BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The stage is set for what Northeast Mississippi Community College women's basketball coach Chelsey Rhodes believes is going to be an exceptional 2023-24 season.
Rhodes has a nearly even mix of seven returning student-athletes and five true freshmen to go into battle with during her second year as the leader of the Lady Tigers.
The roster includes two of the top three scorers and the five best rebounders among players that participated in double-digit games from Rhodes' inaugural campaign.
"We've been trying to get better all the way around," said Rhodes. "With the people that's returning, they're so driven. They've been great leaders. They're working hard and just showing the younger kids what we have to do to be successful."
Forward Alexis Rowe (Little Rock, Ark.) and guard Jasmine Malone (Byhalia) consistently reached double figures in their inaugural season at Northeast with 12.7 and 10.2 points per game, respectively.
Rowe also posted 6.8 rebounds, which placed her barely behind Madison Miller's clip of 6.9 for most on the team. She did have three double-doubles, including a 23-point and 12-board performance versus Pearl River Community College.
Malone can fill up a stat sheet nicely. She recorded 30.2 minutes and 3.5 assists, which were both second best for the Lady Tigers, plus a team-high of 2.1 steals to go with her solid scoring average.
Madison Gardner (Saltillo), Malone and Rowe are three of just four Northeast standouts that appeared in all 24 contests last year along with Ella Mask, who moved on to the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM).
A trio of Lady Tigers in Jakeria Hawkins (Walls), Jerrilyn Richardson (Memphis, Tenn.) and Miller (Nettleton) are coming back from injuries that negatively affected their first seasons with the program.
Miller was averaging 9.9 points through 10 outings for Northeast. Hawkins flashed her potential with a season-best 13 points during the Lady Tigers' home victory over Itawamba Community College.
Richardson started in every game for Northeast prior to the Christmas break. Three-point shooter Taitiana Beene (Booneville) rounds out the Lady Tigers' sophomore class.
Three of Northeast's newcomers are from nearby Alcorn County. Anna Greene was recognized as the 2023 Daily Corinthian Co-Offensive Player of the Year with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists per contest.
Greene was also a first-team all-division and all-county selection. She led Kossuth High School in assists, steals, charges, free throw percentage and accounted for more than 1,000 points during her prep career.
Goldee Butler and Asia Stafford helped Biggersville High School reach back-to-back Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 1A championship games. They won it all as juniors.
Butler had 10 points in the state title victory. Stafford averaged a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds during a great senior year that resulted in first-team all-area honors from the Daily Corinthian.
Tyesha James (Lonoke, Ark.) was identified as one of the top posts in Arkansas by Scorebook Live with 16 points, 12 boards and a block per contest. T'Airiana Spearman (Coffeeville) gives the Lady Tigers some extra depth at guard.
"I think we're going to see a lot of growth early," Rhodes said. "You're going to see how hungry we really are. They know what I want. They know what I expect. We're out to prove some people wrong. This team is legitimately a family."
Northeast begins its new season with a pair of games at the Lady Bear Classic from November 3-4. The home opener for the Lady Tigers is on Tuesday, November 7 against visiting Arkansas State University Mid-South.