The Bryan College Lions Women’s Basketball team returns to the hardwood this week to begin their 2016 campaign. The Lady Lions are returning after an impressive 2015-16 year where they pieced together a remarkable 26-5 overall record and 17-3 record in the Appalachian Athletic Conference play, earning them the honors of AAC Regular-Season Co-Champions alongside Milligan College (Tenn.) (23-8, 17-3).
Bryan’s effort gave way to them breaking into the NAIA’s top-25 poll and reaching a rank of 23rd.
However, Bryan’s season was cut short after picking up the second seed in the conference tournament since Milligan received the No. 1 seed and automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Tournament after sweeping the Lions during the season series. The Lady Lions overwhelmed Columbia College (S.C.) in the conference tournament, advancing them to the Semifinals for a matchup against the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan University but fell 71-44, bringing their notable season to an end. Milligan ended 25th in postseason rankings, while the Lions were receiving votes as the year came to a close.
Four Lions earned All-Conference honors last season, including two All-Conference First Team returners and two All-Conference Second Team non-returners. The two All-AAC honorees that were lost are Bryan graduate Keila Formont and sharpshooter Cheyenne Shaver. The pair of All-AAC key returners to watch for this season is Megan Billingsby and Amber Levi.
Billingsby helped the Lady Lions finish as the AAC Regular Season Co-Champions after leading Bryan in scoring with 14.4 points per game (6th in AAC) and 402 total points (5th in AAC) as well as rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game (10th in AAC) for 210 total rebounds (10th in AAC). She also led the team and the entire conference in shooting percentage, going 156-for-273 (57.1 percent), which ranked her 6th in NAIA Div. II. Her impressive shooting percentage followed her to the foul line as she went 73-for-91 (80.2 percent) (6th in AAC, 39th in NAIA Div. II). She registered seven double-doubles, which placed her 6th in the AAC in the category. Billingsby’s achievements helped her pick up her second career AAC Player of the Week Honors last season. In her first year at Bryan, she was named to the All-Freshman Team, and last year marked her second straight All-AAC First Team Honors.
Former Rhea County Golden Eagle standout, Levi, settled in as a significant offensive weapon for the Lady Lions as she earned All-AAC First Team Honors and All-Freshman Team Honors after averaging 11.83 points per game (16th in AAC) for 343 total points (13th in AAC) in her freshman year. She notched five 20-point games last season with her highest scoring contests coming against Columbia (S.C.) and Bluefield (Va.) where she dropped 25 points in each game. She also finished 36.4 percent behind the arc (52-for-143) to rank 4th in the AAC in three-point field goal percentage.
Another starter returns for action this year in Kaylee Smith. Smith aided with 5.9 points per game in her first year last season. She shot nearly 40 percent behind the arc and totaled 177 points. She tallied 85 rebounds, 27 assists, and 20 steals. After missing last year due to injury, Kristin Lane looks to add to her remarkable career stats at Bryan as she was the Lions’ leading scorer as a freshman and sophomore. Head Coach, Jason Smith, is bringing in a talented group of ballplayers involving Tristan McClellan who’s taking over the point guard role, Destyne Middlebrooks, Ashli Chew, Keniesha Love, and Katie Wolfe.
The Lions open up play this week on Friday, Oct. 28, against The Sun Conference opponent, Webber International (Fla.), with tipoff slated for 5:30pm and follow with an exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Lee University (Tenn.). Bryan enters conference play on Wednesday, Nov. 16, when Union College (Ky.) hosts the Lions at 5:30pm. Bryan’s schedule consists of 13 home games, 16 away games, 22 AAC games, and seven non-conference matchups. Three out-of-conference contests are being played the final of week of December when Bryan travels to Florida to faceoff with St. Thomas University, Ave Maria University, and Webber International.
Difficulty of the Lions’ schedule has increased because the boosted level of play in non-conference opponents and continued growth of the conference in the national spotlight. Three tough opening conference games versus Union College, Reinhardt University (Nov. 19, 2pm), and Tennessee Wesleyan University (Nov. 22, 5:30pm) are sure to test the Lions early.
“Last year's success has elevated the expectations in and around our program but we finished the year with a sour taste in our mouths,” said Coach Smith. “Our returners are looking forward to climbing the mountain again hopefully with a better overall result in the end. We are working hard on integrating some new players and a couple returners from injury that will make impacts. I expect our conference to be better top to bottom this year; it will be a dog fight every night.”
Milligan College is the favorite to win the 2016-17 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) women's basketball championship, according to the coaches' poll released Monday, Oct. 17.
Milligan shared the 2015-16 regular-season championship with Bryan College as both went 17-3 in league play. Milligan collected nine first-place votes and 139 voting points to claim the top spot, while Bryan garnered three first-place votes and 131 voting points to take second.
Tennessee Wesleyan University received 117 points to land third. Tennessee Wesleyan won the 2016 AAC Tournament to advance to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament along with Milligan.
Point University (106 points) and Union College (80 points) round out the top five. Bluefield College (77 points) is sixth, and Montreat College and Reinhardt University tied for seventh with each picking up 72 points. Last season, Montreat made an incredible postseason run, winning three tournament games to advance to the title game.
Making up the rest of the field are Allen University (54 points), Truett McConnell University (36 points), Columbia College (30 points), and St. Andrews University (22 points).
The 2017 AAC Tournament is set for Feb. 22-25 at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.