The Henderson State women's basketball team will begin its 2016-17 campaign on the road, as the Reddies travel to Bolivar, Mo. on Friday to participate in the Southwest Baptist Classic.

HSU will begin its two game slate with a contest against Southwest Baptist on Friday night, with tipoff set for 6 p.m.

Southwest Baptist leads the all-time record over HSU 4-1. The Bearcats beat the Reddies last year 80-78.

On Saturday, the Reddies will take on Northwest Missouri State at 8:15 p.m. to wrap up weekend play.

Henderson returns five players from a team that finished 14-15 overall and 13-9 in the Great American Conference.

A young squad that consists of seven freshmen and does not have a senior on the roster, will look for leadership from juniors Haleigh Henson and Bree Bossier.
Henson is Henderson's 3-point specialist who has averaged 11.5 points in her two years and has totaled 151 3-point field goals which ranks second in HSU history.

The junior from Greenwood, Ark. finished fourth in the GAC in three-pointers made per contest (2.7) a year ago and needs just three long-range jumpers to move ahead of Aungelique Sledge for second all-time at Henderson. Linda Lyle holds the Reddie record for three-pointers made with 173 from 1996-2000.

"Henson has a great ability to shoot the ball, but we need her to step up and be a leader for us, said fourth year coach Jill Thomas. "She is a solid player and can shoot from anywhere on the floor."

Bossier appeared in 20 games totaling 19 points and 19 rebounds last season. The junior from Fairfield, Texas has made great improvement in the off-season and will play a larger role in 2016-17.

"We are going to lean on Bree underneath who has learned from one of the best in our graduate assistant coach Dulincia Keener, Thomas said. "Bree played behind Dulincia the past couple of years and has worked hard to prepare for this season."

Brittany Branum started 28 games as a true freshman a year ago and averaged 7.0 points and 5.2 rebound. The sophomore from Greenwood, Ark. shot 42 percent from the field and 73 percent from the foul line.

"Brittany does all the little things and is a great all-around player," Thomas stated. "She goes all out every time she steps on the floor and we are very excited to have her with us."

Also returning are Lexis Weber and Torrie Thompson.

Weber was second on the team in rebounding averaging 5.4 boards per game while averaging 3.4 points.
 
Thompson played in 19 games before suffering a season ending injury. The sophomore from Houston, Texas averaged 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Seven freshmen will see plenty of action including Brooke Lewis and twins Jameisha and Janeisha Jones.
 
Lewis was the District 9-4A Offensive Player of the Year and earned All-Region by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches as a senior at Sanger High School in Texas.
 
Jameisha "Pink" Jones earned All-State honors in helping lead Fayetteville High School to the 2015 state title. Janeisha "Blu" Jones lettered three years for the Purple Dogs and was also a four-year letter winner in track leading the team to the 2016 state title.

Other newcomers include Hailey Estes, Madi Nichols, Anna Sullivan and Erika Emmons.
 
Estes is a 5-8 guard from Conway High School where she was a two-time All-Conference selection and All-State honoree as a senior.

Nichols and Sullivan were teammates at Cabot High School where they led her team to the 2015 conference championship. Both lettered three years earning all-conference honors.

Emmons prepped at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas where she averaged 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as a senior.

"We are really excited about freshman class," Thomas said. "This is definitely the group that we want here at Henderson. This class has great athleticism but the learning curve has been high getting them understand the pace of college basketball and the discipline of the game."


SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Southwest Baptist returns three starters from a team that finished with a 15-13 record.

Caylee Richardson returns after earning MIAA Freshman of the Year. The forward from Hesston, Kan. shot an MIAA leading 59.3% from the field, while averaging 13.0 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Seniors Alex Botkin and Mackenzie Skupa are the veterans of the club.

Botkin started all 29 games on the season, averaging nearly 16 minutes a game. The senior guard averaged 3.9 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game.

Skupa averaged 6.8 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game while starting all 29 games for the Bearcats. The senior forward from Campbell, Neb. shot 46.4% from the field while recording 7 double-digit scoring games.

NORTHWEST MISSOURI
Northwest Missouri struggled through a rebuilding year in 2015-16 finishing with a 5-23 record.

Jasmin Howe is one of the key returners for NMSU having started all 28 games a year ago. The senior from Millicent, Australia averaged 8.6 points per contest to go along with 3.4 rebounds. Howe led the team in 3-point field goal making 39 long range jumpers while shooting 94.1 percent from the foul line.

Also returning is Tanya Meyer who averaged 10.8 points and 4.7 rebounds. The junior from Sioux City, Iowa led the Bearcats with 41.8 percent shooting from behind the arc (28-of-67).
 
Live stats will be available for the entire tournament via www.hsusports.com or clicking on the following link: LIVE STATS.