RENO, Nev. The University of Nevada women’s basketball team will begin practice for the 2008-09 season Friday night at Lawlor Events Center.
Nevada returns four starters from last season including the 2008-09 WAC Preseason Player of the Year Dellena Criner and Preseason All-WAC second team honoree Brandi Fitzgerald.
The Pack will also return a total of 11 letterwinners from last years team that finished 18-12 overall. This season’s team will feature four newcomers, Kayla Williams (Sparks, Nev.), Brittany Woodard (Sacramento, Calif.), Amanda Johnson (Oceanside, Calif.) and Ashley D`Andrade (Ridgecrest, Calif.).
Nevada will be under the direction of first-year head coach Jane Albright. Albright ranks among the NCAA’s all-time active career leaders in wins with 397 career wins. She has taken her teams to a total of nine NCAA Tournament appearances in her 24 years as a head coach.
“We’re excited as a coaching staff to inherit the players we have,” Albright said. “We’ll try and build on the success they’ve had here. The players work very hard and are working hard towards competing at the top of the conference.”
The Pack will host Sonoma State in an exhibition game on Friday, November 7 at 7 p.m. before opening the regular season at home on Tuesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. against Eastern Washington. This season’s schedule will feature five team’s that played in the NCAA Tournament last season, Cal, Fresno State, Louisville, UC Santa Barbara and Montana.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting or calling the Link Piazzo Ticket Office at Legacy Hall at (775) 348-PACK (7225).
