Lady Bulldogs set goals to make strides in 2015-16

Jason Conner heads into his second season as Mississippi Gulf Coast women's basketball coach with simple goals. His Lady Bulldogs kick off regular-season play Friday and Saturday at the Lady Bears Classic hosted by Baton Rouge Community College.

"We're trying to better our record from last year and continue every day in practice and then in our games grow as a team," he said. "As a program, we want to get to where one day very soon we'll be the team to beat in Mississippi JUCOs."

Gulf Coast plays Southwest Tennessee on Friday at 5:30 p.m., with a game against the host school Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Lady Bulldogs finished 9-14 last year, and Conner wants his team to win all its home games and half its road contests. That's a challenge in a South Division featuring Meridian, Copiah-Lincoln and Jones County.

They have three returning players they'll build around.

"Markeisha Watson, Courtney White and Kailin Young have good carryover and they want to be successful," he said. "They have led and I've been very pleased with their efforts."

Watson is a 5-foot-9 guard from Pascagoula. White, a 6-foot post player, went to Harrison Central, while Young is a 6-foot-1 post player from Vicksburg.

Conner aimed high in his recruiting efforts and had some players choose four-year school over the community college path. He shifted focus and grabbed a handful of sophomore transfers from other schools.

Ka'Nosha Fairley, a 5-foot-5 guard from Pascagoula, played at Pearl River last year. She played there with 5-foot-10 post player Tiana Dampeer, from Lawrence County, and another 5-foot-10 post player, Jasmine Nettles.

"Jasmine has been great transferring in and practicing with great effort," Conner said.

Raven Thompson, a 5-foot-10 guard from Piney Woods, was at Jackson State last year. Hayley Pichon, a 5-foot-10 post player from Salmen High in Slidell, arrives from Jones.

"Haley is a young lady that has a knack to rebound the basketball and put it in the hole," Conner said. "It's hard to teach kids to do that."

He said he wants the Lady Bulldogs to be the best defensive team in the state and battle on the backboards.

Gulf Coast has better scoring inside, but their guards are young or new to the system. Learning that system and mastering the timing takes practice, but Conner said they're making progress.

Shaniqua Tobias, a 5-foot-5 freshman from Warren Easton in New Orleans, has a great feel for the game. She'll play at point and shooting guard.

Whitney Williams is running the point as a 5-foot-5 freshman from St. Martin.

"Basketball is relatively simple. We make it mighty hard," he said. "We talk about not giving up any transition baskets, no uncontested shots and no second shots. Your leadership and kids have to buy in to that and believe it. I'm pleased with their effort."

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