There’s a lot of excitement around the UTPB women’s basketball program going into this season.
It helps when you have 13 returning players.
With a good chunk of the roster coming back, head coach Rae Boothe is eager to see what the Falcons are capable of as they enter the 2023-24 season.
“The expectation is pretty high,” Boothe said. “We have 13 returners. We have a lot of leadership with a lot of prior knowledge about our system. The expectation for all of us is very high. Going into the weekend, our expectation is to go 2-0 and to get better every day.”
The Falcons will begin the season this week with two tournament games in Grand Junction, Colo.
They’ll start with a 3 p.m. game Friday against South Dakota Mines before closing out against Colorado Mesa at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Last season saw the Falcons go 13-15 overall, 10-12 in the Lone Star Conference.
The team missed out on the Lone Star Conference tournament in a three-way tie.
However, with the number of players coming back and with the memory of missing out on the LSC tournament still fresh in their minds, Boothe said the team will be better this year.
“They know the value of every single conference game and to not make the tournament by losing a three-way tie still doesn’t’ sit well with us,” Boothe said. “For us to have our players feel that, they know what opportunities we missed last year and they’re determined not to let that happen again. The chemistry with that is amazing. We have to work on it every day and continue to raise the bar with our standard.”
Among the players coming back is standout grad student Alexus Quaadman.
She enters this season having played and started in all 28 games last year for the Falcons where she averaged 10-points per game, shooting a team-high 48.4 percent from the field.
Quaadman also led the team in total rebounds, grabbing 271 boards (averaging 9.7 per game) and led the team in blocks with 33.
“Alexus Quaadman is one of those players,” Boothe said. “She already hold the records for blocks, boards, double-doubles. If she averages about 11 rebounds a game, she’ll hit a thousand rebounds and she should easily hit a thousand points this year so she’d be the first player to do that here.”
Holly Hemmeline is another key returner for the Falcons.
UTPB also brings in fifth year senior Kamryn Lemon who has experience playing at the NCAA Division I level, having played at Oklahoma and Long Beach State.
Prior to that, Lemon played at the junior college level at Odessa College.
“Now she’s here and we’re pleased with her,” Boothe said. “She’s fitting in nicely. She can definitely play but this is her fourth school. We’re excited about her.”
The players’ attitude will be a positive as Boothe pointed out how much these players care.
“As coaches, we don’t have to worry about anything off the court,” Boothe said. “They’re focused. They’re selfless. We don’t have issues or drama. We just have really great women that really care about each other and want to win. It’s fun to coach this group.”
The team still has room for improvement and one thing the Falcons hang their hats on is how they play on the defensive end.
“With the three scrimmages we had, we forced double the amount of turnovers we had and we’re proud of that stat,” Boothe said. “Our goal is to always take 15 more shots than our opponent and we do that by stealing possessions and gaining offensive rebounds. Those two areas, we’ll always focus on but with the scrimmages, we’re off to a great start. We need to be able to shoot at a high percentage. We’re learning what a high quality shot is and working for a high quality shot is something we’re working on every day.”
