The women’s basketball team looks forward to this season and hopes for nothing less than a conference championship. Returning with a great number of starting players, Coach Shawna Lavender and her team are going into this season with high expectations.

Lavender, entering her ninth year as the women’s head coach, said she was excited to see the results of all the hard work that has already gone into this season.

“We’re back with more focus and more expectations,” Lavender said. “We are going in looking at a chance to win the league.”

Last season, the Wildcats fell for the third straight year in the Lone-Star Conference Post-Season Tournament in a heartbreaking 65-59 loss to No. 9 ranked Northeastern State in the first round of the tournament. The loss ended the ‘Cats season at 11-16.

Despite last year’s rough loss, Lavender is convinced the team will take off this season.

“We have a lot of experience back from last year,” she said. “We were very young, and last year served us as a building year.”

At times last year, the team had three or four freshmen starting. But many of these starters are returning this year with even more experience. Mack Lankford, last year’s LSC South Division Freshman of the Year, shares her coach’s ambition for the post season.

“I definitely have high expectations for the outcome of this season,” Lankford said. “It all starts here, and we have to work hard every game to get there.”

Last year, Lankford averaged nearly 20 points every game as the freshman guard. Among the other returning starters are center Kelsey Smith, forwards Renata Marquez and Hilliari Adam and point guard Cecilee Perez. In addition to these players, the ACU women’s basketball team has added two talented freshmen, Sadie Dickinson and Paige Parliament.

“Sadie and Paige have done a great job early,” Lavender said. “They jumped right into what we’re doing, and they add a great depth to our team.”

The Wildcats opened their season last Friday in a scrimmage at Houston Baptist losing 75-67, but hung in there with the NCAA Division I team. The team will take on Lubbock Christian in their first exposition game on Thursday.

“We’re going into this week as a new game,” Lankford said. “Instead of looking at our competition, we need to focus on ourselves this early in the season. That’s what will take us far this season.”

The Wildcats will begin their conference run Dec. 3 against Texas Women’s University.