DECATUR, Ga.—Year two of the Coach Albie Biggs era is set to begin in style for the Agnes Scott Women's Basketball program. The Scotties are set to host the inaugural Agnes Scott Tip-Off Classic beginning on Saturday afternoon as Averett University, Piedmont College and Sewanee all ship into Decatur for their season openers.
SNAPSHOT
The Scotties were picked to finish outside of postseason-qualifying by coaches in the USA South, as the new-look program was slotted exactly where they finished after 2017-18, eighth.
Agnes Scott's roster has plenty of new faces as only four players return to a team that won three games a season ago. A young Scottie side will have plenty to learn during its non-conference slate before turning their sights to a first-ever USA South postseason bid during conference play.
Junior Garis Grant (Charleston, S.C.) is the most recognizable face on the team after earning Rookie of the Year honors two years ago before being named First Team West Division in the USA South last winter. She enters her junior season averaging almost 17 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She is also the active USA South leader in blocks at 2.3 per game following the graduation of Huntingdon's Juliette Harp.
Classmate Annie Weimerskirch (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) returns to the starting lineup for the third consecutive season after missing a good chunk of her sophomore campaign due to injury. With a plethora of first-year guards in the fold, Weimerskirch will return to her natural role on the wing as Agnes Scott's top returning deep-ball shooter.
Senior Zoey Perchaluk (Fort Erie, Ont.) and junior Kamiyla Lane (Atlanta, Ga.) will see plenty of minutes for the Scotties, while providing stability on the court in veteran roles.
YOUTH OF THE NATION
Seven of Agnes' 11 players in the program are first-year student-athletes at the college. The probability of three starting in the team's first two games is exceptionally high and it will be intriguing to see which become go-to options from the start.
A NEW TIP-OFF TRADITION
The Scotties will see plenty of good basketball this weekend with a pair of USA South teams who finished top two in each division a season ago. Defending conference champion Piedmont will not play the Scotties this weekend due to already-scheduled conference games, but Averett finished second in the East in 2017-18 while sporting an 18-9 record. However, the Cougars are forced to replace the production of Samm Chandler, who found her name on many regional awards lists as a senior.
Sewanee will play games against Piedmont and Agnes Scott with a similarly youthful roster as the Scotties.
Follow along with the action at the tournament page.