The Red and Black

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Sports

ROWSEY

While practice started less than a month ago, it now is clear the Lady Bulldogs are ready for a change of pace as they prepare for the first exhibition game of the 2007-08 season.

The Georgia women's basketball team begins its preseason tonight at Stegeman Coliseum against DT-3 Atlanta.

If there is anyone on the Georgia roster especially excited to be playing against a team not wearing red and black, it is Tennessee transfer Lindsey Moss. NCAA transfer rules allowed Moss to practice with the Lady Bulldogs last season but prohibited her from playing.

"I'm excited, especially having sat out last year," the sophomore guard said. "I think we're excited to play someone else. We're tired of beating each other up."

Senior forward Rebecca Rowsey gets ready to begin her fourth season of basketball in Athens, and she said she is ready to have her team match up against someone else as well.

"It's a good test to see how much we've learned in practice," Rowsey said. "We've been practicing for a long time now, and seeing if we can execute against another team will be really good for us."

Georgia will begin its preseason as the No. 10 team in the country, as voted by the ESPN/USA Today coaches' preseason poll. Defending champion Tennessee earned the top spot, and SEC powerhouse LSU is ranked fifth.

"Being in the top 10 is a compliment," coach Andy Landers said. "I also think it will be a challenge for our team to play at that level early in the season."

For a top 10 team, Landers has plenty of concerns about his squad heading into tonight's contest.

"I think we have the potential to be very, very good but I don't think we're very good right now defensively," he said.

Rowsey echoed her coaches' sentiments and noted that the team has paid special attention to defense leading up to the start of the season.

"We've really been focused on defense. I'm really excited to see if we can get out and pressure the ball, and how effective we can be on the defensive end."

While the DT-3 Atlanta squad Georgia will match up against is not made up of Division I players, Landers believes there is plenty to be learned from the first preseason game of the year.

"I know exactly what I want to zero in on," he said. "It's whether or not we have the discipline to make good decisions on offense and how interested we are in being aggressive on the defensive end of the floor."

Today's contest is the first of two exhibitions for the Lady Bulldogs,

who will take on Team Adidas at home next Tuesday. The regular season tips off against Richmond Nov. 9.

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