MARSHALL, Texas – It is a new season for the East Texas Baptist University women's basketball team but the they still have the same goals as they start the 2018-2019 season Thursday night. The reigning American Southwest Conference Tournament champions return most of their team from last year and have added a strong recruiting class as they try to defend their title this year.

ETBU comes into the new year ranked 13^th in the WBCA preseason poll and 14^th in the D3hoops.com poll. The new season begins with a two-game road trip to Abilene against McMurry University and then onto Kerrville to face Schreiner University.  
A season ago, ETBU finished with a 25-7 and was 13-5 in ASC East play, which put them in as the third seed in the ASC East Division. They then put together a magical run winning three winning the ASC Championship and finishing their season in the Elite Eight.

ETBU returns eight members from last season's squad including Kim Childress, Tatyana Lacey, April Matthews, Karley McHenry, Erin Meeks, Sydney Saxton, Mallory Stephens, and Amanda Wilson. Childress was ETBU's leader in scoring (14.0 points per game) rebounds, (6.7 rebounds per game) and steals (55) while being named ASC All-Conference, ASC Newcomer of the Year, All-ASC East First Team, and All-Region. Lacey played in six games last season, which included a game against Ozarks (2/1/18), where she scored five points, grabbed three rebounds,  dished out two assists, and stole the ball twice. Matthews is a returner, but she didn't play last season due to an injury.

McHenry (6.6 ppg) was second on the team with 52 made three-pointers while finishing fifth with 36 steals. Meeks (6.5 ppg) was second in both rebounds (166) and blocked shots (14) while picking up All-ASC Honorable Mention honors. Saxton (6.7 ppg) finished second on the team in assists (102) and steals (47) while being part of the ASC All-Tournament team last year. Stephens collected 3.6 ppg, grabbed 48 rebounds, and stole the ball 27 times. Wilson finished with 6.6 ppg while leading the team in blocks (34) and finishing fourth in rebounds (125). Like Saxton, she was also a part of the All-ASC Tournament team.

In addition to the returners, ETBU brings in 11 newcomers to this year's squad. Joining the Tigers are freshmen Hanna Hudson (Itasca, Texas), Anna Moss (Rowlett, Texas), Kylie Pacheco (Marshall, Texas), Paige Royal (Levelland, Texas), Taylor Singleton (Friendswood, Texas), and Marissa Warren (Hico, Texas), juniors Kayla Bise (Plano, Texas), Bianca Bowring (Dallas, Texas), and Kendrick Clark (Georgetown, Texas), and senior Valerie Matlock (Azle, Texas).

For head coach Rusty Rainbolt, meshing the team chemistry amongst the returners and newcomers has been an interesting concept, especially for a team looking to build off their strong season last year. "That's probably the most amazing part of this group of girls," said Rainbolt. "We don't have any egos or girls that are high maintenance believe it or not. This group of girls is just a special group. The chemistry has come together really quickly. We're fixing to take our first road trip this week going to Abilene. That's a time when you get on the bus and you're gone three to four days where things even come together more. It all starts with having good people and every one of these young ladies are phenomenal people with great families. The chemistry is good."
 
ETBU will start their season with a road trip taking on ASC opponent McMurry in a non-conference game. Last season saw ETBU sweep the War Hawks in both meetings taking the first game 64-61 in Marshall while handing the Warhawks a road loss of 75-69. McMurry finished tied for second in the ASC West with an 11-6 record and were 13-12 overall.

Rainbolt expects the War Hawks to be improved and ready to give ETBU an early test despite it being a non-conference contest. "McMurry is a very, very great program historically. They've been good for years now. Kimbrell Arena is a hard place to play in. Every time you go there, it's always been a battle. Coach Roes knows how to get her kids to play super hard. They're super-skilled. They have a really good core of returners back that can shoot the ball and play at a high level. They apply as much pressure defensively as anyone in the league. It's definitely going to be tough. But it's going to be fun and we're looking forward to it."

Two days later, ETBU will continue their road trip as they will take on SU. ETBU also swept their two meetings against the Mountaineers winning 71-57 in Marshall while stealing a road win in Kerrville 65-53.

ETBU's first game starts at 6:00 PM on Thursday night while Saturday's game will take place at 2:00 PM.