, students have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree, diploma, or a certificate from GNTC.
This past year, 14,562 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 8,249 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fifth largest technical college in the state of Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 6,313 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start.