Nov. 14, 2007

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' women's basketball team has always been considered one of the preseason favorites to not only win the American Southwest Conference, but to compete on a national level. They go into the 2007-08 campaign as somewhat of an unknown commodity, but that doesn't seem to affect the Cowgirls.

The Cowgirls were picked to finish second in the ASC West, but for the first time in the history of the D3hoops.com poll HSU did not receive a single vote. That is hard to figure for a team that went 21-5 last season. The reason some people may be sleeping on the Cowgirls is that they lost all five starters from a year ago.

While, technically that is true, in reality the Cowgirls bring back some experienced starters. Seniors Rachel Cisneroz and Shelby Hodges, both starters during the Cowgirls 2006 Final Four run, are back in the starting lineup and have been the leaders of an admittedly young Cowgirl team.

Hodges and Cisneroz have always been leaders, but deferred to a big senior class last season. That has not been the case since the end of last year.

"Shelby and Rachel are both naturally good leaders," said sixth year head coach Shanna Briggs. "They have prepared their entire time as Cowgirls to be the leaders of this program. They took it on their shoulders, that we would be together as a team this year. They have continued some of our traditions and they have started new ones, because they knew we were going to be a young team and as leaders they were the ones that had to keep the team together."

It's hard to be the leader of a team, if you are not on the floor and Hodges and Cisneroz will be two mainstays on the floor for the Cowgirls this year. Both can play two positions and they have played in enough big games to lead HSU in the tough times.

Cisneroz will play both the point guard and the two-guard depending on the HSU lineup, but she will see a lot more than her 16 minutes per game she played last season.

"Rachel is a great shooter," said Briggs. "She can also get to the hole and she is able to lead the team from the point guard position. She will play both positions and we expect her to be one of our go-to scorers."

Hodges has started 42 games in her career, including 11 last season. She has a lot of variety in her game in that she can step out and shoot the three, she can play in the post and she also plays well facing the basket.

"Shelby brings that toughness to our team," said Briggs. "She is not afraid to take the big shot at the big time of a game. She is so versatile with her ability to play on the perimeter or in the post. She gives us a lot of options."

The Cowgirls have just three other returners, but they have all waited their turn to be a big part of the HSU program.

Kristen Harris came on strong for the Cowgirls last season and was one of the top post players off the bench. She is expected to play big minutes at the power forward. Mollie Brawner has always had the ability to shoot the ball, but she had been locked in behind some upperclassmen for playing time, but this year she will be in the rotation on the wing. Erin Hohmann, who missed most of the preseason with a knee injury, will fight for time at center. She showed great touch by shooting 69 percent on the year last season in her limited role.

The Cowgirls lost seven of their top players from a year ago. The five seniors graduated and then Rachael Singletary and Jeni Hobbs decided not to play and suddenly the Cowgirls lost all five starters and seven of their top nine scorers. However, the cupboard is not bare for HSU.

HSU brought in what is probably the best recruiting class of the Briggs' era. HSU will have 10 new players on the varsity from a year ago, but the Cowgirls have upgraded their athleticism across the board and have more height than in previous years.

The Cowgirls have brought in three Division I transfers that immediately will help fill some open spots in the lineup. Bo Warm will play the point guard after playing in 19 games and starting three for a freshman at Sam Houston State last season. Ashley and Haylee Allen will see significant time on the wings after competing as heptathletes at UT-San Antonio last year.

"Bo just brings an amazing amount of court vision and can move the ball up and down the court," said Briggs. "She is a floor leader and she makes very smart decisions with the ball. Ashley and Haylee are amazing athletes, but they are also pretty good basketball players. Both can get to the hole and they will allow us to play more up-tempo and even press more on defense."

The transfers are very talented, but they also are joined by an outstanding freshman class. Highlighting the class are four players that are expected to play immediately. Lara Colsman at 5-11 and Lindsey Newcombe at 6-2 will split time at the post position and one of them will start at the five. Kenzie Tarpley is a talented point guard and Allison Bray will play at the three and four.

Three other freshmen have a huge upside and could be legitimate players for the Cowgirls in the future. Brandee Toomer is another point guard that will miss up to the first eight weeks with a broken finger, Allison Kreider and Katie Crenwelge are two athletes that will play on the inside.

"I like our newcomers," said Briggs. "First of all they are very talented, but they have also come in and worked extremely hard. They are so coachable that it makes it fun to come to practice every day. That is not always the case when you have a lot of new faces, but they work hard and they buy into our program. They are further along than I thought they would be, which lets us add things quicker than I thought we would be able to."

With all of the talent expect Briggs to have a longer rotation than usual this season. She expects that she will play as many as 10-12 players in every game.

"We have so many weapons and they are going to be on the floor," said Briggs. "We don't have anyone that is going to play 40 minutes a game and they understand that. At the pace we are going to play, they will definitely need some breaks."

The Cowgirls will need all of those weapons, because they play in what may be the toughest women's basketball conference in the nation. Howard Payne comes into the nation ranked second in the nation and McMurry is in the top 10. There are better teams on the other side as well.

"I think our conference is so tough," said Briggs. "There are so many good teams and I think that is because more people are making the commitment to women's basketball. The expectation levels in our conference are very high and people keep bringing in better talent every year."

Even with a young team and a tough schedule the Cowgirls will make up for their lack of experience with talent and athleticism. Those are two things you can never have enough of when you are looking to compete for the conference title and beyond.