CLEVELAND, Mississippi – The Delta State University women's basketball team opens the 2015-16 season against Miles College (0-0) on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Fairfield, Alabama. The two schools meet for the first time since a 57-47 win by Delta State on November 18, 2006 in Fort Valley, Georgia.
Matchup: Delta State at Miles College
Records: Lady Statesmen (0-0) | Golden Bears (0-0)
Location: Knox-Windham Gymnasium | Fairfield, Alabama
Series: Delta State leads 5-0
ABOUT DELTA STATE- The Lady Statesmen open the 2015-16 season on the road for the second straight season under second year Head Coach Craig Roden.
- Delta State is 37-11-1 all-time in season openers and 0-1 under Roden. The Lady Statesmen are 21-11-1 at home, 10-9 on the road and 6-1 when opening at a neutral site.
- DSU played one exhibition game against Alcorn State, dropping a 66-57 decision on the road. Chelsey Rhodes led the Lady Statesmen with 28 points, while newcomer Kaelin Kneelend grabbed eight rebounds.
- Returning starters Rhodes and Anissa Jackson top the list of returnees.
- Rhodes, who earned All-GSC First-Team honors in 2014-15, ranked sixth in the Gulf South Conference with 15.7 points and third with two 3-point field goals made per game. The Monticello, Arkansas, native was third in the GSC with 58 3-pointers made and 159 attempted, while averaging 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. She enters the 2015-16 season ranked 27th on the Lady Statesmen career-scoring list with 1,196 points and fourth in career 3-point field goals made (148) and 3-point field goals attempted (422).
- Jackson started 28 games last season, averaging 6.9 points and four rebounds per contest.
- Mary Carol Davis, Toya Collins, Antionette Riddle, Becca Ruckes, and Alexis Ross round out the returnees.
- Davis played in 29 games, four starts, averaging 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, while Collins chipped in 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 29 games.
- Ruckes averaged 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 20 games, battling a late season injury. Riddle played in 10 games before missing the second half of the season, and Ross sat out the season as a redshirt.
- The Lady Statesmen welcome four newcomers: Kaelin Kneelend (Itawamba Community College), Aspriona Gilbert (Northwest Mississippi Community College), Jaleshia Jones (East Central Community College) and freshman point guard Alondrea Rush (Horn Lake High School).
- Delta State went 19-10 overall and 15-7 in the GSC, finishing runner-up in the 2014-15 GSC Tournament.
- The Lady Statesmen are picked fourth in the GSC Preseason Coaches Poll.
ABOUT MILES COLLEGE- Miles lost all three of its exhibition games, falling to UAB, 76-44, Jacksonville State, 78-34, and Middle Georgia, 68-62.
- The Golden Bears are led by Head Coach and Athletic Director Phillip Wallace, Jr., who has an 81-188 record at Miles and a 252-276 career record.
- Miles returns five players from the 2014-15 squad that finished 7-18 overall and 4-14 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
- Miles is looking to replace Porshia Blue, who led the team in scoring (19.7), rebounding (6.2) and steals (2.1), while playing 37.3 minutes per game.
- Ashley Stegar is the lone returning starter along with five letterwinners for the Golden Bears. Stegar averaged 9.3 points and 3.8 boards per game.
- Javonne Brown returns after averaging 11 points through four games before missing the remainder of the season due to unknown reasons.
- The Golden Bears averaged 59.9 points per game last season, while giving up 65.5 points per game and averaging 39.3 rebounds to its opponents 42.8 boards (-3.0). Miles averaged 18 turnovers and eight steals last season.
SERIES- The Lady Statesmen are 5-0 all-time against Miles College. Delta State is 3-0 at Walter Sillers Coliseum, 1-0 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site contests
- Delta State won the last meeting 57-47 on Nov. 18, 2006 in Fort Valley, Georgia.
- DSU claimed a 68-62 win on Jan. 23, 1992 in the only other meeting at Knox-Windham Gymnasium in Fairfield, Alabama.
