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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWS |
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LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION Sports Release February 25, 2006 The End of a Trying Season HARROGATE, TN – When the 2005-06 season began, Roger Vannoy entered his 23rd season at the helm of the Lady Railsplitter program as one of the NCAA Division II’s most successful active coaches. (Box score) Vannoy’s past record combined with what was felt to be a solid recruiting class and the LMU women were looking for a banner year to close out their career in the Gulf South Conference. As fate would have it, that wasn’t the case. On Saturday night Vannoy and the Lady Railsplitters closed out the season with a 7-20 record which marks only the third time since taking over the program twenty-three seasons ago that one of his teams have finished with a losing record. Saturday’s 57-53 loss came at the hands of the University of West Georgia, a team that will enter next weekend’s Gulf South Conference Tournament as the #2 seed from the GSC Eastern Division. Still, the fact that LMU didn’t qualify for the tournament in back-to-back seasons doesn’t hamper Vannoy’s expectations of what is ahead for Lincoln Memorial when they officially become a member of the South Atlantic Conference next season. “It should rekindle some old rivalries that will make for some great basketball,” Vannoy said. For LMU seniors Chasity Williams (Evansville, IN), Candice Rose (McKee, KY) and Katie DePersio (Knoxville, TN), Saturday’s game against West Georgia marked the final time they would wear the LMU blue and gray and battle on the court in the name of Lincoln Memorial University. Rose finished the strongest among the seniors in her final game. The four-year letter winner scored 11 points and pulled four rebounds, while Williams struggled somewhat in her final game, fouling out after 26 minutes of play. DePersio also earned the start with her fellow seniors, finishing with two points and four rebounds before night’s end. The legacy of Lady Railsplitter basketball and its future in the Gulf South Conference were handed down Saturday night from these three young ladies to junior Madeline Richards (Floyds Knobs, IN) and sophomore Heather Benton (Wooton, KY). And, if their performances last night were any indication of what is in store for LMU next season, it is most likely that Roger Vannoy’s team will again rise to prominence just as they have in year’s past.-LMU- For additional
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