Point Guard commits to Lady Lions
Recruiting class deepens with Sachse HS top scorer
WAXAHACHIE, Texas — In the days of the Big Band era, America tapped their toes to jazz clarinetist and band leader Jimmy Dorsey .
His orchestra had a young musician named Glenn Miller , who went on to even greater fame.
When the Southwestern Assemblies of God University women’s basketball team signed a new player last week, they had similar ideas.
Monica Dorsey , a skilled 5-foot-6 point guard, built a high school reputation as a leader and distributor. When she pitches the ball to a teammate for a solo move, it often ends with them making string music.
Talented at running a team, she is often at her best by helping others to shine.
The end result is fans clapping their hands to a victory beat.
Dorsey, from the northeast Dallas suburb of Garland (226,000 pop), graduates this spring from Sachse High School .
She played under Sachse (SAK-see) Head Coach Donna McCullough , where she earned First Team All-District (Class 5A, Region II, District 11) status.
The Mustangs’ league consists of Rowlett, Naaman Forest, Lakeview Centennial, North Garland, South Garland, Garland and Sachse high schools.
Dorsey was named the Most Valuable Player for the Mustangs, who posted a 16-15 overall record. The team was 7-5 in 
league games.
Dorsey also garnered recognition on the district’s All-Academic team.
“Monica is a great point guard,” said SAGU Head Coach Arlon Beadles . “She has all of the tools to handle pressure and she can knock down threes also.”
“I look forward to her having a great career at SAGU,” he added.
Monica’s father, Maurice Dorsey , is the Head Coach of the girls basketball team at Lancaster High School .
The Tigers compete in District 15 of Texas’ Class 4A, which includes Waxahachie, Red Oak, Ennis, Arlington Seguin, Mansfield Lake Ridge, Mansfield Legacy and Mansfield Summit.
Public high schools in the Lone Star State are in the UIL – the University Interscholastic League .
She led the team in scoring at 12 points per game on a team that had eight players averaging five or more points per game. She made 41% or her shots inside the arc and 50% beyond the three-point line.
On the foul line she delivered 63% of her tries; 70 of 111.
The quick backcourt star averaged 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.0 assists per night. Her ability to breakdown a defense with drives in the lane brought her to the free throw line 111 times, easily the most on the team.
She will compete with sophomore Taylor Hill (Waxahachie, Tx / Waxahachie HS) and senior Andrea Lugo (San Antonio, Tx / Somerset HS) to give the team plenty of depth at the 1-guard position.
Hill tossed in 11.4 ppg (high 23) and 2.7 assists while Lugo (LOO-go) contributed 3.0 ppg (hi 13) and 2.0 apg in 14.8 minutes per game.
The Lady Lions look for the return of shooting guard Nia Winston (Garland, Tx / Panola JuCo, Lakeview Centennial HS), who missed almost the entire season with an injury.
Winston was averaging 15.4 ppg at the time. Her scoring norm as a sophomore was 13.8, including 63 triples. With the 5’7 junior back in the fold, the SAGU point guards will have a proven scorer to feed.
SAGU hoop fans have reason to be getting jazzed up about the upcoming Lady Lions season.
Lady Lions Roster Update
The Lady Lions, with Dorsey in tow, have forward Charity Paige (Nacogdoches, Tx / Nacogdoches HS) and winger Alexis McAfee (DeSoto, Tx / DeSoto HS) in the current recruiting class.
Coach Beadles, who has been at SAGU for eight years, looks to fill two or three more places on the 2012-13 roster. There will be an open tryout in the fall in the hopes of adding a walk-on player to complete the team with 15 players.
Much of last winter’s squad will return. Okievia Bratchett (Center, Tx / Tenaha HS), a sophomore, is transferring to Tarleton State University to pursue medical studies. Also, sophomore Jessica Sodich (Arlington, Tx / Ovilla Christian) a standout volleyball player, will concentrate solely on that sport.
Bratchett, a guard, netted 6.3 ppg (hi 20), while Sodich bucketed 8.0 ppg (hi 19).
Another sophomore, forward Cordia Harvatin (San Antonio, Tx / Stacey HS) has indicated she will not suit up in the fall. She added 5.3 ppg (hi 17) last season.
2012-13 Schedule to be announced
Coach Beadles will soon release the Lady Lions’ new schedule, which currently includes 29 games, fifteen of them at home.
He stated the team will host their annual SAGU Classic on November 8-9 with two games against teams who both won over 20 games last year.
The Purple Pride will play in two tournaments at Sterling College (Sterling, Ks) on Nov. 15-16 and at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Bartlesville, Ok) during Nov. 22-23 the week before Thanksgiving.
Contact : Mark “Link” Warde , SAGU Sports Information Director, at [email protected] or at 469-658-2847.
