Women's Basketball | 11/8/2018 5:13:00 PM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The Barry women's basketball team tips off 2018-19 at the SSC/GSC Challenge on Friday and Saturday this weekend, serving as host for the third year of the crossover. The Bucs face the Union Bulldogs, who come in ranked second in the D2 Media Poll, on Friday and take on the Delta State Lady Statesmen on Saturday. 

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

"We lost four out of out five starter, including All-SSC first-team pick, Kiara Palmer. But we do have guard Ida Andersson, who averaged 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, back this year as a starter. Juhnae Richardson and Harriet Swindells also return to the back court. And we have five newcomers from five different countries. So we hope that everyone comes in ready to compete and we look forward to a great season." -- Barry University head coach Bill Sullivan

The Bucs (19-11, 11-9 SSC) are coming off a solid season, finishing fourth in the Sunshine State Conference and reaching the tournament semifinals. Guards Harriet Swindells and Ida Andersson are the top two returners for the Bucs. Andersson is the top returning scorer and rebounder and led the team with 59 made three-pointers. Swindells was the top player off the bench, averaging 6.8 points and shooting 32.5 percent from three-point range. The Bucs were picked sixth in the pre-season poll.

Union (32-4, 18-2 GSC) is coming off the best season in school history, winning the GSC and advancing all the way to the national semifinals. Seniors Tiffany Rechis and Jada Perkins are the two returning starters. Perkins is the top returning threat, averaging 10.1 points and 5.8 assists per game. Rechis is the deep threat after hittiing 86 three-pointers at a 36.1 percentage. The Bulldogs were picked to top the GSC again.

The Lady Statesmen (12-15, 10-10 GSC) return guard Alondrea Rush who led the team in points (15.0) and assists (2.9) and Raven Johnson (6.8) who the team on the boards. The Lady Statesmen were picked seventh in the GSC.