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Like a magician, South Carolina State women’s basketball coach Doug Robertson has kept much of his plans hidden under his sleeve.
Since the start of preseason, the Lady Bulldogs have stayed pretty much out of the public eye, holding closed scrimmages both in Orangeburg and at other Palmetto State schools.
Today at 5:30 p.m. at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, fans will finally get to see the 2008-09 edition of the S.C. State women embark on a new era under Robertson against Mercer University.
“You should expect for us to hopefully execute and play hard all the way through for 40 minutes,” Robertson said.
The contest is a rematch from last year, won in Macon, Ga. by Mercer 58-55. It was one of five losses suffered by the S.C. State women to teams which lost 20 or more games.
Enter Robertson who arrived from his alma mater Bowie State where he earned Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year honors last season. He looks to turn around a program which has experienced just two winning season since last claiming the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in 1994.
“We’re going to try to set the tone with this first game,” Robertson said. “We’re going to try to have a good showing in front of our fans and administration. and hopefully, it will be a carryover.”
Coming off a 4-26 campaign, the Lady Bears (0-1) opened the season last Saturday with a 73-45 loss at 10th-ranked Texas A&M. Mercer University was led by Oklahoma State transfers Natasha Doh and Dominique Chism who scored 15 and 14 points, respectively in their debut.
“We’ve just got to be ready to play,” Mercer head coach Janell Jones said in pre-game notes. “We are going to be on the road, and they’ve got four starters back from last season, including two 6’4” post players, so from the opening tip, we’ve got to be ready to get out there and go at them.”
The two post players of most concern for Jones are preseason All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference center Marie Reid and forward Jenell Moore. Reid averaged 14.9 points last season, while Moore averaged 9.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
“They are two post players who are dangerous in the paint and on the block,” Jones said. “We have got to contain them and make sure that they do not get any second chances.”
Such a strategy could be problematic since Robertson has encouraged both players to stretch their games beyond the paint. As for the backcourt, Robertson said he planned to use Monday’s practice to decide on his starting point guard.
Among his choices are newcomers Raina Chambers, Brijan Turner and Orangeburg-Wilkinson graduate La’Teia Brailey.
Following the women’s game, the S.C. State men will play their second game of the season against Allen University. The Bulldogs (1-0) won their opening contest 71-53 over Erskine College Friday at home thanks to a 20-8 run over the final eight minutes.
S.C. State routed Allen University 81-57 last season led by preseason All-MEAC forward Jason Johnson’s 22 points and 11 rebounds. He is coming off a double-double effort in the win over the Flying Fleet at S-H-M.
Tickets for the doubleheader are $8 for reserved seats, $5 general admission and $3 students. Both games can be heard on WSSB (90.3 FM).
T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.