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Guard FLORENCE OUATTARA (11) 2017-18 Preseason All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2017-18 MIDWESTERN THREE-STEP @ TEXAS TECH * Wednesday, Nov. 15 * 11:30 AM CST @ KANSAS STATE * Friday, Nov. 17 * 5:30 PM CST @ OMAHA * Sunday, Nov. 19 * 1:00 PM CST 2017-18 FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY Women’s Basketball Fast Facts GENERAL INFORMATION SCHOOL NAME: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University LOCATION: Tallahassee, Florida FOUNDED: 1887 ENROLLMENT: 9,550 COLORS: Orange (PMS 151) and Green (PMS 347) NICKNAMES: Rattlers, FAMU (FAM-You) CONFERENCE: Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC) AFFILIATION: NCAA Division I FCS (Football); Division I (all other sports) ARENA: The Al Lawson Center (2009) CAPACITY: 8,500 PRESIDENT: Dr. Larry Robinson (Interim) ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: Milton Overton FACULTY ATHLETIC REP: Dr. Ebenezer Oriaku ATHLETIC PHONE: (850) 599-3868/3878 ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS ATHLETIC WEBSITE: www.famuathletics.com FOOTBALL SID: Vaughn R. Wilson SID OFFICE PHONE: (850) 599-3200 SID MOBILE: (850) 694-0277 SID EMAIL: [email protected] ASSISTANT SID: Alvin Hollins, Jr. ASID OFFICE PHONE: (850) 599-3736 ASID MOBILE: (850) 591-7690 ASID EMAIL: [email protected] COACHING STAFF HEAD COACH: LeDawn Gibson ALMA MATER: Warner (Fla.), 2000 YEARS AT FAMU: 2017-18 will be 10th Year RECORD AT FAMU: 134-139, 9 Years CAREER RECORD: 134-139, 9 Years WBASKETBALL OFFICE PHONE: (850) 561-2193 BEST TIME TO REACH COACH: Thru SID Office (850) 599-3200/3736 COACHING STAFF Assoc. Head Coach: LaTasha Shipman-Ganus (Shaw University ’04), 3nd Season Assistant Coach: Andrea Johnson (Tusculum College, ‘07), 10th Season Assistant Coach: Terrance Chatman (Missouri-Kansas City, ’01), 2nd Season TEAM INFORMATION 2016-17 RECORDS @ Overall Record: 13-19 @ Conference Record/Finish: 9-7/ 5th LETTERWINNERS @ Number Returning (9): @ Number Lost (5): STARTERS @ Number Returning (3): @ Number Lost (2): 2017-18 KEY RETURNING STARTERS 4 Ecenur “E” Yurdakul G 5-7 SR Istanbul, Turkey/St. Fair CC @ Averaged 5.6 ppg, 2.7 rbs, shot .296 from three; .750 from line; 34 asts; 24 stls 11 Florence Ouattara G 5’10 R-JR Tiassale, Ivory Coast/Life Center Academy @ Averaged 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rbs, 53 steals, 43 assists, shot .295 from three 32 Shakeyrra Morrison G/F 6-0 SR Zebulon, NC/East Central CC @ Averaged 9.7 rebounds (11.1 in MEAC), 8.1 ppg, had 52 steals, 13 blocked shots OTHER KEY RETURNEES 2 Dawn King G 5-9 SR Dallas, TX/Waxahachie HS @ Averaged 5.4 ppg, 1.3 rbs, .268 from three; 15 steals, 12 assists 40 Shalaunda Burney-Robinson C 6’4 R-JR Palmdale, CA/Pete Knight HS @ Averaged 6.8 ppg (8.8 in MEAC), 4.6 rbs (5.9 in MEAC); shot .533; 14 blocks 13 Dy’Manee Royal F 6-1 SO Savannah, GA/Beach HS @ Averaged 3.1 ppg, 2.9 rbs; had 10 blocked shots in 31 games. 25 Jamella Smith G 5-9 SR Chapel Hill, NC/Pensacola State CC @ Averaged 1.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg in 30 games. 2017 ALL-STAR CANDIDATES 4 Ecenur “E” Yurdakul G 5-7 SR Istanbul, Turkey/St. Fair CC @ Averaged 5.6 ppg, 2.7 rbs, shot .296 from three; .750 from line; 34 asts; 24 stls 11 Florence Ouattara G 5’10 R-JR Tiassale, Ivory Coast/Life Center Academy @ Averaged 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rbs, 53 steals, 43 assists, shot .295 from three 32 Shakeyrra Morrison G/F 6-0 SR Zebulon, NC/East Central CC @ Averaged 9.7 rebounds (11.1 in MEAC), 8.1 ppg, had 52 steals, 13 blocked shots 40 Shalaunda Burney-Robinson C 6’4 R-JR Palmdale, CA/Pete Knight HS @ Averaged 6.8 ppg (8.8 in MEAC), 4.6 rbs (5.9 in MEAC); shot .533; 14 blocks KEY LOSSES F Alicia McCray 5’11 5.2 ppg, 6.4 rbs, 42 assists, 18 blocks G Cedricka Sweeting 5’5 6.4 ppg, 1.9 rbs, 67 assists, 22 steals G Victoria Nguyen 5-5 3.2 ppg, 1.9 rbs, 55 assists, 45 steals 2017-18 FLORIDA A&M WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER No Name Pos Ht Yr Hometown /Last School 1 De’Ayra Davis G 5-7 FR Omaha, NE/Northwest HS 2 Dawn King G 5-9 SR Dallas, TX/Waxahachie HS 3 Zhymani Smith G 5-7 FR Hampton, VA/Menchville HS 4 Ecenur “E” Yurdakul G 5-7 SR Istanbul, Turkey/St. Fair CC 11 Florence Ouattara G 5’10 R-JR Tiassale, Ivory Coast/Life Center Academy 12 Ama Arkorful G 5-10 JR Jacksonville, FL/Chipola College 13 Dy’Manee Royal F 6-1 SO Savannah, GA/Beach HS 14 Mikayla Thomas F/C 6-2 FR Miami, FL/Gulliver Prepatory School 15 Gabrielle Holston G/F 5-11 GR Margaret, AL/East Carolina 22 Ny’Asia Davis C 6-3 SO Starke, FL/Bradford HS 23 Taylor Darks G/F 5-11 R-SO Cincinnati, OH/Walnut Hills HS 25 Jamella Smith G 5-9 SR Chapel Hill, NC/Pensacola State CC 32 Shakeyrra Morrison G/F 6-0 SR Zebulon, NC/East Central CC 40 Shalaunda Burney-Robinson C 6’4 R-JR Palmdale, CA/Pete Knight HS Head Coach: LeDawn Gibson (Warner Southern, ‘00), 10th Season Assoc. Head Coach: LaTasha Shipman-Ganus (Shaw University ’04), 3nd Season Assistant Coach: Andrea Johnson (Tusculum College, ‘07), 10th Season 2017-18 FLORIDA A&M WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE NOVEMBER 10 FRIDAY EASTERN MICHIGAN (TBA) YPSLLANTI, MI 15 WEDNESDAY TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY (TBA) LUBBOCK, TX 17 FRIDAY KANSAS STATE (TBA) MANHATTAN, KS 19 SUNDAY NEBRASKA AT OMAHA (1:00) OMAHA, NE 22 WEDNESDAY SACRED HEART (6:00) LAWSON CENTER (EDUCATION DAY) ANNUAL FEAST CLASSIC 25 SATURDAY TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI (TBA) CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 26 SUNDAY TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY (TBA) EDINBURG, TX DECEMBER 02 SATURDAY WESTERN CAROLINA (2:00) CULLOWHEE, NC 07 THURSDAY LYNN UNIVERSITY (6:00 ) LAWSON CENTER 10 SUNDAY NORTH FLORIDA (2:00) LAWSON CENTER 21 THURSDAY MIAMI OF OHIO (TBA) OXFORD, OH 22 FRIDAY XAVIER UNIVERSITY (2:00) CINCINNATI, OH 28 THURSDAY UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA (TBA) TUSCALOOSA, AL JANUARY 3 WEDNESDAY *HOWARD UNIVERSITY (6:00) LAWSON CENTER 6 SATURDAY *MORGAN STATE (TBA) BALTIMORE, MD 8 MONDAY *COPPIN STATE (5:30) BALTIMORE, MD 13 SATURDAY *BETHUNE COOKMAN (TBA) DAYTONA BEACH, FL 15 MONDAY *DELAWARE STATE(6:00) LAWSON CENTER 27 SATURDAY *HAMPTON UNIVERSITY (2:00) HAMPTON, VA 29 MONDAY *NORFOLK STATE(5:30) NORFOLK, VA 31 WEDNESDAY *SAVANNAH STATE (6:00) LAWSON CENTER FEBRURARY 3 SATURDAY *HOWARD UNIVERSITY (TBA) WASHINGTON, DC 5 MONDAY *MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE (TBA) PRINCESS ANNE, MD 10 SATURDAY *NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL (4:00) LAWSON CENTER 12 MONDAY *MORGAN STATE (6:00) LAWSON CENTER 17 SATURDAY *DELAWARE STATE (2:00) DOVER, DE 24 SATURDAY *NORTH CAROLINA A&T (4:00) LAWSON CENTER 26 MONDAY *SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (6:00) LAWSON CENTER MARCH 1 THURSDAY *BETHUNE COOKMAN (6:00) LAWSON CENTER 5-10 M-SAT MEAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT NORFOLK, VA *-Conference Games 2017-18 FAMU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON OUTLOOK Rattler Women Chasing Elusive MEAC Championship In 2018 The FAMU Women’s Basketball team has one goal in mind for 2017-18: Winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship. FAMU won its’ last MEAC Tournament title in 1999, and their last regular season conference title in 1996, but head coach LeDawn Gibson and her staff are determined to end that long drought this season. Gibson embarks on her 10th season at the helm of the FAMU Women’s Program in 2017-18, and plans on riding the momentum of last season’s second half finish which propelled them to the MEAC Tournament semifinals – the program’s deepest tourney run in several years – to a championship finish. Picked by the league’s coaches and SIDs to finish sixth in the 2017-18 regular season chase, FAMU hopes to defy the odds as they did a year ago, when their second half surge boosted them past a similar sixth place prediction into a Number Four tournament seed. Three key losses from last year’s 13-18 (9-7 in MEAC) aggregation include Alicia McCray, a 5-11 forward, who average 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 points per game, with 42 assists and 18 blocked shots; guard Cedricka Sweeting, 5-5 guard who scored at a 6.4 point per game clip, with 67 assists and 22 steals, and Victoria Nguyen, who had 45 steals, 55 assists to go with a 3.2 per game scoring average. Back to lead the Rattler charge up the MEAC mountaintop will be nine letterwinners from last year, headed by Preseason All-MEAC selection, 6-0 senior forward Shakeyrra Morrison, 5-10 junior guard Florence Ouattara, and 5-7 senior guard Ecenur “E” Yurdakul. Morrison, from Zebulon, N.C., was second in the MEAC in rebounding at 9.7 per game overall, with an 11.1 per game average in conference games. She also averaged 8.1 points per game, with 13 blocked shots and 52 steals. Ouattara, from the Ivory Coast of Africa, is a high energy backcourt performer, who has a superb all around game. A year ago, she came on strong in the second half as FAMU surged, finishing with an 8.5 scoring average and a 2.6 rebounding norm to go with 53 steals and 43 assists, combined with a .295 three-point shooting percentage. Yurkdakul, from Istanbul, Turkey, is a rangy performer who can play the point or the two guard spots. A junior college transfer last season, “E” averaged 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, shot .296 from distance, and .750 from the foul line, adding 34 assists and 24 steals.