Southwest Basketball Teams Begin Season This Week on the Road

For more information, contact:
Keith Gentry
901-333-4114
mgentry@southwest.tn.edu

The Southwest men’s and women’s basketball teams will open the 2015-16 season this week with the men competing in the Quality Inn Classic in Niceville, Florida and the women in the Baton Rouge Classic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Saluqis, under the direction of third-year Head Coach Jerry Nichols, will take on the host team Tallahassee on October 30 at 5:30 p.m. and Northwest Florida on October 31 at 7:30 p.m. Only two players return off last year’s 24-4 regular season TCCAA champions – forward Jimario Rivers, a University of Memphis commitment, and guard Kennedy McKinney. As freshmen, Rivers averaged 10.3 points per game and led the team with 7.2 rebounds per game while McKinney averaged 4.5 points per game off the bench and was second on the team with a 39.4 three-point field goal percentage. Forward Jovontae Waldon and guard Lorenzen Wright Jr. also return after sitting out the 2014-15 season.

The women’s team is led by Head Coach Andrea Martre, now in her 20th year at the helm. The Lady Saluqis will play Mississippi Gulf Coast on October 30 at 5:30 p.m. and Bossier Parish on October 31 at noon. Four players return from last season, led by All-TCCAA and honorable mention NJCAA All-American guard LaKyesha Stennis, who led the team in scoring last season with an average of 16.6 points per game. Also back are guards Briauna Mitchell (8.0 points per game) and Erica Dean (7.3 points per game) and guard/forward Lyric Stallings (1.7 points per game). In addition, guard Kemahri Soward returns to the team after sitting out the 2014-15 season.