- Watch this press conference FREE on Maroon to the Max

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State head women's basketball coach Sharon Fanning-Otis held her preseason press conference Tuesday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum. Selected Lady Bulldog players also gave comments on the upcoming season. Below is a transcript of their thoughts. 

Head Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis

Opening comments...
"I got a chance to evaluate the team following our scrimmage against Delta State this past weekend. It is great to get a chance to see us compete against someone else besides ourselves, but it also exposes some things we have to work on. We have talked about the depth of our team, but I did not see the numbers, statistically off the bench we are going to have to have this season. Last year, Tysheka Grimes and Robin Porter were coming off the bench and they brought a lot of experience. This year's bench does not bring the experience we are used to having on our bench. I expect to see us improve from our scrimmage this last weekend to our first exhibition game this Sunday. We are still best in transition. We need to get better with our inside-outside game. The players worked hard in several areas of the game and tried their hardest to find a way to help us, even if it did not show up on the stat sheet. We have to get a 40-minute effort with strong intensity for us to be successful. We did not help each other in the scrimmage, and because we did not help, we only drew two charges. That type of stuff goes back to us as coaches teaching and preparing. But the girls have to develop the toughness part of a game to play with the effort we are expecting. This is a starting point for us, but defensively we have to improve. In the second half of the scrimmage, we improved in several areas, but we have still have to continue to improve in every area of our game." 

On the absence of Marneshia Richard...
"The whole team will have to step up. Now Armelie (Lumanu) will transition into a point guard, rather than having the versatility we were expecting to get from her before Marneshia's (Richard) injury. She makes a lot of things happen for us, so our lineup had to adjust slightly. I think other girls will step up from this. You find out what you are made of when there are injuries or illnesses on a team, and somebody will have to emerge from this injury. If we continue to improve and give a strong work ethic, I see good things happening."

On Marneshia Richard's injury...
"We came back from SEC Media Day and she was stretched and warmed up for practice. It was in transition and somebody came down on her and it was one of those freak things that happens and it popped. It will probably be about four months before she can jump. I do not anticipate her coming back for this season, and we have the option to appeal for another season of eligibility if that is what she chooses, but she has been through three major surgeries, so we will have to worry about that when the time comes. She is getting her masters which pushes her education further, but she is giving us leadership from the bench and we will see what happens in the future."

On the power forward position...
"Tysheka (Grimes) and Bethany Washington are the two that will help us become a quicker team. Bethany is not 100 percent right now and we will have to see where that takes us. Rima (Kolanda) and Channa (Campbell) are two girls who could potentially fill a void for us too, but we will have to be patient with the situation."

On Chanel Mokango...
"I have seen her play stronger and be more aggressive. I just want to see her continue to take good shots and play smart. She can play inside-and-outside. She can shoot the three and put the ball on the floor. We are going to put her in a position based on who we are playing to be successful."

Alexis Rack, Senior, Guard

On team expectations...
"We want to start off where we ended last season. Last season, I thought we started out slow and improved with every game. This year, I want to pick up where we left off and continue to improve every game."

On losing Marneshia Richard...
"It is hard to watch her (Richard) go down. She worked so hard in the offseason and we were excited to have her back. Watching her go down was hard for everyone."

On your leadership role...
"I do not think about me as an individual leader. I try to do my part and lead by example and watch everyone play their role."

On the backcourt...
"We have a lot of depth in our back court. We want to continue to build off what we had last season. We feel comfortable with whoever is on the court." 

Chanel Mokango, Senior, Forward

On developing toughness...
"This summer we worked hard individually. I improved on my individual game and lifted weights harder than I ever have before. I have to be more physical to play in the post in the SEC. The team needs me to be more physical."

On last season...
"We learned from last season's mistakes. We are no surprise this season and we will have to be ready and step up when the time comes."

On the ability to shoot the three-point shot...
"We have a lot of girls capable of making three-pointers, but I want to do what I can to help our team, so if that means to play down low, that is where I will play."

Tysheka Grimes, Senior, Guard/Forward

On the preseason preparations...
"The preparation has been good, all the coaching staff has been getting us ready for the season this year. We have a tough season this year so we are just trying to get ready."

On offseason injuries...
"I do feel better, I had a surgery in April of the previous season and my knee was not real strong and this past year, I have just been trying to get my knee stronger so yeah, I feel stronger this year."

On senior guard Marneshia Richard...
"I would first like to say how good of a person and athlete Marnisha is.  She is a leader of this team and she helps us.  After the scrimmage game on Sunday, I asked her what she saw and she gave me her feedback so we still look up to her.  Losing Marnisha for this season devastated all of us.  We are going to miss her presence although we will still have her there with us, we will still miss her presence."

On her role for the team this season...
"Yes I have been practicing at four a lot this year. Last year, I played the three position.  Coach Fanning and I have had plenty of conversations where she has told me to step up and come in wherever the team needed me.  I feel comfortable with the four position now.  Last year I was not sure, but this year, I am real comfortable.  I still have things to learn, Coach Greg (Franklin) has been helping me in the post with my footwork defensively.  I feel very positive about this year."

On playing down low...
"Before I came here, in high school, I played the post, so when I first got here I thought that would be my position, but coach put me at a three.  This year, I just have to get stronger, which I am doing with strength & conditioning with Coach (Richard) Akins in the weight room and I also have to get tougher so I can play down there with all the big people."

Mary Kathryn Govero, Junior, Guard/Forward

On the goals for the season...
"Obviously, we have not played any games yet but we want to come back and pick up where we left off last year where we played better as a team, knew each other better as a team, and we played for 40 minutes.  We do not want to come in and have that lull of not picking it up till the second half. We want to pick up where we left off last year with momentum and going from game-to-game playing for 40 minutes together."

On the team's makeup...
"We have a lot of guards on our team so we have to rely on our quickness a lot which will help us defensively to be able to pressure the ball full court.  We have the extra speed to get in the people on defense.  Defense is definitely going to be a key to transitioning into offense because of our size and quickness."

On injured senior guard Marneshia Richard...
"We are definitely excited for her to be able to get back out on the court.  She is a leader and she leads by example.  She pushes us in practice to become better so we are looking forward to having her leadership on the court.  We will definitely miss having her out there on the court, but we were faced with this last year.  She came in and got hurt early before a game started, so we have experienced this before.  Everybody is going to have to step up in a way that they might not have had to if she was out there.  Everyone is going to have to step up and play a bigger part to pick up where she was taking us.  In a lot of ways, we want to honor her with how we play this season because she can't be out there.  We want to play better for her."

On her role with the team...
"Just because we are so guard oriented and interchangeable, I have been playing a lot of the two and three positions.  We have to be ready to step into whichever position we're called upon.  Whether it is one through five, at any point we have to be ready to go out there and play whatever the team needs us for that situation and play our best."