SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State women's basketball team will play two games in three days starting with an exhibition game on the road at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. on Friday at and follow it up with a home game at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center against St. Mary's on Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Belles are 5-1 on the season and off to their best start since the 2005-06 season. ASU is averaging 85.5 points per game and outscoring teams by 22.8 points per game which is No.6 and No. 7, respectively, in Division II. The 19.7 assists per game that ASU dishes out are No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the LSC. ASU has been consistent from the 3-point line making 44.7-percent which is currently No. 4 nationally. ASU hit a season high 64.2-percent from the field and an impressive 80-percent (8-of-10) from behind the arc against St. Edward's.
"The thing that I love so far is we have a lot of people that can score," ASU head women's basketball coach Kevin Baker said. "We have 10 people that can score at any point during the game and that can make a team dangerous. It also makes you a hard team to guard."
The Belles defense has limited teams to 62.7 points per game and just 38.5-percent from the floor but Baker wants more.
"We want to stay in front of the ball and control it," Baker said. "That has been the test for any team is how well you can guard the ball and keep it out of the paint. When the ball does get inside the paint, I want to see how well our first second and third rotations are doing. Right now ours is not near as good as they need to be. We have the chance to be good defensively but we have a long way to go. "
Three Belles are scoring in double figures led by Taylor Dorsey's 17.7 points per game. Jasmine Prophet has added 11.0 points per game and Brea Mitchell has chipped in 10.0 points per game. Dorsey has four games in double figures and three scoring at least 22 points per game. The junior also grabs 5.5 rebounds per game and dished out 18 assists on the season. Dorsey is the only player to hit double figures in 3-pointers with 11. Prophet has three games in double figures. She is the team leader in blocks with nine and has contributed six steals. The junior is one of six players in double figure assists with 10. Mitchell has alternated double digit and single digit scoring games. Mitchell recorded a double-double to open the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds while averaging a team high 6.0 rebounds per game. The senior leads the team with 22 assists on the season.
Christina Robinson leads the team in 3-point percentage hitting 60.0-percent (9-of-15). The junior has scored 9.0 points per game and record a clip of .422 from the field. She leads ASU with 13 steals and is third on the team with 14 assist. She has two games in double figures.
Diamalises Rivera has been a spark off the bench scoring in double figures three times and averages 8.7 per game. She is third on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game while adding seven assists, four blocks and four steals.
Lexi Murphy is coming off back-to-back double digit scoring games with 11 and 10 points, respectively. She is scoring 7.2 points per game with 12 assists and three steals on the season. The junior has hit 52.2-perecent from the field and 58.3 percent from the 3-point line.
KeAnna Kelly has dished out 12 assists on the year and 11 steals. She is scoring 7.2 points per game with a season high 16 points coming against Missouri S&T.
Natalie Quesnel, Kiahna Thompson and Nekeita Bailey have seen significant playing time. All three are averaging over 10 minutes per game. Quesnel averages 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds this season. She has recorded seven assists and two steals while averaging 14.0 minutes per game. Thompson has scored in six of the last seven games She had a season high 10 points per game against Arlington Baptist. The sophomore scores 4.5 points per game with two assists and two steals. Bailey, who averages 12.8 minutes per game, has hit 53.8-percent from the field and dished out six assists. She also had added eight steals.
The Islanders are 3-2 on the season and are led by Royce Chadwick. Shay Weaver leads the team with 11.0 points per game. TAMUCC scored 51.4 points per game while allowing 56.2 points per game.
"The best thing for us to do is to go into that game with the mindset of we really want to compete and play a good level of basketball," Baker said of the exhibition game. "We hope to use it as preparation for St. Mary's and play hard."
The Rattlers come to San Angelo on Sunday with a 6-1 record. St. Mary's scored 74.6 points per game and holds teams to 60.7 points per game. Three Rattlers score in double figures led by Kiara Etheridge's 17.3 points per game. Dezirae Elias scored 16.7 while Arysia adds 10.1 points per game.
"It is going to be a great game," Baker said. "We are excited about the St. Mary's game. It is going ot be a great matchup between two solid teams and they are the best team we will have played this season. It will be a good barometer to see where we are and what we need to improve on moving forward."
Sunday's game with St. Mary's could also be a milestone game for head coach Kevin Baker. He is one game away from his 300th career victory as a head coach. Baker has won 222 in the high school ranks and 77 in the college ranks. The Belles exhibition game on Friday will not count toward his overall record.
Sunday's game will be carried on 1260AM KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
