SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 25, 2022) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's basketball team begins its 14th season on Nov. 4. The Saints are led by a new coaching staff and aim for a return to the NAIA National Tournament.

Coaching staff

Head Coach Tanya Ray was hired in May, and she brings a plethora of experience to the program. She joins the Saints after a three-year stint as the assistant coach at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), an NCAA D1 school. Ray commented, "The one thing that drew me to OLLU was the chance to get back into small college athletics. When working at larger universities, you can get lost in the shuffle. I get a chance to spend time with all the coaches here, and everybody has been very welcoming."

Assistant Coach Chris Burks joined the team shortly after Ray. Burks previously worked as a graduate assistant for the University of Jamestown for two seasons. Annesa Lopez and Ysabella Alcala round out the coaching staff as student assistants.

Nonconference schedule

(numbers after schools indicate series record)

The Saints start the 2022-2023 campaign by hosting the annual Halo Classic from Nov. 4-5. Schools competing include Jarvis Christian University (JCU), North American University (NAU) and Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU). JCU plays SAGU first at 2 p.m. on Nov. 4, and at 5 p.m., OLLU faces NAU for the first time in program history. JCU opens the second day of the tournament against NAU at 2 p.m., and OLLU closes the tournament against SAGU (10-1) at 4 p.m.

Following an exhibition at NCAA D1 UIW on Nov. 7, the Saints will travel to Plainview, Texas, to play Wayland Baptist University (4-6) on Nov. 11. OLLU will also battle the University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma (1-1) while in Plainview on Nov. 12. The Saints will play another exhibition on Nov. 17 at St. Mary's University. OLLU then hosts the Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 21-22. Iowa Wesleyan College (IWC), Oklahoma City University (OCU) and Southwestern Christian University (SCU) join the Saints for the tournament. IWC opens the tournament against OCU at 2 p.m. on Nov. 21, and the Saints face off against SCU at 4 p.m. IWC plays SCU on the second day at 2 p.m., and OLLU plays OCU (3-8) at 4 p.m.

Conference schedule

The Saints have been selected to finish in third place in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) 2022-2023 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is the favorite to win the conference, while LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) gathered second-place votes. The NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll is due to be announced on Oct. 26.

The Saints welcome LSUS (18-16) and LSU-Alexandria (LSUA) (12-1) to open the conference schedule on Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, respectively. OLLU then heads north for a pair of away contests against Texas College (TC) (21-2) on Dec. 8 and JCU (23-3) on Dec. 10. XULA (4-3) and Louisiana Christian University (LCU) (2-0) arrive in San Antonio on Dec. 15 and Dec. 17 for a pair of games.

OLLU hosts its third tournament of the season from Dec. 30-31. The Winter Classic will include LSUA, Texas Wesleyan University (TWU) and Wiley College (WC). LSUA opens the tournament on Dec. 30 against TWU at 3 p.m., and the Saints play WC (21-5) at 5 p.m. LSUA faces Wiley on Dec. 31 at noon, and OLLU will play TWU (6-3) at 2 p.m.

The January schedule runs from Jan. 5-28. Road games include battles against Paul Quinn College (PQC) (21-1), Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) (4-0), the University of the Southwest (USW) (23-1), LSUS and LSUA. The Saints will play three home games during the stretch against Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) (29-1), TC and JCU. The Saints will play the same teams in February, but the home and away are flipped.

Returners

The Saints will be led by six seniors, with five returners, including Tiffany Lopez, Angeline Sanchez, Wynter Taylor, Natalia Trevino and Makayla White. Carrie Barrera-Lacy joins the senior class after playing for Friends University in Wichita, Kan.

Returning junior is Cormia Lewis. The sophomore class is all returners from their first season. The group consists of Julissa Garza, Sydney Portillo, Lorena Ramirez and Madelyn Soto.

The Saints averaged 73.5 points per game last season and limited opponents to 66.

Newcomers

Junior newcomers include Ariadna Gallardo, Trinity Harold, Haley Perkins and Yasmine Quirino. Incoming freshmen Jillian Torres and Michaela Verrett will wear blue and white for the first time in 2022. Torres is a local player from Brennan High School, and Verrett joins the team from Converse, Texas.

Fan expectations

The Saints will live-stream all home games for the 2022-2023 season. Mabee Gymnasium includes a new digital scoreboard for the fans who attend in person. Ray said, "I encourage the fans to come out and watch this team. They are a group of players that will give it their all every game."

Hear from Head Coach Tanya Ray