Senior Anne Marie Dias

Lady Fleet Basketball

The Erskine College Lady Fleet basketball team will be looking to replace two starters off last year’s team that finished 5-21 and No. 11 in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference.

Gone are CVAC All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Becky McBroom and sharpshooter Mandy Wyatt, but second-year coach Maggie Peeler has a core group of upperclassmen returning along with six freshmen.

"We will be more talented than we were last year, but I’m still expecting some difficult times as the young team matures throughout the year," Peeler said.

McBroom was the third-leading rebounder in the league with 9.9 per game and was second in the conference with 2.38 blocked shots per game.

Peeler, who doesn’t have a single six-footer or a center on the roster, must replace McBroom’s numbers, and she is hoping that junior forward Tre Wylie, who was No. 12 in rebounding in the conference last year with 6.8 per game and seventh in blocked shots with 0.96, can handle the job.

"Tre began to develop last season as an inside force and will be counted on heavily," Peeler said.

Senior Tosha James will also be available for frontline help, but a trio of 5-11 freshmen may have to step in right away for the Lady Fleet in the post for a team that had the worst rebounding margin in the league last year.

Peeler said freshmen Ashley Wilson, Garreth Smoak, and Neice Walk all have athletic ability. "They are the inside forces for the Fleet in the future."

Peeler introduced an up-tempo style of play last year, relying heavily on the three-point shot and focusing on strong defense.

Erskine led the CVAC with 162 made three-pointers last year, a whopping 23 more than the next best team, but Wyatt accounted for 60 of those, ranking her third in the conference.

With Wyatt gone, Peeler is counting on her team adjusting to her style more this year and improving on its 54.7 points per game total from last year, second worst in the league. Peeler hopes the Lady Fleet will take advantage of the speed and ball-handling abilities of junior guard Tiffany Mast.

Peeler plucked Mast from the Erskine soccer field last year, and the former two-sport star has decided this year to focus on basketball, after leading the league with 5.1 assists per game and ranking No. 17 in the conference with 1.6 steals per game.

"Tiffany emerged as one of our top players last year," Peeler said. "She is a strong ball handler and has developed an excellent perimeter shot."

Mast will be joined in the back court by sophomore Shakela Fuller, who started as a freshman but will not be eligible until after Christmas.

Freshmen Ashley Duckett and Neva Prince, who played on three state championship teams at Laurens High School, could make an immediate impact in the Erskine back court.

Senior guard Anne Marie Dias and freshman Christy Stowe will also see playing time at both guard positions.

The Lady Fleet will bank on their outstanding team free throw shooting ability to keep them in games this year, after finishing second overall in the conference last year by making 69 percent of their shots from the line.

Peeler will continue her emphasis on strong defense after Erskine led the CVAC last year in field goal percentage allowed, with opponents making just 34 percent of their shots against the Lady Fleet.

Erskine opens the season in a tournament in Louisville, Ky., on Friday against Bellarmine, and will play at home for the first time Dec. 4 in the CVAC opener against Pfeiffer at 5:30 p.m.

Sophomore Amanda Henderson

Freshman Tiffany Hall