Women's Basketball Team Looks to Defense this Season

The Lady Cougars women's basketball players are looking forward to continuing to build a culture consistent with evolving as students and athletes and competing at the highest level.

Conference play officially begins on Jan. 13, but there's opportunities to see the team in action now, including four more home games in November.

Those games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7; 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 and Nov. 18; and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, in the main gym at the Texas Township Campus. Admission is free. Find the full season schedule at athletics.kvcc.edu.

Returning to the squad this year to lead the way are Brynne Johnson, who was a key component of their success last year, as well as Tayanna Townsell and LaNeshia Burse, who are expected to set the tone defensively all season long. Alyssa Thompson, a transfer student from North Central College, is projected to add depth with leadership due to her experience.

"With nine freshmen coming in, the team will be an overall young team, but we were able to recruit some of the best talent from the surrounding areas," said Head Coach Felicia Thomas. "They include Brooklyn Vantilburg, of Marcellus, who stands at 6'1"; Aquinnah Kelly, who brings grit to the back court; and Cierra Nord, of Galesburg, who has size and the ability to score at all three levels."

With even more skill filling up the rest of the roster, Thomas said she plans to make defense the biggest part of the team's identity and create a crisp team-oriented style of offense that will be fun to watch.