Miami: Live Video I Live Stats I Game Notes

Kent State: Live Audio I Live Stats I Game Notes

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team will open the 2013-14 season at Miami (Ohio) on Friday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. at Millett Hall.

Miami went 19-13 in 2012-13 and reached the first round of the WNIT. The RedHawks have been picked to finish fourth in the MAC East Division this season.

EKU defeated Miami, 73-63, in overtime in last year's season opener at McBrayer Arena.

Following Friday's game, EKU will continue its tour of Ohio by facing Kent State on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

The following is a preview of EKU's 2013-14 season:

Last season, the Eastern Kentucky women's basketball team won 18 games and qualified for a national postseason tournament – the Women's Basketball Invitational – for the first time in eight years. While EKU lost five seniors, four of five starters and 72 percent of its scoring from that historic team, explosive guard Marie Carpenter is back and will look to lead a deep group of talented up-and-comers in search of the Lady Colonels' first Ohio Valley Conference title since 2004-05.

Carpenter led EKU in scoring (14.1 points-per-game) and three-point field goal percentage (39.5) for the second consecutive year in 2012-13 despite missing 10 games early in the season because of a broken hand, an injury she sustained after going for 27 points versus Miami in the season opener. The senior from Nashville enters this season nine points shy of joining EKU's prestigious 1,000-points club and 46 three-pointers shy of breaking the all-time EKU mark of 170.

Senior guard Pilar Walker and junior forward Meredith Polson join Carpenter as EKU's veterans. The remainder of the roster is comprised of five sophomores and seven freshmen.

Despite the youth, sixth-year head coach Chrissy Roberts is extremely optimistic about the group's potential heading into the season.

"I am very excited about my young team and the potential they have displayed both individually and as a group," Roberts said. "They have all really committed to hard work and improving every day we are on the floor together, and it is evident in the amount of growth we have seen since we started workouts in July."

Roberts also noted the fine leadership being displayed by the small group of upperclassmen.

"The leadership Pilar, Marie and Meredith exhibited this summer and during the preseason is the best it has been during my tenure here at EKU," Roberts added. "They have done a great job mentoring and supporting their younger teammates."

The rest of the OVC also sees potential in EKU's youth. The Lady Colonels were picked by league head coaches and sports information directors to finish third in the OVC East Division this season, and they even received three first-place votes in the process.

"We are versatile and able to play at a fast tempo, which will allow us to be a very exciting basketball team," Roberts said. "The Lady Colonels will be a team that competes for 40 minutes every time we step on the floor and I look forward to watching the tenacity and toughness we will exhibit every game. Our focus is to take it one day, practice and game at a time and we know that, if we take care of that, we will be right where we want to be come March."

Guards

EKU – the team – is young, but EKU's starting backcourt is not young. Two seniors, Carpenter and Walker, will be the starting guards when EKU faces Miami in the opener on Friday, and both Carpenter and Walker have well-defined roles in the offense: Carpenter the scorer, Walker the distributor.

Carpenter played her best basketball at the end of 2012-13 – scoring in double figures in the final 11 games of the season, netting 26 versus Tennessee State in the regular season finale and dropping 22 on UT Martin in EKU's quarterfinals loss in the OVC Tournament. She will look to carry that scoring touch into 2013-14. However, Carpenter is far from one-dimensional, and even if teams game plan around her, the EKU coaches are confident the four-year senior will find a way to get her teammates involved.

Walker, meanwhile, has never had problems getting her teammates involved. The Lexington native – and former Eastern Illinois guard – was typically the first point guard off the bench for the Lady Colonels last season, and she ranked third on the team with 47 assists in limited action. Chances are she will see more than "limited" action this season and, because of that, she will be expected to provide more scoring to go along with her distribution.

Another guard who will take on an expanded role in 2013-14 is sophomore Jasmine Stafford. Stafford appeared in 19 games last season and scored a career-high four points at national-runner up Louisville. The Memphis native is a tenacious defender and will be expected to create points off the dribble for the Lady Colonels.

Five freshmen – Amadi Brooks, Michaela Hunter, Mariah Massengill, Katie Pippen and Kasey Young – will also be in the mix in the backcourt. Brooks – out Douglasville, Ga. – and Hunter – out of Rockcastle County, Ky. – are both versatile, athletic guards who can knock down shots from the perimeter. Massengill, meanwhile, is a more traditional point guard out of Chattanooga who can bring the ball up the court and use her quickness to create open looks for teammates. Pippen – from Lexington – and Young – from Danville, Ky. – were both prolific outside shooters in high school.

Sophomore guard Alexus Cooper – a key shooter on last year's squad – is out for the year with an injury.

Forwards

EKU's frontcourt will rely heavily on a trio of sophomores – Shelly Harper, Jasmine Henshaw and Miranda Maples. Harper is an active, athletic post player who scored a season-high eight points versus eventual conference champion UT Martin in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament last year. Henshaw saw very limited action last year, but drew the start in the exhibition game against Ohio Valley and flashed a variety of scoring moves in the paint. Maples is a polished, versatile interior player who led all EKU freshmen last season in scoring (2.7 points-per-game) and rebounding (2.6 rebounds-per-game) last season.

Polson will also likely see an expanded role this season. The former walk-on came off the bench to score 10 points and grab a team-best six offensive rebounds in the exhibition win over Ohio Valley last Saturday.

Two freshmen should also make an impact in the paint. Nashville native Nicole Bowers scored 12 points versus OVU all while flashing a skilled, polished game a la recently graduated Lady Colonel, Alex Jones. Bardstown, Ky. native Cierra Drake, meanwhile, is the tallest player on the roster at 6-4 but has been on the sidelines recently due to an injury.