Women’s Basketball Archives

Coach’s Corner 2006 | Season Recaps

December 6, 2006

The FCCJ Women’s Basketball just moved into the top twenty in the country today!  The Stars are ranked 18th in the country. The Stars bounced into the polls with a four game winning streak and four players averaging double figures in scoring the last two games. The FCCJ Stars beat Indian River C. C. with a score of 76-61 Tuesday night at the South Campus.  It took the team awhile to get their adrenaline going but the Stars pulled it out. The following young ladies had an outstanding game which contributed to the win: 

• Freshmen Guard – Genesis Kelly 18 points, 3 assists
• Sophomore Post – Latoya Drake 17 points, 11 rebounds
• Sophomore Forward – Farren Stackhouse 11 points, 4 rebounds
• Sophomore Guard – Angela Miller 10 points, 5 assists

Other players with state/region ranked performances

Latoya Drake is ranked #1 in the region for scoring average of 19.7 points per game. She was named FCCAA Player of the Week during the first week of play. Alandris Griffin – 11th in rebounding; Tatyana Jackson – 14th in steals; Genesis Kelly – 19th in assists.

November/December 2006

The fall semester is coming to a close and the Stars Basketball team has been trying to balance the books and basketball.  Well, so far the basketball has been very close to perfection.  The trip to Tampa and Daytona Beach on consecutive weekends jump-started the season with a 4–0 record in early November.  This phenomenal start ranked these young ladies seventh in the state during the first week of play. Then came the test against improved Indian River Community College.  This game in Ft. Pierce went down to the wire.  The Stars pulled out a one-point win over Indian River in this barnburner.

The Stars opened their first game at home in the FCCJ/Quality Inn Classic with Chipola Jr. College. Chipola is the defending NJCAA Region VIII State/Regional Champions. This game was a challenge for this youthful group as the unforced turnovers created a deficit that they could not overcome. The Stars suffered their first lost of the season but bounced back with a win the next day over Palm Beach. These young ladies have shown great character and resilience in some of the toughest situations this season.

The Meet and Greet with the parents and families of our players was a success!  Thanks to parents Johnnie & Angie Miller and Ronica Walker who prepared some of the tastiest dishes. This was a special time as we had an opportunity to meet most of the families of the Stars.

Latoya Drake was ranked #1 in the region for scoring average of 21 points per game early in November.  She was named FCCAA Player of the Week during the first week of play.  Other players with notable performances ranked in the FCCAA state standings: Alandris Griffin 11th in rebounding; Tatyana Jackson 14th in steals; Genesis Kelly 19th in assists.

Upcoming Events

On December 8th the Stars will be volunteering their services to the Jacksonville Lady Pacers. The Lady Pacers is a girl’s youth basketball team on the Westside of Jacksonville.  This will be the third community service project for the Stars.  Other team community service projects include the San Pablo Pop Warner Youth League Festival and the FCCJ College Transfer Fair. Future community service projects are in the works.  Many of our players will be involved with various schools with our “Books & Basketball” reading program. Each player will be asked to read their favorite childhood book to students at selected area schools.

November 14, 2006

The FCCJ Stars beat Indian River Community College last night in a game that went down to the buzzer at Ft. Pierce (FCCJ 69 @ Indian River 68). The team showed a lot of character during the game. The Stars improved their record to 5–0 and ranked 6th in the state.

The following young ladies had an outstanding game which contributed to the win:

• Latoya Drake – 24 points, 10 rebounds.
• Alandris Griffin – 11 points, 14 rebounds.
• Genesis Kelly – 10 points, 3 assists, 3 blocks.
• Tatyana Jackson – 9 points, 3 assists, 3 blocks.

Come and support these young ladies as they take on the #1 ranked team in the state, 16th ranked in the nation and defending 2005-2006 State/Regional VIII Champions Chipola Jr. College on Friday at 8:00 p.m. in the FCCJ/Quality Inn Classic at the South Campus Sportscenter.

FCCAA Player of the Week

FCCAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Week: Latoya Drake

The 6'2" sophomore post/center led the defending Mid-Florida Conference Champions to a pair of victories during the season’s opening week. The Baxley, GA native averaged 30.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks while hitting 22 of 29 field goal attempts in the Stars’ wins over Hillsborough and St. Petersburg. Drake tallied 32 points and 12 rebounds in Friday’s game against Hillsborough Community College and followed that up with a 28 point, 8 rebound performance the next day against St. Pete. Genesis Kelly added to the offense in scoring double figures with 17 points in the win over St. Petersburg College.

The Stars will head to Daytona Beach, FL this weekend for the Coca Cola Classic undefeated with a 2-0 record. Head Coach, Debra Woods is very optimistic about the team this year. She does have some concerns about the youthfulness of the team and staying injury free.

October 2006

What’s Happening?

The Stars have been working rigorously during pre-season conditioning. Although the team is comprised of a majority of new players, the maturity level of the group makes the team seem as if they have been here all year. These young ladies have shown great character and respect for each other and it truly feels as though they are family. As any coach understands, chemistry is very important to a team and this team has surpassed teams from years ago. This team has so much chemistry the expectations are set very high for the season. Recently, the team spent the night in the cabins at the Betty Cooke Nassau Center. This was part of a course requirement that the athletes were taking during the fall semester. They had to learn how to make a fire without matches as well as climb a 35–foot wall to name just a few tasks that had to be accomplished. After spending time in the woods, these young ladies can appreciate each other even more. Even though it was a trying experience for some of the city kids who were not used to the bugs.

Upcoming Events

The Stars have three scrimmage dates scheduled. All home games will be played at the South Campus gym on Beach Blvd., Bldg–R.

• Friday, October 13th Edward Waters
• Saturday, October 21st at Brewton–Parker Jamboree in Mt. Vernon, GA
• Saturday, October 28th at Panhandle/Mid–Florida Jamboree in Tallahassee, FL.

Top Newcomers

Farren Stackhouse, a transfer from East Tennessee State University, joined the Stars this season as a sophomore academically and a freshmen eligibility–wise. She will have three more years of eligibility after she competes for the Stars. Genesis Kelly of Jensen Beach H.S. in Port St. Lucie, FL is a talented guard to watch as well as Tatyana Jackson from Beach H. S. in Savannah, GA. Mia Coleman a versatile guard/forward which rounds out the top incoming freshmen to watch. Mia is a State Champion from South Mecklenburg H.S. in Charlotte, NC.

Home Opener!

The Stars will host their 9th Annual FCCJ Classic. This will be the teams’ first home game. The Stars will host the Chipola “Lady Indians” at 8 p.m., Friday, November 17, 2006. Chipola is the defending NJCAA Region VIII State/Regional Champions. They also finished the season in the final four of the national tournament. Please try to make it out to support our youthful but yet spirited Stars.

2006 Season Photographs

Coach Woods pictured with former player Shantel Ragin, #23 during a game from the 2006 season. This year, Shantel is playing for Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga. Coach Woods pictured with Assistant Coach LaTroy Strong during a game from the 2006 season.

Latoya Drake (#24) playing in a 2006 game against Sante Fe. This photograph from last year’s team features Shantel Ragin (#23) and Sabrina Schmitt (#42). Shantel is now playing for Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga., and Sabrina Schmitt is playing for the University of North Florida.