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2008-09 Lady Bulldog Preview
LADY BULLDOG BASKETBALL
The 2008-09 season appears to be shaping up as another
memorable campaign for the Union College Lady
Bulldogs.
Union is coming off back-to-back Appalachian Athletic
Conference Tournament championships and consecutive NAIA
Division II National Championship Tournament appearances.
In addition, the Lady Bulldogs only lost one key member to last
year’s squad that went 25-9 overall and 15-3 in the Appalachian
Athletic Conference.
“Obviously, we’ve got quite a bit of experience returning,
which is something that we haven’t had here in the past,” said
Union coach Tim Curry. “Although we lost one key player, she
was a big contributor in regards to the numbers she put up.”
The player in question is Allison Fowler, who finished her
career second in program history in points (1,427), assists (421)
and steals (268). She also ranks ninth all-time in rebounding
(425).
While trying to fill the void left by Fowler will not be easy,
this is not a new situation for the Lady Bulldogs. Heading into
the 2007-08 season, Union had to find a replacement for Andrea
Hillard, who is the program’s all-time leader in assists (654)
and steals (321) and ranks fifth all-time in rebounding (567) and
sixth in scoring (1,308).
“We were in the same position the year before, having
to replace Andy, and obviously, we were able
to do that with the returning players we had,”
Curry said. “That’s part of the evolution of a
college basketball team. You’ll always have
to replace somebody in your program. It’s
just part of life.”
Still, Union has plenty of experience returning,
including four starters from the 2007-08 squad and
seven players who made back-to-back trips to the
national tournament.
Curry’s biggest concern for the 2008-09 season is
complacency.
“One of the biggest fears you have as a coach is that
a team just expects to win rather than doing the things it
takes to win,” the Lady Bulldog coach explained.
POINT GUARD
Carley Blankenship (Lexington, Ky.) is
back for her junior season after starting all
34 games last season at point, averaging
10.3 points per game and dishing
out 116 assists. The 5-foot-5 guard
really turned up her game during
the conference tournament as she
had 45 points, nine rebounds and
six assists in landing on the All-
Tournament Team.
“Carley had a great year last
year, and there’s no doubt she can
handle the pressure of running the
point,” Curry said. “She just needs to be
more consistent in the things she provides as
the point guard.”
That said, Curry is more concerned about who will
6 • Union College
handle the point when Blankenship is not in the game.
Right now, Blankenship’s backups have been out of
commission for various reasons. Freshman Nikki Jeck (Berea,
Ky.) is coming off an injury and is not 100 percent yet, while
freshman Kara Pile (Fairdale, Ky.) spent much of the fall as part
of the Lady Bulldog golf team and only recently rejoined the
team on the court.
Blankenship averaged nearly 28 minutes of playing time in
2007-08.
SHOOTING GUARDS
The Lady Bulldogs will have a number of options to choose
from at the shooting guard positions.
“We return the bulk of our experience at this position,” Curry
noted.
Leading the pack is senior Susanna Todd (Eubank, Ky.) who
now owns every 3-point record in program history. Last season,
the 5-foot-6 guard hit 48.7 percent from behind the arc, draining
a school-record 73 treys en route to becoming the all-time leader
in 3-pointers made. A Third Team All-AAC selection in 2007-08,
Todd currently has 202 long-range bombs to her credit and is the
newest member of the 1,000-point club.
Junior Ashley Lunsford (Orlando, Ky.) started 31 of 34
contests last season, averaging 8.24 points and 5.41 rebounds. At
5-foot-9, Lunsford showed her versatility by also dishing out 106
assists and stealing 41 balls.
Juniors Allyson Campassi (Frankfort, Ky.) and Jessica
Baker (Canmer, Ky.) saw considerable
at the different guard positions.
Campassi averaged 4.54 points per
game and made 40.8 percent (29
of 71) from 3-point range. Baker,
meanwhile, averaged 4.91 points
per game and had 59 assists
and 41 steals to her credit.
The