FAYETTEVILLE -- For the past few seasons the theme for Fayetteville girls' basketball has been same -- talented, but young.
Not anymore.
Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs
Date^Opponent^Time
Nov. 18^Conway^6 p.m.
Nov. 29^at Greenwood^6 p.m.
Dec. 4-6^Fayetteville Lady Bulldog Classic^TBD
Dec. 11-13^at Tournament of Champions, Fort Smith^TBD
Dec. 29-31^at Mountain Home Tournament^TBD
Jan. 9^Fort Smith Northside*^6 p.m.
Jan. 13^at Fort Smith Southside*^6 p.m.
Jan. 16^Springdale High*^6 p.m.
Jan. 20^Springdale Har-Ber*^6 p.m.
Jan. 23^at Rogers Heritage*^6 p.m.
Jan. 27^Rogers High*^6 p.m.
Jan. 30^at Bentonville*^6 p.m.
Feb. 6^at Fort Smith Northside*^6 p.m.
Feb. 10^Fort Smith Southside*^6 p.m.
Feb. 13^at Springdale High*^6 p.m.
Feb. 17^at Springdale Har-Ber*^6 p.m.
Feb. 20^Rogers Heritage*^6 p.m.
Feb. 24^at Rogers High*^6 p.m.
Feb. 27^Bentonville*^6 p.m.
Mar. 4-7^Class 7A Tournament^TBD
* - 7A-West Conference game
Fayetteville boasts one of the most veteran rosters in the 7A-West, with four starters and several other letterman back from a team that blew past the competition en route to a conference championship. And with youth no longer an excuse, the Lady Purple'Dogs are setting their goals high once again.
"We are experienced, at every position," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "We've got Lauren Schuldt back in the post, she had 85 blocks last year and she's really worked hard to get even stronger. And Sydney Crockett has for two years been really valuable to us with her scoring, with her hustle and with her work ethic.
"For us, those two seniors are where it starts."
Junior guard DaShundara Morgan was a top scoring threat for Fayetteville as a sophomore, as she emerged as one of the top newcomers in the 7A-West last year. Morgan has battled injuries, though, and is still not 100 percent as she recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Pink Jones took over at point guard as a sophomore last season and is one of the quickest players in the league. Jones could be one of the most improved players on the team.
Fayetteville finished 13-1 in the 7A-West Conference last season and won the league by four games. A tough tournament draw sent the Lady Bulldogs home in the quarterfinal round after a loss at host and eventual state champion Conway.
This year, Rimmer isn't counting on another 13-1 run through the conference. But it's not because of lack of confidence in his team. Instead, it's a sign of respect to a league that once again includes Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside, along with strong competitors from Springdale High, Springdale Har-Ber and others.
"With Northside and Southside back in the league, along with the teams that were already in the league, our league will probably be the best 7A/6A conference top to bottom," Rimmer said. "So we're not going to go 13-1 like we did last year. I don't even think that's possible.
"But that's not our expectation. Our expectation is to win a conference championship, no matter how many games that is. And we're realistic is knowing our conference is very good and our nonconference schedule is good. So hopefully by late February and early March we'll be ready to make a run and do better than we did last year."
Fayetteville opens the season with one of the top marquee nonconference games in the state, hosting Conway at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a rematch of last year's Class 7A quarterfinals.
Sports on 11/17/2014