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goodbye: Rams will play final season in Division I
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Published: November 6, 2009
It wasn't hard for Coach Dee Stokes to devise a team motto for the Winston-Salem State women.
This is it.
"That just about says it all about everything for this season," Stokes said.
The Rams will be playing a Division I schedule for the final time before returning to the Division II CIAA, and this also will be Stokes' final season.
Stokes, 39, says that after her contract ends in March, she will look at opportunities outside of basketball. She has told her players about the decision, but she has no intention of coasting through the season.
"I'm still a competitive person, and we want to win," said Stokes, who has a three-season record of 17-69.
For the first time since Stokes took the job, she'll start a season with some experienced players.
Junior Rene Rector, a former Mount Tabor star, leads the veterans and is one of WSSU's best shooters. She has flip-flopped between point guard and shooting guard, but Stokes says that Rector will stay at shooting guard this season.
"I look to see her break the all-time record for 3-pointers made in school history," Stokes said.
Rector is currently No. 3 on the school's all-time list with 89 3s. She averaged 10.1 points last season and led the Rams with 42 steals.
The biggest hole Stokes has is at point guard, where starter Keoshia Worthy (4.1 apg) exhausted her eligibility.
Sophomore Porsche Harrell will most likely start and has been impressive so far in the preseason, according to Stokes. Another point guard, MaLisa Bumpus, is recovering from ACL surgery at the end of last season.
Bumpus sat out last season's first semester after transferring from James Madison but still averaged a team-high 12.2 points in 19 games. Stokes said she didn't know how long Bumpus would be sidelined.
"We have 12 returning players and one newcomer, so we are deeper at every position," Stokes said. "We are still struggling a little at the point-guard position because MaLisa is hurt, but Porsche Harrell is doing a great job for us there."
The Rams have decent talent in the backcourt, but Stokes says finding reliable scorers inside will be the key.
Vontisha Woods, a 6-0 junior, averaged 9.9 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds last season. Jalesa Byrd, Jordhan Peterson and freshman Shawanda Hanton, the only newcomer, will provide depth.
"Our biggest key is we've got to score in the paint," Stokes said. "Our guards have been a big asset in the past, but this game is played inside-out. We had an intrasquad scrimmage, and one team did a great job of getting it into the post and the other team didn't."
Stokes said that getting the ball inside opens up everything else in the offense.
"Even if you throw it in there and you don't score every time, it opens up so many avenues," she said. "We've got to have enough confidence to throw it in there. I repeat to them every day, if we don't find a way to get the ball in the paint, we aren't going to be successful."
The Rams were 6-23 last season but won three of their last four, and Stokes hopes that success will carry over.
Stokes is at peace with her decision to leave coaching and says that motivating her team shouldn't be a problem.
"We're going to try and live life to the fullest," she said. "We've got to have the mentality that this is it, and we have to go out and not only prove to ourselves but to other people that we can play.
"This could be your last chance to play Division I basketball, and that has to mean something to you. They are playing for their scholarships because next year it might not be there for them."
jdell@wsjournal.com.
727-4081
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