The Cougars kick off the 2013–14 season this weekend when the team will play Colorado Mesa University and Westminster College in two exciting exhibition games.
The team will first host CMU on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Marriott center. Saturday at 3:00 p.m. the team will host Westminster.
Last week during the team’s blue and white scrimmage game, the Cougars struggled with moving the ball well and, as a result, had a difficult time scoring. This week the team has worked nonstop on making sure it plays consistently as a team.
“It’s been a big thing that we’ve been working on this week,” said center Jennifer Hamson. “Working on playing together even better than before … I’m excited to see how much we’ve improved this coming weekend.”
CMU is a division II school located in Grand Junction, Colo. The team finished last season with a record of 31-2 and should prove to be an impressive matchup for the Cougars.
The Mavericks lost forward Kelsey Sigl to graduation, and the team will miss her this year. Sigl came on strong at the end of last season, and in its last game versus Chico State, she finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
With Sigl gone, this should give Hamson the opportunity to have a career night against the Mavericks. At least that’s what head coach Jeff Judkins expects from her.
“Double-double! That’s a goal that I want her to average,” Juddkins said. “I think that she can do it. I think that she can lead the country in blocked shots, and I think her timing is a lot better than it’s been in the past.”
Westminster also has a good team and should be a fair opponent for the Cougars. The Griffins finished last season with an overall record of 29-4.
The Cougars are excited for the upcoming season and have big expectations. However, they know the value that comes with pre-season games and are not going to take either of their opponents lightly.
“First pre-season game that’s huge because it kinda sets the tone for the whole season,” said guard Lexi Eaton. “Our expectations are very high for this season. We feel like we’ve got a good team with many threats and many things that teams are gonna struggle with. Our goals are set high, we want to win the conference and we want to go to the NCAA tournament.”
