Demorest, GA - When Head Coach Jamie Purdy and the Piedmont College women's basketball team tips off Thursday night at Toccoa Falls to start the season, there won't be a lot of surprises for a team with plenty of experience.  The Lady Lions return all five starters from a year ago and bring back several seniors who now, with most of their academic work behind them, have one last goal to reach - a USA South title.

"I think they are pretty excited about their senior year," says Purdy of her veterans returning for a final run at the USA South Championships.  "On the academic side, they are starting to see their programs come to a close with either their labs or student teaching wrapping up.  And I think they are now starting to get really excited about their last season of college basketball and finishing on the right note."

Three of the top four scorers from a year ago are now in their senior seasons including MARY KATE RUSHTON, TAYLOR SWOSZOWSKI, and LE'SHAUNDA JONES who all will be playing their fourth year at Piedmont this winter.  Rushton's scoring coupled with Jones' defensive tenacity along with Swoszowski's contagious play are likely to be key factors for Piedmont during the season, but the veterans will need to be ready early as challenges are not hard to come by in November and December.

The Lady Lions start their 2015-16 campaign on the road where they will be for the majority of the early part of the season with their first six games of the year all coming away from the friendly confines of Cave Arena.  However, Head Coach Jamie Purdy doesn't necessarily see that as a bad thing for her team heading into the season with the right mix of veteran leadership and talent.

"I think that it will help us get rid of those first game jitters.  We usually play to a pretty packed house here at Piedmont, so if we can get on the road and get those first games under our belt, it may help us put on a pretty good show for those home fans at our place."

Not only will the environment for the Lady Lions in the early going be tough, but the level of play is likely to be as challenging with games against Emory University and Berry College looming in the near future.  Emory is just two seasons removed from a trip to the NCAA's Sweet 16 while Berry won 18 games last season, one shy of Piedmont's total for 2014-15.  

If that weren't enough, the 6-game road swing to start the winter wraps up with Piedmont's first conference game of the year as the Lady Lions travel to take on the Hawks of Huntingdon College on December 13.  However, Purdy knows her team needs to be shortsighted looking only at what's directly in front of them on the schedule.

"We've got to take this one game at a time," said Purdy. "We started off really well last year, and then come January, it started getting tougher as we entered conference play and dealt with more travel.  My focus right now is just taking it one game at a time, and make sure our girls get the rest they need to be fresh all season so that come tournament time, we won't be packing our bags to go home."

That attitude comes as no surprise to those close to the program as they've seen Purdy help her team develop laser focus in the past that sparked three of her teams to conference championships with the most recent coming in 2011.  With the Lady Lions eyeing their first USA South title since joining the league in 2012, Piedmont will likely be looking to young talent to help its veteran squad take home the hardware at the end of February.

"It's too early to really tell much about our newcomers, but we've been able to get them in a few scrimmages and see some good things," said Purdy. "We have a local kid, JALEN DAVIS, who was able to do a lot of good things in our scrimmages.  Sophomore BRIDGETTE KELLY stepped in and filled some good minutes early so far, and I think that there are a lot of sophomores like her that will be able to step up this year I believe."

The additions are not limited to the student-athletes on the court either as Coach Purdy brings a new assistant coach on staff this season, a factor that will likely help the Lady Lions in several areas including player development, an area that will be key for an already talented squad in 2015-16.

"I'm grateful to have Brad on board as an assistant coach, it impacts our program immensely," said Purdy of the new addition that will be on the sidelines this season. "Brad has a background in player development, and I think that's important for any program to have.  Someone who can give that 1-on-1 attention to players, it's key. He also brings a lot of energy to the bench as well and that will be an added bonus for us as well."

While Coach Cochran's addition to the staff adds balance for the Lady Lions who will need to keep an even keel through early challenges, it's the end of the road that has at least some of the attention of the Head Coach who feels that her team being fresh in the end may be the difference this time around to putting a USA South trophy on the mantle for the first time.  And it's Purdy who knows that the spring semester start-up brings no rest for the weary either.

"Come January and February, there's no time for rest.  But I think it will be nice to have a lot more games at home during that time because you can get worn down over a long season," said Purdy. "We're going to try and keep our kids rested early and focused as much as possible, and having those home events where we have our crowd and our support, it will be nice for sure."

It all starts Thursday, November 19 as the Lady Lions travel to Toccoa Falls College, a local foe that is separated by just a 30-minute trip from Cave Arena.  Tip-off against the Screaming Eagles is set for 7:00 pm 

The home portion of the schedule kicks off with a November 15 matchup against North Carolina Wesleyan College with tip off set for 7:00 pm against the Battling Bishops.  The game will be carried live on the Mane Event Broadcasting Network as well as WCON Radio.