JockJive Blog

JockJive.com will kick off the 2009-10 basketball season Tuesday, Nov. 3, from Dahlonega, Georgia. The Lady Saints of North Georgia College & State University will host Bryan College in an exhibition matchup that promises to be exciting. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. EDT, 5 p.m. CDT. North Georgia's Lady Saints have signed three incoming freshman and one transfer, according to head coach Buffie Burson. Janyce Ealey, a 5-9 freshman forward from Carrollton, Georgia, and Carrollton High School led CHS to the school's first state championship in 2009 with a record of 32-2. The standout averaged 17.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and was named Atlanta Journal Constitution and GSWA First-Team All-State, All-Region, and Times-Georgian First-Team All-Area. Ieshia Alexander, a 5-6 freshman point guard from Rome, Georgia, and Coosa High School averaged 16.0 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 4.6 steals per game during her senior season. She was named MVP of the Tennessee-Georgia All-Star Game, earned Rome News Tribune Player of the Year honors, and was named NW Tip-Off Club Player of the Year, GACA All-State, All-Region, and to the Tip-Off Club All-Metro Team. Jessica Howard, a 6-0 freshman center from Toccoa, Georgia, and Stephens County High School averaged 9.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game during her senior season. Tiffany Marlow, a 6-0 junior forward from Gainesville, Georgia, and Chestatee High School makes her way to North Georgia from Truett-McConnell Junior College where she averaged 12.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game playing for the Bears last season. Marlow earned GJCAA All-Region honors playing for Truett-McConnell in 2008-09. The Lady Saints will open the 2009-10 season with five straight home games, including contests against Newberry, Rollins, and Kentucky Wesleyan. After finishing one game away from returning to the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth time in six years, the Bryan College Lady Lions are set to play a schedule full of traditional rivals, strong conference opponents, and a matchup with the 2008 NAIA National Runner-up and perennial Top-10 program, Trevecca Nazarene University. The Lady Lions will also travel to Pensacola, FL, during the Thanksgiving weekend to return a game with Pensacola Christian College. "We are excited about this upcoming season," said Lady Lions head coach Jamy Bechler. "We have a good group of girls and think that we can continue to perform at a high level. Our schedule is a good mix of home and away games. We play against some bigger schools, as well as some smaller ones. We are really looking forward to meeting North Georgia to pen things up and going to the Trevecca Nazarene Classic. It will be a great test for us. The conference will be really solid from top-to-bottom again this year, with many teams having a chance to win the regular season championship. We think our non-conference schedule will get our entire team prepared for the AAC competition." The Lady Lions will also travel to Marion, Alabama for an engagement with Judson College. Join the JockJive broadcast team of Jim DeWitt, Timothy DeWitt and Andrew DeWitt for tipoff from North Georgia College & State University Tuesday, Nov. 3