Lady Greyhounds Open Season with Win

By Chuck Livingston and ASU Mid-South Sports Information

The Arkansas State University Mid-South Lady Greyhounds opened their 2016-2017 basketball season with a resounding 88-38 win at Columbia State Community College on Monday night.

ASU Mid-South's season opener was highlighted by 24 points from freshman Haley Morgan, a native of Brookland, Arkansas. Rachel Gramling, also from Brookland, added 13 points and West Memphis native Sable Greer hit for 14 to round out the double-digit scorers.

Second-year head basketball coach Sonja Tate was happy with most phases of her team's outing.

"Our pressure defense was okay," said the great West Memphis Lady Blue Devil and Arkansas State University star. "But we still have a long ways to go. Not bad for our first game though, and we created a lot of turnovers."

Columbia State, located in Columbia, Tennessee, only hit for double-digits in one quarter on Monday, and scored just 12 points after halftime.

Marion graduate Raven Morrow pumped in 8 points for the Lady Greyhounds, as did England graduate Aleshia Penister. Samantha Jackson added 9 points. Ja'Brisha Hawkins hit for 6 points, while Samantha Abrams hit for 3 points and Kalisah Gibson scored a point.

All of those newcomers have helped Tate play the type of basketball that she wants to teach.

"We have a roster full of freshmen and we condition by running a lot, probably about three-and-a-half miles a day," says Tate. "That's in addition to all of the work that we do on the basketball court and weights. We lift everyday. I think it has prepared us, at least somewhat, for this uptempo type of game that we like to play."

ASU Mid-South is back in action on Monday, November 7 at Northwest Mississippi Community College. They open their home schedule on Monday, November 14 against Columbia State Community College, with a 5:30 p.m. tip.