Clarendon College Women

(Continued from previous page) contribute immediately. Garren Davis, a 6-4 guard, transfers in from Loyola-Maryland, 6-7 Bryce Okpoh arrives from Grand Canyon University and biggest of all, literally, 7-1 Cody Collinsworth comes in from the University of Portland.

“We’ve got some guys with experience,” Jenkins said. “I like that we’re older and there’s not a lot of true freshmen on the team this year compared to last year. I think we’ve got good size across the board. Even our guards are bigger.”

Along with Collinsworth, the Bulldogs will have some size inside with 6-9 Conner Landell from Toronto.

The difference from last year is that the Bulldogs will have a month of games under their belts before opening WJCAC play. Clarendon opens the regular season by hosting Nationwide Academy on Nov. 2 and two nights later hosts Ranger College, a national Final Four team last season. Later in November, Clarendon goes to East Texas to face perennial power Trinity Valley Community College.

The Bulldogs start WJCAC play on the road Dec. 1 against Western Texas College at Snyder.

“The league’s going to be really, really tough this year,” Jenkins said. “There’s not really a night off. South Plains is always really, really good. Odessa (College) was top five in the country. Frank Phillips has put together a good roster, too.”

To get through the challenging WJCAC gauntlet, Jenkins wants to see his team take on a blue collar mentality.

“I’d like for us every time we go out on the court to be the hardest playing team,” Jenkins said. “It’s playing together and being unselfish. We’ve got to use each other. The point guard can’t have a great game if he’s playing by himself.

“I like our talent from an offensive standpoint. If they can really buy in to guarding on the defensive end, I think we could have a pretty good year.”

Nov. 2 Nationwide Academy

6 p.m. Nov. 4 Ranger College 4 p.m. Nov. 6 Coastal Bend College @ Hobbs, NM 3 p.m. Nov. 7 Redlands Community College @ Hobbs, NM 1 p.m. Nov. 11 Loyalty Prep Academy 7 p.m. Nov. 12 RPA College 6 p.m. Nov. 15 @ Otero Junior College, Colorado 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 @ Trinidad State Junior College, Colorado 2 p.m. Nov. 19 Jacksonville College @ Snyder 4 p.m. Nov. 20 Hill College @ Snyder 4 p.m. Nov. 23 Paris Junior College @ Athens 5:30 p.m. Nov. 24 @ Trinity Valley Community College 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17 Houston Hurricanes 4 p.m. Dec. 1 Western Texas College 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 Odessa College 3:30 p.m. Jan. 2 Otero Junior College 5 p.m. Jan. 6 @ New Mexico Military Institute 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 Midland College 3 p.m. Jan. 10 @ Frank Phillips College 7:45 p.m. Jan. 13 South Plains College 7:45 p.m. Jan. 20 Howard College 7>45 p.m. Jan. 24 @ New Mexico Junior College 7:45 p.m. Jan. 27 Western Texas College 7:45 p.m. Jan. 31 @ Odessa College 7:45 p.m. Feb. 3 New Mexico Military Institute 6 p.m. Feb. 7 @ Midland College 7:45 p.m. Feb. 10 Frank Phillips College 7:45 p.m. Feb. 14 @ South Plains College 7:45 p.m. Feb. 21 @ Howard College 7:45 p.m. Feb. 24 New Mexico Junior College 7:45 p.m.

Lady Bulldogs have solid foundation

By LEE PASSMORE

Mark James has been head coach of the Clarendon College women long enough to know that perspective is important to carry from season to season.

Last year the Lady Bulldogs, competing in the rugged Western Junior College Athletic Conference, finished a COVID-shortened season 12-11. Considering the quality of the competition they faced from the outset in WJCAC play, James doesn’t think that record is too bad.

“I’m not much of an excuse guy, but we play in the toughest conference in the country, so 12-11 is not too shabby,” said James, who’s in his sixth season at the helm of the Clarendon women and third year as the school’s athletic director. “We’re pretty proud of our season. Our first round playoff game, we felt good going into it, and we played a team (Howard College) we had beaten twice, but we picked the worst time to probably play our worst game of the year.”

With three returning players who scored in double figures last season, Clarendon appears to have a foundation to at the very least be competitive this season. Last year the Lady Bulldogs finished fourth in the conference in the regular season.

James sees capabilities in his returning talent to genuinely contend atop the WJCAC.

“That’s a tough task, but we do feel good about it,” James said. “The one thing we were missing last year is that we just didn’t have a true point guard who could break you down off the dribble and put some ball pressure on other point guards. That was probably the only piece we were missing to contend. This year we do.”

That would be sophomore JoJo Munroe, a 5-5 native of the Bahamas who’s a transfer from the prestigious Colleyville (Kansas) Community College program. James likes Munroe’s speed and defense along with her ability to push the ball in transition.

Munroe should complement what James thinks will be the biggest strength of his team, at least offensively.

“We can shoot the ball,” he said. “We’ve got some size that can shoot it. We’ve got four kids who are returners who played a lot of basketball last year. Experience should lead us pretty early and maybe early on in conference.”

Most of last season the Lady Bulldogs played only eight players, and James estimates six of those were contributors. With a bit more depth, that should make the lineup better across the board.

Sophomore Aileen Marquez is the leading returning scorer from last season. She might be the team’s best pure shooter, as

2021-22 Clarendon College Lady Bulldogs

(Continued from previous page) she averaged 12.2 points a game last season while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range, the second-best mark in the WJCAC.

“She’s a three-level scorer as we call it,” James said. “She can get to the basket, she can shoot mid-range and she can shoot the three. She is a big time, big time 3-point shooter who can create her own shot. We’re actually a little surprised when she misses, she’s that good.”

While Marquez is a top outside presence, fellow sophomore Zariah Sango is Clarendon’s inside presence. At 6-4, Sango can dominate a game at both ends of the floor.

Sango was the conference newcomer of the year and defensive player of the year, averaging a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds a game, the latter total which was second in the nation. Her 6.2 blocked shots a game led all juco players nationally.

“She’s not your traditional back to the basket, dump it in, make a big power move post, she’s more of a long, lanky athletic kid that can really run the floor,” James said of Sango. “She does a lot of screen and roll stuff and can finish at the basket. She’s a presence that blocks a lot of shots. It’s a nice force to have down there offensively.”

Mariam Traore is another sophomore who should be a scoring presence as the 5-11 West African native averaged 11 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. Sophomore Autumn Wadsworth averaged 7.3 points a game last season and led the WJCAC in 3-point

Clarendon College Lady Bulldogs Roster Name, Ht., Pos., Class, Hometown

JoJo Munroe, 5-5, G, Soph., Freeport, Bahamas Macie Medrano, 5-5, G, Soph., Dumas Jessalyn Gonzales, 5-7, G, Fr., Amarillo Aaliyah Martinez, 5-5, G, Soph., Lubbock Cora Watson, 5-5, G, Soph., Higgins Lashonda Stiger, 5-6, G, Fr., Amarillo Aileen Marquez, 5-7, G, Soph., Arden, N.C. Autumn Wadsworth, 5-7, G, Soph., Reno, Nev. Destiny Burrows, 5-6, G, Fr. West Palm Beach, Fla. Mah Minthe, 5-10, F, Soph., Paris, France Zariah Sango, 6-4, P, Soph., Jenks, Okla. Mariam Traore, 5-11, F, Soph., Waldorf, Md. Mariana Minotto, 5-10, F, Soph., Sao Paulo, Brazil Za’Riyah Gilmore, 5-8, G, Soph., Midland Jayla Johnson, 5-10, F, Soph., Cleburne

Coach: Mark James Asst. Coach: Brittney Redmond 2020-21 record: 12-11, 5-10 90 College shooting with a 47.1 percent mark.

Two Amarillo ISD graduates also will get a chance to contribute to the backcourt as freshmen: Tascosa product Jessalyn Gonzales and Palo Duro grad Lashonda Stiger.

The Lady Bulldogs open their regular season by traveling north to Kansas to face Southwestern College on Nov. 2. Less than a month later, they’ll start WJCAC play by traveling to Snyder to face Western Texas College on Dec. 1. James doesn’t expect there to be any off nights in the WJCAC and doesn’t see a clearcut favorite. “It’s a coin flip between New Mexico (Junior College), Odessa (College), Midland Coach Mark James (College) and South Plains every year,” James said. “Having not had a chance to see everybody for a couple of weeks it’s kind of tough, but from everything I hear, Odessa’s going to be pretty tough.”

Odessa will be in town for Clarendon’s WJCAC home opener Dec. 4. That will be a major test to see if the Lady Bulldogs are where they should be.

“A constant all season long has got to be our defensive pressure and ball pressure closing out on shooters,” James said. “We stress not giving up rhythm threes is a key defensively, and when we do that we’re a lot better. We know we can score the basketball, but there’s going to be some nights when it’s not clicking, so we’ve got to make a bigger emphasis defensively than we have the past couple of years. Once we get into conference, we’re going to have to be mentally sharp because we can play some of the best basketball we’ve played and still lose three in a row.”