Sycamores will take on Chippewas in season opener

The Sycamore women's basketball team is set to open up regular season play Saturday on the road against the Chippewas of Central Michigan.

The game will mark the official beginning of the 2008-09 season, the ninth season as head coach for Jim Wiedie and the first collegiate game for the seven freshmen that help to fill out the Sycamore roster.

So far in preseason play, the storyline has been the newcomers to the team. The Sycamore freshmen have performed outstandingly so far in exhibition play and have helped the Sycamores to a 2-0-exhibition record.

Last weekend, in the final exhibition game for the Sycamores, against the University of Missouri-St. Louis, diaper dandy center Shannon Thomas led the team to a dominating 82-38 victory. Thomas went 7-8 from the field, racking up a team high 19 points in her 15 minutes of playing time. The only statistic lacking for Thomas was the lone rebound she recorded. However, Thomas will look to improve on the boards and continue to lead the Sycamores into the regular season.

Junior guard Kelsey Luna also added 12 points, five assists and two steals in her 30 minutes on the hardwood.

Freshman guard/ forward Deja Mattox was also impressive for the Sycamores during the preseason as she scored 14 points and grabbed five boards in her 27 minutes of play against the University of Indianapolis. She also put up nine points and seven rebounds in the game against UMSL.

Junior guard Sarah Paul also added nine points in the victory against the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

In addition to the Sycamores, Saturday's contest will also be the regular season opener for Central Michigan and only the second game of the season for the Chippewas.

Last season, the Central Michigan finshed the season with the worst record in Mid-American Conference West division going 2-13 and 6-23 overall.

So far this season, in their only exhibition game, Central Michigan won in dominating fashion over Marygrove College with a score of 117-48.

Last season the Sycamores were able to knock off No. 17 Vanderbuilt in their third game of the season. However, the Sycamores went through a dry spell near the end of the season which placed them sixth in the Valley standings.

The Sycamores finished the season with a record of 8-10 and 14-15 overall.

However, the Sycamores are looking to continue gaining momentum with a big win on the road to open up the official season.

Tip-off between the Sycamores and the Chippewas is set to take place at 2 p.m. in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The game can be heard on WSDM 92.7 FM in Terre Haute.

( Blaine Kinsey is a sophomore communication major. He can be reached at sasspted@isugw.indstate.edu.)