#5 Jaime Givens, 6-3, forward, sophomore? 2007 stats: 11.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg? Emerged as a freshman star for the Owls, starting every game. She was the top freshman in the Sun Belt in scoring and rebounding. Givens led the team with four double-doubles. She had a career-high 15 rebounds at Kentucky on Nov. 18, 2007.
#2 Brittany Bowe, 5-7. guard, junior? 2007 stats: 8.7 ppg, 3.3, rpg, ? Started every game and led the team in minutes played with an average of 30.9 per game. She assumed the point guard role midway through the season and ended up finishing second in the league in assists.
#25 Carla Stubbs, 5-10, guard, junior? 2007 stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, ? Started all 28 games and led the team in scoring. She was named to the All-Sun Belt third team. Scored a career high 22 points in a Feb. 21 win over FIU.
The rest of the 2008-09 roster:#3 Candace Lambert, guard, 5-7, junior#10 Susan Beauzil, forward, 5-11, senior#14 Andrea Taylor, guard, 5-8 junior#23 Erica Caldwell, forward, 6-0, junior#24 Teri Stamps, guard, 5-7, freshman#32 Breana Turner, guard, 5-10, freshman#42 Jessica Knurick, forward, 6-3, junior#45 Jana Momoh, forward, 6-1, senior #55 Mercedes Thompson, forward, 6-1, senior
On the Rebound…The whole team looks to bounce back after a couple of rough years entering the rugged Sun Belt Conference. The Owls struggled to only six wins in each of the last two seasons. A NCAA tournament appearance after an Atlantic Sun tournament championship in 2006 is long in the rear view mirror as FAU looks to turn its misery of the last two seasons into respectability in 2008-09.
Looking Foward to…the debut of freshman Breana Turner. One of the best recruits in FAU women’s basketball history, Turner comes to the Owls after a wildly successful career at De La Salle High School in New Orleans. She is her high school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,400 points. She was rated as the top player in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana Coaches Association All-State team and a Top 10 player in the state of Louisiana.
What to Expect…The Owls will improve on their six wins of last season and the year before. Brittany Bowe, Jaime Givens and Carla Stubbs form a strong core that hopefully will mesh with a strong freshman class. How the current players and new players mesh will be a key to how successful the Owls can be. As FAU has learned, especially in women’s basketball, the Sun Belt is much tougher than the Atlantic Sun. The Owls now bringing in recruits that are more apt to compete at the highest level of college basketball, should benefit with at least twice as many wins as last season.
Key losses…F Breana Cox forward, 6-2 – part-time starter averaged 9.1 points and five rebounds per game.G Adel Lizama guard, 5-5 – solid bench contributor’s 3.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game can be replaced.
