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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Henderson State women's basketball program opens the 2023-24 season with the GAC/MIAA Conference Challenge in Emporia, Kan. on Nov. 10-11. The Reddies will face Emporia State at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, followed by (RV) Missouri Southern on Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
REDDIES REPORT
HSU enters the new season picked fifth in the GAC Preseason Poll after finishing last year 17-12 overall and 14-8 in conference games. The Reddies return nine players from the 2022-23 roster but will have to replace three starters with the departures of Sonni Martin, Gracie Raby and Abbie Jiles.
 
Among the nine returners is the most senior player on head coach Jill Thomas's roster, Ashley Farrar, who earned All-GAC First Team honors last season. Farrar enters her fifth season with Reddies as the fifth-highest scorer in program history with 1,378 career-points after scoring 560 last year. In addition, HSU also brings back JJ Eddens, Bobbi Bazzle and second-year players Brynlee Huggins and Olivia Allen.

Looking to replace three starters, the Reddies add two new transfers as Tori Gittens and Makenna Winans join from Division I programs Charleston Southern and Oral Roberts. Gittens averaged 16.4 minutes over 30 games for CSU, scoring 78 points and recording 53 rebounds, while Winans logged 27 points and 37 rebounds in 19 appearances for Oral Roberts. Coach Thomas also brought in two new freshmen with the additions of Sam Basson and Natalie Cardenas. 
 
This is the third time in three years Henderson State and Emporia State meet to begin the season with the GAC/MIAA Conference Challenge. The Reddies trail the Lady Hornets 0-4 in the series after falling to ESU 79-51 last year. HSU and Emporia State's game on Friday will be just the second time the two sides have met in Emporia, Kan.
 
Following that game, Henderson State and Missouri Southern face each other for the sixth time, as the Reddies lead the series 3-2. MSSU got the better of HSU last year, winning 74-59, snapping a three-game win streak by the red and gray. Farrar recorded 14 points and four rebounds while shooting 35.7 percent from the floor in last year's game. 
 
SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE
Emporia State went 14-15 in the regular season and finished 9-13 in MIAA games during the 2022-23 season, which saw them earn the seventh seed at the conference tournament. The Lady Hornets would fall in the first round to Central Oklahoma, who bested them 71-57.
 
In head coach Brain Osterman's first season, the Lady Hornets were selected 9^th in the MIAA Preseason Poll, with three of their top five scorers returning. Among those returners is Faith Paramore, who finished third in scoring with 243 points and recorded the second-most three-pointers (34). Paramore featured in all 29 games, starting in 17 outings, and averaged 23.8 minutes of playing time.
 
SCOUTING (RV) MISSOURI SOUTHERN
Last season, MSSU made it to the championship game at the MIAA Tournament and would defeat then No. 10 Central Missouri 78-63 to become the 2022-23 MIAA Champions. Missouri Southern compiled a 29-7 overall record and would reach the finals of the Central Regional Tournament before falling to then No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth 77-76.
 
Before the start of the season, the Lions were selected 5^th in the MIAA Preseason Poll by the league's coaches and are receiving votes in the preseason WBCA Coaches Poll. MSSU returns two starters from last year's roster, including All-MIAA Honorable Mention Kryslyn Jones and Kaitlin Hunnicutt, who started all 36 games in 2022-23. Jones finished the year with 362 points while shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.