As head coach Yannick Denson prepares for his third season in charge of the Howard Payne Lady Jackets basketball program, he feels the pieces are in place to return to the upper echelon of the American Southwest Conference.
The Lady Jackets – who last won the ASC West in 2017 and last won the conference championship in 2011 – tip off their season at 5:30 p.m. Friday with an exhibition contest against North American University at the Brownwood Coliseum.
“I see us being (ASC West) champions and hosting the tournament the first week of March,” Denson said. “That’s just my mindset coming in. We have every little piece that we need to get it done this year. In the past I’m been shorthanded, this year we have options and that’s fun to have.
“We have a championship mentality. If you start the year with big expectation you put yourself in position to have success. Overall for us, we brought in a really solid class of 11 kids, 10 returners, one junior college transfer, and one graduate transfer, so we have a lot of shifting pieces and we’re trying to put that puzzle together before the year’s over with.”
The Lady Jackets are coming off an 11-15 campaign and 7-9 ASC mark, which left Howard Payne as the third-place team in the West a year ago. The bulk of last year’s roster returns and Denson is pleased with the newcomers added to the roster.
“The biggest strength I would probably say is our shooting ability,” Denson said. “We’ve gotten a little more deadly from the outside as far as dead-eye shooters and people that can spot up and knock down shots. On the defensive side we have a 6A defensive player of the year out of Houston coming out of a very strong district and a very strong run in the playoffs.”
Returners include guards Chelsey Harris, Bria Neal, Lily Janek, Salina Ali, Mallory Garcia, Catlyn Ward, and Payge Grable, along with post Delaney Ingram. Newcomers include guards Trinity Johnson, Kassidy Nowak, Aliyah McKoy, Michayla Chaffin, Trynadee Greenwell, Amanda Turpin, and Sarah Craig, and forwards Mackenzy Mouton, Kendra Brown, Kayle Brigance and Ariel McKoy.
“Chelsey is an all-American all-conference player and Bria is coming off a freshman of the year campaign,” Denson said. “Lily shot the ball at 43 percent from three-point line last year which is tremendous. The chance to see her excel in other parts of her game will be a really key piece for us. Kendra Brown is a grad transfer from Schreiner who is going to be a key asset for us as far as experience. Trynadee Greenwell is a Kilgore transfer that’s going to bring experience on the floor as well. Amanda Turpin and Mackenzy Mouton, those are two really key assets, one plays a 5 and one plays a 3-4-5. They have skill sets that don’t belong here at the Division III level, but Howard Payne is a great fit for them and that’s why they’re here. We also have a secret weapon coming out Friday, so hopefully everyone is in the Coliseum to see because she should get freshman of the year.”
Looking ahead to the ASC race, where Howard Payne is picked to finish behind Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons in the West division, Denson said, “It’s going take a lot of discipline and a lot of mental toughness. The discipline part comes with battling this crazy time we’re in. Practicing social distancing, wearing a mask and doing the right things on a day to day basis. It’s so easy to forget a mask in a car, you have to remind 18 to 22 year olds on a daily basis to practice social distancing, wear your mask, don’t trust anyone with your season. The other side of it is just execution. Overall I think we have to be the best version of ourselves and not concern ourselves too much with what everyone else is doing.”