RELATED LINKS: Watch (FloHoops) | Listen (FRIDAY ONLY) (SLYROCK 104.9 & SLYROCK App) 

LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The new year for hoops is here, and the University of West Alabama women's basketball team will start the 2023-24 season at the GSC/SIAC crossover this weekend against Tuskegee and Albany State from The Coliseum at the University of West Georgia. 

Live coverage is provided on our website, uwaathletics.com/live with links for live video, live audio and more.

FloSports and FloHoops will be the exclusive home for all GSC basketball games during the 2023-24 season. Fans can subscribe to the streaming service at a special GSC discounted rate, and subscriptions are able to be canceled at anytime. For more information or to signup, click here.

FOR FRIDAY'S GAME VERSUS TUSKEGEE, SLYROCK 104.9 FM will provide fans an audio-only opportunity. Will Atkinson and Layton Jackson will be on the call on your radio dial. Fans can click on the link above or download the SLYROCK app to listen on your mobile device.

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TUSKEGEE PREVIEW
Coming off a SIAC Regular Season and Tournament Championship in 2023, Tuskegee starts the 2023-24 season by receiving votes in the preseason coaches poll administered by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). 

Recording a 26-4 overall record, the Golden Tigers were a perfect 20-0 in the SIAC during the regular season. Their last loss in conference play came on Feb. 19, 2022, against Savannah State, 79-73. 

One huge newcomer for Tuskegee is at the top, as Chiante Wester took over as the head coach in late July. Wester spent the last three seasons as head coach at Livingstone College and on the staff at Virginia State for nearly a decade. 

Like UWA, Tuskegee will look to different players to find the bottom of the hoop, as their top four scorers are not on the roster this season. Brittney Bolin is the lone returner with double digits with 10.2 per game. 


TUSKEGEE SERIES HISTORY
West Alabama and Tuskegee will meet on the hardwood for the first time since meeting twice in the 2013-14 season. UWA picked up the 67-54 victory in Livingston on Nov. 13, while TU posted the 68-47 dub in Tuskegee. 


ALBANY STATE PREVIEW
The Golden Rams are coming off an 8-18 record last season and 6-13 in SIAC action. Qualifying for the SIAC Tournament last season, Albany State fell in the first round to Lane, 53-50. 

Unlike Tuskegee, Robert Skinner has been at the helm at Albany State since the 1992 season and has accumulated 446 wins with the Golden Rams and 606 in 43 seasons as a head coach. 

Averaging 55.8 points per game, ASU will look to  Milana Holmes, who leads all returners with 5.8 points per game. 

ALBANY STATE SERIES HISTORY
West Alabama and Albany State will meet for the first time in women's basketball on Saturday, according to acquired records. 


TRIO NAMED TO GSC NEWCOMER WATCHLIST
As a part of the preseason awards, three UWA women's basketball players were named to the GSC Newcomer watchlist: Shayla Golden, Kendall Lacoste and Julia Rodriguez. 

Golden, a junior from Jacksonville, Ark., transferred to UWA from Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. Last season, she shot 51% from the field with 85 field goals and scored 8.5 points per contest in 24 games. On defense, she has corralled 7.4 rebounds per game.  

Lacoste, a freshman from Livingston, Ala., attended the University Charter School. During her time at UCS, she was a part of region championship teams between volleyball and basketball. A First Team All-State selection, she was also a member of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) All-Star Team. 

Rodriguez, a junior transfer from Sarasota, Fla., spent the last three seasons at Kennesaw State University (Ga.). Playing during the 2021 and 2022 seasons for the Owls, she played in 42 games with 4.5 points per game and 73 career field goals.


UWA PICKED SEVENTH IN GSC PRESEASON POLL
UWA is predicted to finish seventh in the preseason listing, as voted on by the head coaches, with 68 points. The Tigers finished ahead of Alabama Huntsville's 63 and Montevallo's 60. 

UWA's 2022-23 season saw them finish 13-16 and qualified as the 8-seed in the GSC Championship with a 10-14 league mark. 


PRESEASON RECAP
After scrimmaging with Stillman on Oct. 29, UWA played two exhibition games with Division I schools from the Sun Belt Conference in South Alabama and Troy. Both games did not count toward the season records for either South Alabama or Troy.

Against USA on Nov. 2., Shayla Golden posted nine rebounds and eight points in 26 minutes off the bnech, while Julia Rodriguez totaled 23 minutes and scored eight points. 

Monday against Troy, Golden dropped 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting with five rebounds off the bnech. Maryanne Logsdon added 10 points and five boards and assists each. 


LOOKING FOR SCORERS
With nine newcomers on the UWA roster in 2023-24, the Tigers will be looking to replace close to 74% of their scoring from a year ago. Bria Dent, who was named an All-American by World Exposure Report, scored 534 points, 18.4 per game, for second in the GSC and 31st in Division II. On ball control, she was one of two GSC players with 10 or more rebounds in a game and finished 12th in the country in the category. 


USING THE TRANSFER PORTAL
Five of UWA's nine newcomers arrive via transfer. Adrianna Djokovic (Sam Houston State), Julia Rodriguez (Kennesaw State) and Jordan Parker (Montevallo) came from four-year institutions. 

Kaedre Denson (East Central CC) and Shayla Golden (Itawamba CC) arrive to UWA from the junior college sector. 


WATTS ADDED TO UWA COACHING STAFF
After a four-year playing career at West Alabama, Zoe Watts enters her first season as a graduate assistant coach with the Tigers' women's basketball staff. 

Playing in 97 career games with the Tigers, the Birmingham, Ala. native scored 838 points and shot 44.9% from the field with 320 career field goals, 159 career free throws made and shot 75% from the charity stripe and adding 377 rebounds. Her senior year saw her average over 10 points a game, she shot 41% with 114 field goals made.

During her time at UWA away from the gym, she was a member of the Tri Beta Honors Society and received the University Scholars award with the biology program. 

A graduate of Homewood High School, she was a part of a state championship during her sophomore year and back-to-back region championships. Her senior year in 2019 saw her listed on the All-Area Team. 

Watts graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology with an environmental science minor. She is currently working on a master's degree in business administration. 


FROM UA TO UWA FOR LOVELL
Jeff Lovell enters his fourth season on the West Alabama women's basketball staff, and the 2023-24 season will be his second as a full-time assistant. 

Before joining the Tigers staff, Lovell served as a head coach at Lowndes Academy for 18 years. He has a head coaching record of 234-84. Under Lovell's guidance, the varsity girls won three 2A Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) State Championships and made eight state championship appearances. The junior varsity girls and boys also won three 2A AISA State Championships.

In 2015, Lovell was named All-Metro Coach of the Year and Montgomery Advertiser Coach of the Year.
 
Lovell was the assistant women's basketball coach at the University of Alabama from 1995 to 1997. The team made Sweet Sixteen appearances both years he was on the Crimson Tide staff. Lovell also helped coach and recruit two First Team All-SEC student-athletes and a First Team All-American.
 
Lovell started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at UWA from 1994 to 1995.

After playing two seasons at Wallace State Hanceville, where he was a Second Team All-Conference selection, Lovell transferred to the University of Alabama in 1992 and 1993, where he earned the "Mr. Hustle" award in both seasons. Playing for legendary coach Wimp Sanderson, Lovell was a part of the 1992 team that finished as a runner-up in the SEC and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 26-9 record. 


YEAR NUMBER 28 FOR CRAM
Entering his 10th year as head coach at West Alabama, Rusty Cram begins his 28th season as a collegiate head coach. After spending 16 seasons at Georgia Southern, he went over to Belhaven University for two seasons before arriving in Livingston for the 2014-15 season.

While at Georgia Southern, Cram was a two-time Southern Conference coach of the year (1998, 2001) and guided Georgia Southern to two regular-season titles (1998, 2001), eight 15-win seasons, and two 20-win seasons. With a 239-230 record, he is the winningest women's basketball coach in Georgia Southern history.

Prior to his stint at Georgia Southern, Cram spent eight years as a high school coach in Alabama and Georgia. He was the boys' head coach at Evangel Christian Academy in Mobile, Ala., the head boys and girls' coach at Sam Crow Academy in Oak Grove, La., and the head girls' coach at Cedar Creek High School in Ruston, La.

He led Evangel Christian to a state title in 1981 and the Cedar Creek girls to a state championship in 1983. From 1983-88, CCHS made four state playoff appearances. Cram led both the boys and girls teams to the state final four berths at Sam Crow in 1982, and the girls team won the state crown in 1983.

Cram earned his 100th victory at UWA last season at West Georgia on Feb. 11, a 64-62 victory. 

Now with 368 wins over 27 seasons as a collegiate head coach, here is the breakdown:
 

School	Years	Record
Georgia Southern (D-I)	16	239-230
Belhaven (NAIA)	2	28-33
West Alabama (D-II)	9	101-139
TOTAL	27	368-402