Lady Lions ready to roar

One day a week ago, Selina Kohn was taken aback by the unusual loudness.

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In past years, the Paine women's coach had to force her players to speak up. But after a breakthrough season, Kohn is the one with little to say.

She noticed the difference in that one practice.

"I probably didn't say anything except what drill to do," Kohn said. "They pretty much ran it."

A veteran Lady Lions squad is back after a year of accomplishments. The Paine women won their first-ever Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament title. They also advanced to their first NCAA Division II Tournament,

The Lady Lions begin their season at 6 p.m. tonight against Fayetteville State in the Clark Atlanta tournament in Atlanta. They will then face St. Paul's at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

While most teams already have begun their season, Paine delayed its start because of volleyball season, which ended two weeks ago. Kohn also coaches the volleyball squad and half her basketball players do double duty.

"We've got to play (basketball)," she said. "We've got to start at some point."

Paine will start again with eight returners, including SIAC first-team member Kisha Lucette. The senior forward led the Lady Lions in scoring (10.8) and rebounding (7.7) last season.

Lucette will get help inside from forward Akia Stanton, who returns after battling through an injury-plagued junior campaign.

Center Yashika Cunningham played limited minutes last season, but she's expected to have a larger role.

Guards Stephanie Reed, Kendra Williams and Savoyia Barrette will give Paine an outside presence. Last season, they combined to make 87 of 279 3-point attempts.

Sophomore point guard Chantal Murray also returns to her starting role. She only averaged 5.8 points a game, but recorded team-highs in assists and steals.

Murray and her teammates made a slow start to last season, losing five of seven games out of the blocks. Paine regrouped to win 10 of 11 games to start 2005.

"We slowly got ourselves back together," Kohn said. "I thought we played pretty well once we got back from that Christmas break."

Paine played well enough to reel off three consecutive wins in the SIAC Tournament. The Lady Lions knocked off Fort Valley State in a double overtime championship game.

Kohn said she knew her team was ready for the tournament just before it left Augusta for Albany, Ga.

"When we got on the bus to go down there it was silence amongst our girls," she said. "Something about their demeanor was different. It was as though they had a purpose."

That purpose-driven season extended into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Lady Lions didn't stay long, losing to Henderson State by eight in the first round.

"We were preparing them to win the conference tournament," Kohn said. "I think that might be a little bit my fault for not preparing them for the next phase. But I thought they played Henderson State very competitive. Even though we lost, we came home and knew what we needed to do from this point on."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.

PAINE WOMENCONFERENCE:

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic 2004-05 RECORD: 18-12 (13-5 conference)

2004-05 POSTSEASON: Won SIAC Tournament; lost to Henderson State in the first round of the Division II Tournament COACH: Selina Kohn, eighth season

RETURNING STARTERS: F Kisha Lucette (Sr., 5-11); G Chantal Murray (So., 5-3); C Yashika Cunningham (Jr.)

PROBABLE STARTERS: Lucette; Murray; Cunningham; F Akia Stanton (Sr., 5-11); G Savoyia Barrett (So., 5-3)

OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Stephanie Reed (Jr., 5-5); F Kenyell Hutchins (Jr., 5-8) C Velvet King

NOTES: Paine is coming off a year of firsts. The Lady Lions won their first SIAC Tournament with a double-overtime victory over Fort Valley State and then later made their first trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament. ... Kohn returns her deepest team since she's been at Paine with eight returners. ... The Lady Lions are picked to finish second in the SIAC, according to a poll of league coaches. ... Lucette is a preseason all-SIAC first team selection, while Barrett and Murray were each selected for the second team.

BOTTOM LINE: The Paine women finally broke through last year, making waves in the postseason. Kohn has the team in place to make another deep postseason run. Expectations are in the stratosphere. If the Lady Lions rally around their seniors, they can again win the SIAC and make another NCAA Tournament appearance.