In her second year of directing the Crimson Tide women’s basketball team, Head Coach Stephany Smith had a very young group of players to work with. Although she had 4 starters returning, she also had 6 brand new freshmen players and 1 junior college transfer joining the remainder of a squad that had posted a 9-19 overall record and 3-11 mark in conference play during the 2005-2006 season.

The results for 2006-2007 weren’t much better, on paper: a 10-20 won-loss record overall and a 0-14 record in conference matches. However, those 6 freshmen got valuable experience and plenty of playing time, averaging between 16 and 25 minutes per game. Junior college transfer Nathalie Reshard also saw plenty of action and 2 other letter winners round out the returning players.  Only 3 players departed from the 2006-07 team: Kate Mastin, Navonda Moore and Leah Drury. Mastin and Moore were the leading scorers for the past season, so their loss will be deeply felt. Their combined average of 26.5 points per game was nearly half of the team average of 60.2.

However, the top 2 rebounders return, 2 of the top 3 steals leaders are back, the top shot blocker remains, as well as the player that led the team in assists. And guess what?.All of those leaders are from last year’s freshman class.

Senior Nathalie Reshard is a 6-0 forward from Niceville, Florida by way of Okaloosa-Walton Community College. She played in 30 games, last season, starting 9 of them. In her 13.4 minutes per game, she averaged a perfectly balanced 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds and had fewer turnovers than any other player with significant playing time. She also led the team in free-throw shooting with a .838 percentage.

Senior Harriet Barnes is a 6-2 post player who came to Alabama from Wallace State Community College. She played in 27 games, starting 20, in 05-06 and averaged 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In 2006-07, her playing time was down to 10 minutes per game and she averaged 2.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Junior Camilla Blands is a 5-11 guard from Naerum, Denmark. After appearing in all 28 games during the 05-06 season, her playing time was slashed in 06-07 to appearances in only 8 games and 5 minutes per game, making way for the development of the freshman class. Blands will continue to provide depth at the guard position in 2007-08. Blands was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll for 2006-07.

Sophomore Talisha Chandler is a 6-2 center from Greenwood, South Carolina. Chandler averaged 25 minutes per game during her freshman season and was the 3rd leading scorer, behind Mastin and Moore, at 7.2 points per game. She led the team in rebounding with 199 (6.6 per game) and also led the team with 17 blocked shots, adding 49 steals and 46 assists for good measure. She played in all 30 games and started 22 of them.

Sophomore Tamara Williams is a 6-0 guard who played in 28 games in 06-07, averaging 21 minutes played per game. She averaged 4.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and was the team’s second-best rebounder, with 144 for the season. She also contributed 11 blocked shots and 28 steals, for the season.

Sophomore Nikki Davis is a 5-7 point guard from Lexington, Kentucky. Davis played in all 30 games last season, starting 19 of them and averaging 23.9 minutes per game. She scored 5.1 points and had 3.7 rebounds per game and led the team with 94 assists, nearly double that of the next leading player (Navonda Moore, 49).

Sophomore Courtney Strauthers is a 6-4 forward/center from Snellville, Georgia. In her initial season at Alabama, she played in 29 games, starting 8 of them. She averaged 16.6 minutes per game, scoring 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds, with her .513 shooting percentage leading the team.

Sophomore Dedrea Magee is a 5-7 guard from Picayune, Mississippi. She didn’t see quite as much action as some of the freshman class, playing in 22 games and starting 7 games. However, she managed to average 16 minutes per game and had a .500 shooting percentage. She averaged 3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and added 18 steals and 24 assists. With 3 guards graduating, she should be able to increase her playing time, next season. She shot .333 from 3-point range for the season and her scoring ability will be needed in 2007-2008.

Sophomore Alyson Butler is a 5-10 guard from Cleveland, Tennessee. She played in 28 games for the Crimson Tide last season, starting 4 games. She averaged 16.7 minutes per game, with 3.4 points and 1.1 rebounds to show for it. Butler was third on the team in 3-point shots attempted during the 06-07 season, behind only departing seniors Mastin and Moore. She shot .290 from 3-point range.

Coach Stephany Smith returns an experienced nucleus of young players, along with a couple of seniors, who can both play, for leadership and depth. Junior Camilla Blands is available to provide depth at guard and provide a boost to the team grade-point average, as well. Expect at least 4 of the starters in 07-08 to be from the sophomore class, with the others pushing them for playing time. In 2007-08, Smith will be able to bring her freshman class along a little slower than last season. The current team seems to have quite a bit of talent, drive and desire. They absorbed some serious beatings during 2006-2007, but never showed signs of quitting. They will need to put that out of their collective minds and concentrate on improving and staying in a game, putting themselves into a position to win. If they can accomplish that, they will be a force to be reckoned with for the next 3 years.