Lady Lions adjust roster

V-Ballers Brown, Cox join team

NAIA and NCCAA rankings announced

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- Prior to their departure for a two-game road trip to Austin and San Antonio, the women’s basketball team from Southwestern Assemblies of God University made a few adjustments to their team roster.

Kassy Cox, of Lufkin, Texas, a 6-foot-1 center, was activated after finishing her second season on the SAGU volleyball team. The former All-District standout at Class 5A Lufkin High School in east Texas is now a freshman on the Lady Lions basketball squad.

She could see action as soon as this weekend. SAGU is 3-5 overall and 0-2 in the Red River Athletic Conference. They are slated to face Huston-Tillotson University (1-6, 1-2 in RRAC) in Austin on Saturday. On Monday, in San Antonio, the Lions will take on Our Lady of the Lake University (6-2, 3-1 RRAC). Both games will begin with a jump-ball at 5:30pm.

Also joining the team following volleyball is senior Tina Brown. Hailing from New Braunfels, Texas, Brown is a 5’7 guard who played on the team two years ago.

Brown, who was a multi-sport athlete at Lifegate Christian H.S., appeared in ten games during the 2009-10 season, scoring eight points and grabbing five boards.

She could play soon, but expects to begin contributing in January.

Other changes made to the roster included senior center Courtney Bolding (Austin, Tx / Howard Payne Univ, Akins HS) transferring to Tarleton State University; Brookllyn Belcher (Venus, Tx / Venus HS) and Megan Wilson (Ft. Defiance, Az / Navajo Pine HS), who are no longer on the active roster.

Bolding averaged 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in six games. 

The changes bring the number of players on the squad to twelve; six in the frontcourt and six in the backcourt.

NCCAA Ratings

The first Burbridge Ratings were released earlier this week from the National Christian College Athletic Association’s headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina.

There are 104 member institutions, 63 of them in Division I. SAGU came in at #19. The Burbridge system takes into account the toughness of each team’s schedule.

Indiana Wesleyan University tops the list at #1. The Wildcats started the season by winning their first nine games. Bethel College (Ind) is at #2. They went to the nationals with SAGU last year. The Lady Pilots are 10-1.

Bethel (21-14) won the NCCAA crown, 80-69, over the Roberts Wesleyan College (NY) (21-12) Raiders last March at Winona Lake, Indiana.

The highest ranked team in the Central Region is Mid-America Christian University (Ok). The Lady Evangels appear at #16 after beginning the season at 7-2.

The Lady Lions were #1 in field goal defense, as opposing shooters are making just 31% of their shots against the SAGU 3-2 zone. Southwestern is #2 in scoring defense, permitting only 54.0 points per game.

NAIA National Rankings

The RRAC has a pair of teams receiving votes in the first edition of the Coaches Top 25 Poll. Perennial power, Langston University (8-0) moved from #19 in the pre-season poll to #8. They have won the past five Red River titles.

LSU-Shreveport (5-2) appears at #35 in the list of teams receiving votes but who did not crack the Top 25.

Oklahoma City University (6-0) is in the top spot, followed by Tennessee’s Union University (10-1).

Oklahoma Christian University, who began the season with three straight blow-out wins, including triumphs over LSU-Shreveport and the Lady Lions in the SAGU Classic, has found the going tough.

The Eagles are currently 4-4 with their high-powered offense failing to break 80 in five consecutive games. The LSUS Pilots have regrouped and have taken 5-in-a-row.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.