Shaunae Brown playing defense during a Red Wolves women’s basketball practice.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARKANSAS STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FACEBOOK 

Third-year head coach Destinee Rogers will be looking for significant improvement this year as her team brings in fresh talent.

The Red Wolves women’s basketball team ended last year with a 13-17 record and 6-12 record in conference. They ended the year on a seven game losing streak. During the offseason, the team worked on adding to their depth by adding a total of nine transfers. 

“The biggest thing for me was we knew that, in the spring of last year, we had a lot of issues that we needed to address with our roster,” Rogers said.

Despite many high scoring games last season, the Red Wolves often ran out of gas in the second half due to fatigue and lack of depth. 

This was compounded late in the season after star point guard Izzy Higginbottom went down with an injury. The Red Wolves dropped seven straight and did not win a game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

Higginbottom transferred to the Arkansas Razorbacks, and guard Lauryn Pendleton, the team leader in steals last season and a 1,000-point club member, transferred to Alabama A&M. A-State now has an almost completely new roster from last year with only three players, guards Crislyn Rose and Wynter Rogers, and forward Anna Griffin returning from last year’s squad. 

“The style of play is going to be completely different, and I love it, because this is what I always wanted to do,” Rogers said. “So hats off to my staff for putting in the work to help me bring these players here.”

The Red Wolves maintained experience from last year’s roster while adding other veterans from the portal. The Lady Wolves added transfers Kyanna Morgan, Kennedie Montue, 

Coach Rogers highlighted  the challenges and rewards of integrating nine new players into the team, emphasizing the positive impact on the team’s overall performance.

“We brought in nine new players and they all bring something different to the table. I like how athletic we are. I think we shoot it way better. We have the ability to break people down off the bounce, and we have a lot of three level scores. And the way that we’re going to play, it’s important that you have that,” said Rogers. 

Rogers said that this year’s transfers completely changed the identity of the team. This year’s team has more to play for than ever before. 

Notable transfers include junior guard Zyion Shannon, who transferred from Tennessee State after leading the Tigers in three-pointers and was the second-highest scorer for the team. Senior guard Lezhauria Williams transferred to A-State from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where she played well over 32 appearances with the Cougars.

Shaunae Brown, a senior guard from and graduate student in communications from Toronto, Ontario said she is close to reaching a personal goal.

“I’m really close to getting my 1000 points, so that’s been a goal of mine, and I just want to continue to just improve upon my leadership skills, and just try to be the best version that I can for my team.”

Brown said, as a grad student, she felt it is important she take a more leadership role while using her experience to be a voice on the floor of her teammates. 

She transferred to Arkansas State from CSU-Bakersfield for her last year of eligibility, seeking a home-like environment and the opportunity to reach the NCAA tournament. “I wanted to be in a position where, for my last year, I could have fun, but also know that I’d have an ability to try to get to the NCAA tournament.” Brown said.

Wynter Rogers, a redshirt junior forward from Little Rock, Arkansas is a returning face for the Red Wolves. 

She emphasized the importance of working out at the gym, which has boosted her confidence on the court.  

“I feel like I’ve gotten more confidence in myself just putting in the work. My shooting has gotten a lot better. And, you know, just  my skill level as well. I’ve been getting to the gym a lot,” Rogers said.

Rogers expressed her commitment to giving her all in every game and contributing to the team’s success. 

“Personally just being the best version of myself and the best version, I said, for my teammates out there on the court,” Rogers said. “Just going out there and, you know, just giving them my all every single game, you know, no matter what, and do whatever I can help the team win.”

Rogers also said to expect a much different version of the Red Wolves than last year’s team.  

“You’re going to see us look a lot more mobile, a lot more physical, a lot faster. We’re going to press a lot. We’re going to play fast on the offensive side. And I think it’s just going to be an exciting brand of basketball to watch,” Rogers said.

The Red Wolves open the season on the road at Western Michigan Nov. 11. The first home game of the season is Nov. 13 against Mississippi Valley State.

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