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Bianca Fizouaty 2018-19
Steve Simoneau

Women's Basketball Athletic Communications

Opportunity Knocks For Hatters

31st Annual Hatter Classic | Tournament Central Page
Edmunds Center | DeLand, Fla.
Tickets | GoHatters.com/tix
Live Video | ESPN+ (Stetson Games Only)
Live  Stats | GoHatters.com/stats
Twitter | @StetsonWBB
Text Alets | HatCheck
Game Notes | Stetson (PDF)

During Stetson's postgame press conference at Tennessee, a reporter commented to head coach Lynn Bria that the Hatters were "the best 1-7 team in the country."

While time will tell how good this year's team will be, there are several signs that the Hatters (now 1-8) are poised to have a mid-season turnaround and make a strong second-half run.

1. Home Sweet Home

By design, Stetson has played a challenging schedule to date, one that ranks as the 15th-toughest in the nation in the latest NCAA RPI/Nitty Gritty report.  The slate has included seven road games including six contests in the Central Time Zone.

Now, the Hatters are set to begin a six-game homestand Wednesday afternoon against North Dakota in the first game of the Hatter Classic.  The players are looking forward to having a long stretch of games at the Edmunds Center.  In fact, 13 of the next 19 will be at home, where Stetson is 93-16 (.853) over the past eight seasons.  The Hatters have also won 27 of their last 29 home games in the month of December.

2. Banks Now Eligible

Known as "Day Day" by her teammates, sophomore Day'Neshia Banks made an immediate impact in her Hatter debut Sunday, scoring a team-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting at #12 Texas.  The 5-10 forward recently completed her second semester at Stetson after transferring from Ole Miss mid-season last year.  Her ability to both play the post and step out to the perimeter will give the Hatters some versatility as well as some help in the rebounding department.

3. Team Defense Has Been Solid

Stetson plays hard on defense, and that effort has paid dividends.  The Hatters rank second in the ASUN in defense, allowing just 62.2 points-per-game.  They have held five of their nine opponents below 60 points, and they limited #9 Tennessee and #12 Texas to just 65 points each.  Post players Sarah Sagerer and Megan Vincent have combined for 33 blocks, and McKenna Beach is among the ASUN leaders in steals.

4. Confidence is High

The challenging schedule was built to help the team prepare for conference play, and Stetson's close calls with several opponents including Alabama and Tennessee has the team believing it can be competitive regardless of the opponent.

"The results were a little discouraging from the Nashville tournament, but once we played with Alabama, and then we went into Tennessee and were beating them for a half, we felt like we could play with anyone," sophomore Kendall Lentz said last week.  "I think we are all really confident and locked in to winning these next few games."

5. Chemistry is Strong

From day one, the Hatters have had a really good team chemistry, and the time spent together on the early season road trips has helped bring them even closer.

"There is something about this group that makes me feel like we can overcome anything," junior Jon'Nita Henry said before the Alabama game.  "If you are never down, you are never going to know what up is like.  We have to keep working hard, but we are going to get it together."

6. Work Ethic is Consistent

Perhaps the most encouraging sign for Bria is that the team continues to work hard in practice, and that they are eager to learn and improve.  

"We just know we have to keep getting better," Bria replied to that same reporter at Tennessee.  "We have been in a lot of close games, we just haven't pulled them out.  I think it is going to come.  I like this team, I like the spirit of this team, and they (always) come back ready to go.  They are not discouraged.  We just can't let the results take our confidence.  We will be ready for our league, and that's the main thing."

Preview

Back home at the Edmunds Center for the first time this month, Stetson will host the 31st Annual Hatter Classic this Wednesday through Friday.  The Hatters will face North Dakota (3-7) at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Florida A&M (2-6) at 1 p.m. Thursday, and North Dakota State (3-7) at 11 a.m. Friday.

The full Hatter Classic Schedule can be viewed on the tournament central page.

Tickets start at just $7 per day for general admission and can be purchased online (GoHatters.com/tix) or at the Edmunds Center box office.  Stetson students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a Stetson ID.

The three Stetson games will be broadcast live by ESPN+. Live stats, the Stetson women's basketball twitter feed (@StetsonWBB), and the HatCheck text messaging system will have live updates as well.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Day

#00 Day'Neshia Banks

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
McKenna Beach

#2 McKenna Beach

G
5' 6"
Senior
Kendall Lentz

#35 Kendall Lentz

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Sarah Sagerer

#1 Sarah Sagerer

F
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Megan Vincent

#23 Megan Vincent

F
6' 4"
Sophomore
Jon

#14 Jon'Nita Henry

G
5' 6"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Day

#00 Day'Neshia Banks

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
McKenna Beach

#2 McKenna Beach

5' 6"
Senior
G
Kendall Lentz

#35 Kendall Lentz

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
Sarah Sagerer

#1 Sarah Sagerer

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
F
Megan Vincent

#23 Megan Vincent

6' 4"
Sophomore
F
Jon

#14 Jon'Nita Henry

5' 6"
Junior
G