Wednesday, October 31, 2012
by Ryan Hilgemann

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb fans will have their first look at new head coach Greg Brown in exhibition action on Thursday evening.

The Lady Bisons host Freed-Hardeman University at 5 p.m. in Allen Arena, in their only exhibition game of the season.

A team split with eight returners and eight newcomers, the Lady Bisons will look to Hannah Phillips as the top returner from last season, as she averaged 11.1 points per game and led the squad with 2.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

Along with coach Brown, two other members of the coaching staff will be new this season with John Wild and Cara Hyatt. Wild joins the staff from Riverdale High school, where he went to the state finals two years in a row. Hyatt comes to Lipscomb after spending two seasons at Southern Mississippi. Jada Mincy is the lone holdover from last season.

Freed-Hardeman, a former conference opponent in the TranSouth when Lipscomb was a member of the NAIA, last visited the Lady Bisons in 2009. The game resulted in an 85-76 Freed-Hardeman victory.

The Lady Lions, preseason ranked No. 3 in the NAIA National Poll, return their top three players from last season. Natalie Shumpert, the TranSouth Conference Player of the Year last season, was tabbed for the same honor in the preseason while Maria Bagwell and Ashley Tate were picked to the Preseason All-Conference squad.

The regular season begins on Friday, Nov. 9, with a 6 p.m. contest at Gardner-Webb.