Bishop State Community College is set to kick off its 2018-2019 athletics season. The men’s and women’s basketball teams open their seasons on November 1st against East Central Community College out of Decatur, Mississippi. The Bishop State women’s basketball team is coming off their best season in recent years, finishing Southern Division runner-up and reaching the Alabama Community College Conference tournament held in Birmingham, Alabama. Although only returning two key members of the team, Coach Trent Eager feels really good about the new class he has brought in this year. “We have brought in a good group of young, talented women and they’ve gelled well together in a short period of time,” Coach Eager comments about the new team. “It’s still early and they still have a lot of learning to do, but we are really excited about this group”. The Lady Wildcats returned former Baker graduate Etelonne Polk-Smith and Jennifer Darby of Daphne High School. Within the last two years, the Lady Wildcats’ program has also seen significant academic improvement, graduating 80% of their players and producing five NJCAA Academic All-Americans. The men’s team returns six sophomores from last year’s team. The 2017-18 Wildcats finished in 6th place in the Southern Division and reached the first round of the conference playoffs. Coach Johnny Shelwood expects the play to be more competitive with this group and hopes to compete for a conference championship. The Wildcats have signed Cornius Griggs out of Chickasaw High School and Kameron Peoples from Davidson. Returning from last year’s team is 2nd team All-Conference selection, Penda Wiggins, from Pensacola Catholic High School. Wiggins averaged 15.4 points per game while shooting over 50% from the 3-point line and the field. Also returning from last year’s team is 2nd leading rebounder, Sammie Sanders, from Baker High School. “I’m very excited about this group and feel that this team could have a chance to be special this season,” says Coach Shelwood. Check out the Bishop State Wildcat Athletics page of our website for all of the latest news, including the 2018-2019 schedules for the men's and women's basketball teams.
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