Lady Lions announce 30-game schedule
SAGU tips off season in Oklahoma
Coach Beadles leads retooled 2012-13 team
WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- Southwestern Assemblies of God University has released the schedule of the women’s basketball team. The 30-game itinerary has 15 home tilts.
Arlon Beadles, the Lady Lions veteran head coach, will bring a young and healthy squad into the fall in hopes of improving on last year’s 10-21 rebuilding campaign.
A year ago the team was very strong on the frontline but green in the backcourt. They may reverse those assets this winter.
In their first 20 games the Lady Lions play only seven at home. However, they finish with eight of ten in the friendly confines of the Sheaffer Center.
Coach Beadles will enter the season with 197 career wins at four-year institutions. His third win will be his milestone 200th. It figures to take place during the first semester.
“We have a very good schedule,” Beadles said on Monday. “The SWCU Classic will be a good test for us to start the season.”
“The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma is from the Sooner (Sooner Athletic Conference), so they will be tough. Plus, Southwestern Christian University is a very good NAIA Division 2 program.”
USAO went 5-24 last season and have a new head coach, Jennifer Hayden, whom SAGU faced when she started the women’s team at the University of the Southwest (NM) four years ago.
SWCU has a young program, and posted a 16-16 mark during last season, which was just their second. In the inaugural campaign the Eagles were 13-18 including a 61-57 win over SAGU.
Prior to a tough road trip to face a pair of Red River Athletic Conference foes; Bacone College and Langston University, the Lady Lions will play host to another Sooner team, Wayland Baptist University, during the SAGU Classic during November 9-10. The Flying Queens went 11-17 in 2011-12.
“That’ll be a real tough game for us,” Beadles added. “But it will help us prepare for our conference schedule.”
The SAC produced the NAIA national champion team in Oklahoma City University. The Stars (35-1) claimed their sixth crown in March.
Langston (Okla) will once again be the team to beat in the Red River. They have won five league titles in a row after racking up a 30-4 record and a #8 national ranking.
However, four other teams in the RRAC won 20+ games; LSU-Shreveport (25-9), Texas Wesleyan University (25-7), Our Lady of the Lake University (26-8) and Wiley College (20-10). OLLU won the conference tournament. It is as tough as any conference in the nation.
The Lady Lions will warm up for the season with a pair of home scrimmages on October 16 against the Dallas Diesel and on October 22 versus Hill College. From nearby Hillsborough, the Lady Rebels compete in the nine-member North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference.
SAGU fans will also get a sneak peak at the squad when they are introduced at the annual Midnight Madness event, whose October date has yet to be announced.
About SAGU women's basketball
Southwestern has to replace Gabby Bruner (Peaster, Tx) and Shaquita Roberts (San Antonio, Tx) on the interior. Both ranked in the top eight 
rebounders in the league, while Roberts led the nation blocked shots (114).
Two junior forwards, Sierra Hankins (Welch, Ok) and Jirah Rodriguez (Georgetown, Tx), figure to help a lot as they return healed from restricting ailments.
The cog in the Lady Lions wheel will be junior shooting guard Nia Winston (Garland, Tx), the #10 scorer in the RRAC at 13.8 points per game. She was eighth in three-pointers (63), #4 in free throw accuracy (.773), fifth in steals (2.3 per game).
SAGU’s depth at guard improved last year and received an additional boost from three recruits.
The team offers a LiveStats webcast of all home games, which is a digital play-by-play of the accounts and statistics.
SAGU opens the 2013 part of the schedule by broadcasting the final nine games on the internet, an HD production on SAGU TV that no school in the NAIA can match.
Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU 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.
Lady Lions 2012-12 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | 2011-12 Record | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/16 | Dallas Diesel (Scrimmage) | 7:30 | |
| 10/22 | Hill College (Scrimmage) | 6:00 | |
| 11/2 | Univ. Science & Arts | 5-24 | TBA |
| 11/3 | SW Christian University | 16-16 | TBA |
| SWCU CLASSIC | |||
| 11/9 | Dallas Christian College | 7:30 | |
| 11/10 | Wayland Baptist University | 11-17 | 7:30 |
| 11/26 | Arlington Baptist College | 5:30 | |
| 11/27 | @ Dallas Christian College | 6:00 | |
| 11/29 | @ Huston-Tillotson University | 6-22 | 5:30 |
| 12/1 | Jarvis Christian College | 15-10 | 5:30 |
| 12/3 | Texas College | 11-19 | 5:30 |
| 12/8 | @ Bacone College | 11-19 | 5:30 |
| 12/10 | @ Langston College | 30-4 | 5:30 |
| 12/13 | LSU-Shreveport | 25-9 | 5:30 |
| 12/15 | @ Univ. of the Southwest | 10-20 | 2:00 (MST) |
| 12/17 | @ Texas Wesleyan University | 25-7 | 5:30 |
| 1/5 | Univ. of St. Thomas - Houston | 8-22 | 5:30 |
| 1/10 | @ Our Lady of the Lake | 26-8 | 5:30 |
| 1/14 | @ Northwood University* | 6:00 | |
| 1/19 | @ Jarvis Christian College | 15-10 | 5:30 |
| 1/21 | @ Texas College | 11-19 | 5:30 |
| 1/24 | @ Wiley College | 20-10 | 5:30 |
| 1/26 | Bacone College | 11-19 | 5:30 |
| 1/28 | Langston University | 30-4 | 5:30 |
| 2/2 | Texas Wesleyan University | 25-7 | 5:30 |
| 2/4 | Univ. of the Southwest | 10-20 | 5:30 |
| 2/7 | Huston-Tillotson University | 6-22 | 5:30 |
| 2/9 | @ Univ. of St. Thomas - Houston | 8-22 | 5:30 |
| 2/18 | Northwood University* | 6:00 | |
| 2/21 | Our Lady of the Lake | 26-8 | 5:30 |
| 2/23 | Wiley College | 20-10 | 5:30 |
| 2/25 | @ LSU-Shreveport | 25-9 | 5:30 |
| 2/28-3/2 | RRAC Tournament (hosted at SAGU) | ||
| 3/8-10 | NCCAA Central Region Tournament - Lakewood, CO | ||
| 3/14-16 | NAIA National Tournament - Kansas City, KS | ||
| 3/14-16 | NCCAA National Tournament - Winona Lake, IN |
*First year in new basketball program. Bold Face indicates home games. @ Away games.
