By Roscoe Nance
Early indications are this could be a tops-turvey women’s basketball season in the MEAC.
Delaware State, the pre-season pick to finish second this season, and Coppin State, the 2008 conference tournament champion, struggled in non-conference play. At the other end of the spectrum, Morgan State, picked to finish third in the 2008 preseason poll of MEAC coaches and sports information directors, went into the first week of the conference schedule with the best overall record in the league at 7-1, serving notice that the Lady Bears might be ready to challenge preseason favorite North Carolina A&T, the 2008 regular-season champion, for the top spot.
“It’s hard to say what it means,’’ Morgan State Coach Donald Beasley says of his team’s early success. “It’s still early in the season. We’ve beaten some teams with high RPI ratings, and the kids have excelled. But we’re still trying to figure out our expectations.’’
Morgan State, which has yet to play a conference game, counts William & Mary, Fairfield, American and LaSalle among its victims. Their only loss was to Louisiana-Monroe 59-57.
Morgan State has gotten off its fast start despite having an inexperienced squad. The Lady Bears start three sophomores and two juniors, and their roster includes six freshmen.
“We’ve got them hustling and scrapping,’’ Beasley says. “We’re doing a great job on defense. That’s why we’ve been successful. But we have by no means jelled as a team.’’
The Lady Bears allow 56.8 points, second-best in the conference.
Guard Corin Adams is their only seasoned player. She leads the MEAC in scoring at 18.0 points a game. Adams also averages four assists and four steals.
Beasley is thrilled that the Lady Bears have faired well in the early going, but he anticipates a tightly contest conference race again this year compared to last season when three games separated the second-place team from the sixth-place team. Florida A&M, under first-year coach LeDawn Gibson, is 4-2 overall and opened conference play with a win over Bethune-Cookman, which is 4-1 outside the conference.
North Carolina A&T (4-3 overall) and Hampton (1-5) are also 1-0 in the conference. Norfolk State (0-5) Howard (0-7) are both 0-1 in the conference. South Carolina State (2-4), Delaware State (1-5), Maryland Eastern Shore (0-6) and Coppin State (0-8) have yet to play conference games.
“Some teams are winning right now,’’ he says. “But North Carolina A&T is going to dominate, I assume.’’
The Aggies are led by senior Amber Bland, the preseason pick for MEAC Player of the Year. She averages 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. They have been plagued by injuries to Bland, Nakia DaBlanc, Jeleesa Sams and Reisha Bullock.
“We still took care of business,’’ Lady Aggies coach Patricia Bibbs says, adding that she’s confident her team will play up to its usual standard during the conference schedule. “That’s why we pay the others big bucks. They’re on scholarship too. This is giving other people to get in some work. We’ll do just fine.’’
As for teams’ performances during in non-conference games, Bibbs says she’s not surprised by any of the results
“The teams that are winning were supposed to win,’’ she says. “They have good players. The teams that are not winning will win. We’re expected to do because we’re preseason No. 1. We have a target on our backs. We will do the best we can with what we have. The kids are on a mission. They are focused.’’
Beasley says that whoever challenges North Carolina A&T for the top spot “has got to score with them and compensate for mistakes like turnovers, fouls and steals. That’s the only way you can win.’’