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American Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- American Press
Cowgirls will be road tested
Ayla Guzzardo will be taking her first McNeese team on the road a lot this season. (Kirk Meche/ Special to the American Press) Looking to raise the profile and ranking of her basketball program, first-year McNeese women's head coach Ayla Guzzardo will hit the road for all but two of her non-conference games this season. Guzzardo released the pre-Southland Conference portion of her schedule Thursday as the Cowgirls will open the season with the annual Kids' Game on November 3 in the Legacy Center. 'We are looking forward to our season opener, where we welcome the youth of Lake Charles to kick off our season,' said Guzzardo. 'We want to take that game and get kids interested in the Cowgirls so that they ask their parents to bring them back. It is a great way for us to interact with the community.' McNeese will host Pensacola Christian College and several thousand students from Calcasieu Parish schools for the fourth such game. The Cowgirls' only other home game before SLC play will also be against another non-Division I school, LSU-Alexanderia, on November 22. In the past, the McNeese women's team would play four non-Division I schools at home, a practice Guzzardo aims to eliminate in the future to improve the Cowgirl schedule and achieve better rankings. 'We will have more home games against Division I schools in the years to come,' said Guzzardo. 'We want to get our net ranking below 100 and even in the top 75. With 22 league games scheduled for this season and finishing previous commitments, the window for such contests at home this year was limited. 'I'm trying to get a 13 or 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament if we win our league,' said Guzzardo. 'We want to stay away from that 16 and 15 spot. We want to come in and play three or four, not one or two. Highlighting the non-conference schedule will be three games against teams that advanced to the postseason last year, including two games against teams that won NCAA Tournament games. A road game at Alabama will provide the first actual test of the season for the Cowgirls. The Crimson Tide is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last season, where they fell in double overtime to Maryland in the second round. The non-conference schedule also has McNeese traveling to Tarleton State, which fell to Lindenwood in the second round of the WNIT, followed by a road game at Utah Tech. McNeese fell to Utah Tech at home last season. McNeese will travel to Tempe, Arizona (Dec. 5-6) for a multi-team event hosted by Arizona State. The Cowgirls will take on Arizona State, another NCAA Tournament team that lost to Iowa State in the second round last season, as well as a game against Nevada. 'This is the hand we have been dealt, and we will deal with it,' said Guzzardo. 'Our goal is to get into some mid-major polls this year and to do that, we are going to have to win some of these big games. 'We know if we make the NCAA Tournament, we are going to have to play on the road in their gym, so we want to get used to those environments.' McNeese will also host one preseason scrimmage against a Division I foe and travel for another. Those scrimmages will not be open to the public. 'We will get to challenge ourselves early in the non-conference schedule against an Alabama team that made some noise in the NCAA Tournament last year,' Guzzardo said. 'We will be road warriors with trips to Utah Tech, Arizona State, and Tarleton, which is great because it will make us ready for our rigorous conference opponents.' 2025-26 McNeese Women's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule Nov. 3 Pensacola Christian College (Kids' Game) Nov. 6 at Alabama Nov. 16 at Tarleton State Nov. 22 LSUA Dec. 2 at Utah Tech Dec. 5-6 at Arizona State Tournament (Arizona State, Nevada) Home games in BOLD
Fox Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Arizona's Burke, Arizona State's Miller enter rivalry with mutual respect
Associated Press As new coaches at opposite ends of a rivalry, Arizona State's Molly Miller and Arizona's Becky Burke could easily hold animosity toward the other. Far from it. Both coaches admire the way the other has worked through the coaching ranks, winning at every stop, and how their infectious enthusiasm seeps onto the floor through their players. They also have a common connection: Stephanie Norman. The current associate head coach on Miller's inaugural staff was once at Louisville, where she coached Burke as an assistant under Jeff Walz. 'She's funny because coach Norman is like, Becky is kind of like my boss in a way, being a head coach,'' Miller said. 'She's (Burke) really competitive and comes from a great program in Louisville. It'll be fine because I have a lot of respect for how she's kind of climbed and been there." Arizona and Arizona State have new women's basketball coaches for the first time — outside of the programs' first season in 1981 — since the Wildcats hired June Olkowski and Maura McHugh took over the Sun Devils in 1987. Miller and Burke have the same goal — winning — yet will come at it from different starting points. Burke takes over an Arizona program that's on firm standing, earning trips to the NCAA Tournament four of the past five years under previous coach Adia Barnes, including a run to the 2021 national championship game. When Barnes left for SMU during the offseason, Arizona turned to Burke and her resume full of winning. She played in the NCAA Tournament three times as a sharpshooting guard, reaching the 2009 national title game and the Sweet 16 two years later. After stints as an assistant coach, Burke had winning records as a head coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, the University of Charleston in West Virginia and USC Upstate. Burke spent the past three seasons at Buffalo, leading the Bulls to a 30-win season and a WNIT title last year. The transfer portal era wreaked havoc on Arizona's roster — Montaya Dew is the only returner on scholarship — but Burke has a foundation in place with recent successes and strong fan support in Tucson. 'The momentum in the brand and the fact that she (Barnes) did a great job building this is extremely helpful, but ultimately we're starting from scratch,' Burke said. 'We walk into a locker room that has one player and it doesn't help you in the moment, but it's nice to say on recruiting calls that you coach at Arizona and they know what it is and what it's about.' Miller's task will be to rebuild a brand at Arizona State that's struggled to regain relevancy since the end of longtime coach Charli Turner Thorne's tenure. The Sun Devils have not been to the NCAA Tournament since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019 and went 29-62 in three seasons under Natasha Adair after Turner Thorne's retirement in 2022. Like Burke, Miller brings a history of winning with her. Miller was one of the top scorers in Drury University history as a player and spent two seasons as an assistant following a stint at a neurological and spine institute in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri. She became the head coach at her alma mater in 2014 and won 180 games over six seasons before becoming Grand Canyon's coach. Miller led the Antelopes to a 32-3 record last season, including a 30-game winning streak, and took the program to its first NCAA Tournament. She went 117-38 at GCU before moving across town to Arizona State. 'I think with any good program to have a quick turnaround, you have to have buy-in,' Miller said. 'That's the biggest piece and I think we've gotten our teams to buy in pretty quickly the last few years.' Burke has done the same everywhere she's been. Now the two coaches will try doing it on opposite ends of a rivalry. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Arizona's Burke, Arizona State's Miller enter rivalry with mutual respect
As new coaches at opposite ends of a rivalry, Arizona State's Molly Miller and Arizona's Becky Burke could easily hold animosity toward the other. Far from it. Both coaches admire the way the other has worked through the coaching ranks, winning at every stop, and how their infectious enthusiasm seeps onto the floor through their players. They also have a common connection: Stephanie Norman. The current associate head coach on Miller's inaugural staff was once at Louisville, where she coached Burke as an assistant under Jeff Walz. 'She's funny because coach Norman is like, Becky is kind of like my boss in a way, being a head coach,'' Miller said. 'She's (Burke) really competitive and comes from a great program in Louisville. It'll be fine because I have a lot of respect for how she's kind of climbed and been there.' Arizona and Arizona State have new women's basketball coaches for the first time — outside of the programs' first season in 1981 — since the Wildcats hired June Olkowski and Maura McHugh took over the Sun Devils in 1987. Miller and Burke have the same goal — winning — yet will come at it from different starting points. Burke takes over an Arizona program that's on firm standing, earning trips to the NCAA Tournament four of the past five years under previous coach Adia Barnes, including a run to the 2021 national championship game. When Barnes left for SMU during the offseason, Arizona turned to Burke and her resume full of winning. She played in the NCAA Tournament three times as a sharpshooting guard, reaching the 2009 national title game and the Sweet 16 two years later. After stints as an assistant coach, Burke had winning records as a head coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, the University of Charleston in West Virginia and USC Upstate. Burke spent the past three seasons at Buffalo, leading the Bulls to a 30-win season and a WNIT title last year. The transfer portal era wreaked havoc on Arizona's roster — Montaya Dew is the only returner on scholarship — but Burke has a foundation in place with recent successes and strong fan support in Tucson. 'The momentum in the brand and the fact that she (Barnes) did a great job building this is extremely helpful, but ultimately we're starting from scratch,' Burke said. 'We walk into a locker room that has one player and it doesn't help you in the moment, but it's nice to say on recruiting calls that you coach at Arizona and they know what it is and what it's about.' Miller's task will be to rebuild a brand at Arizona State that's struggled to regain relevancy since the end of longtime coach Charli Turner Thorne's tenure. The Sun Devils have not been to the NCAA Tournament since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019 and went 29-62 in three seasons under Natasha Adair after Turner Thorne's retirement in 2022. Like Burke, Miller brings a history of winning with her. Miller was one of the top scorers in Drury University history as a player and spent two seasons as an assistant following a stint at a neurological and spine institute in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri. She became the head coach at her alma mater in 2014 and won 180 games over six seasons before becoming Grand Canyon's coach. Miller led the Antelopes to a 32-3 record last season, including a 30-game winning streak, and took the program to its first NCAA Tournament. She went 117-38 at GCU before moving across town to Arizona State. 'I think with any good program to have a quick turnaround, you have to have buy-in,' Miller said. 'That's the biggest piece and I think we've gotten our teams to buy in pretty quickly the last few years.' Burke has done the same everywhere she's been. Now the two coaches will try doing it on opposite ends of a rivalry. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Arizona's Burke, Arizona State's Miller enter rivalry with mutual respect
As new coaches at opposite ends of a rivalry, Arizona State's Molly Miller and Arizona's Becky Burke could easily hold animosity toward the other. Far from it. Both coaches admire the way the other has worked through the coaching ranks, winning at every stop, and how their infectious enthusiasm seeps onto the floor through their players. They also have a common connection: Stephanie Norman. The current associate head coach on Miller's inaugural staff was once at Louisville, where she coached Burke as an assistant under Jeff Walz. 'She's funny because coach Norman is like, Becky is kind of like my boss in a way, being a head coach,'' Miller said. 'She's (Burke) really competitive and comes from a great program in Louisville. It'll be fine because I have a lot of respect for how she's kind of climbed and been there.' Arizona and Arizona State have new women's basketball coaches for the first time — outside of the programs' first season in 1981 — since the Wildcats hired June Olkowski and Maura McHugh took over the Sun Devils in 1987. Miller and Burke have the same goal — winning — yet will come at it from different starting points. Burke takes over an Arizona program that's on firm standing, earning trips to the NCAA Tournament four of the past five years under previous coach Adia Barnes, including a run to the 2021 national championship game. When Barnes left for SMU during the offseason, Arizona turned to Burke and her resume full of winning. She played in the NCAA Tournament three times as a sharpshooting guard, reaching the 2009 national title game and the Sweet 16 two years later. After stints as an assistant coach, Burke had winning records as a head coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, the University of Charleston in West Virginia and USC Upstate. Burke spent the past three seasons at Buffalo, leading the Bulls to a 30-win season and a WNIT title last year. The transfer portal era wreaked havoc on Arizona's roster — Montaya Dew is the only returner on scholarship — but Burke has a foundation in place with recent successes and strong fan support in Tucson. 'The momentum in the brand and the fact that she (Barnes) did a great job building this is extremely helpful, but ultimately we're starting from scratch,' Burke said. 'We walk into a locker room that has one player and it doesn't help you in the moment, but it's nice to say on recruiting calls that you coach at Arizona and they know what it is and what it's about.' Miller's task will be to rebuild a brand at Arizona State that's struggled to regain relevancy since the end of longtime coach Charli Turner Thorne's tenure. The Sun Devils have not been to the NCAA Tournament since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019 and went 29-62 in three seasons under Natasha Adair after Turner Thorne's retirement in 2022. Like Burke, Miller brings a history of winning with her. Miller was one of the top scorers in Drury University history as a player and spent two seasons as an assistant following a stint at a neurological and spine institute in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri. She became the head coach at her alma mater in 2014 and won 180 games over six seasons before becoming Grand Canyon's coach. Miller led the Antelopes to a 32-3 record last season, including a 30-game winning streak, and took the program to its first NCAA Tournament. She went 117-38 at GCU before moving across town to Arizona State. 'I think with any good program to have a quick turnaround, you have to have buy-in,' Miller said. 'That's the biggest piece and I think we've gotten our teams to buy in pretty quickly the last few years.' Burke has done the same everywhere she's been. Now the two coaches will try doing it on opposite ends of a rivalry.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arizona's Burke, Arizona State's Miller enter rivalry with mutual respect
As new coaches at opposite ends of a rivalry, Arizona State's Molly Miller and Arizona's Becky Burke could easily hold animosity toward the other. Far from it. Both coaches admire the way the other has worked through the coaching ranks, winning at every stop, and how their infectious enthusiasm seeps onto the floor through their players. They also have a common connection: Stephanie Norman. The current associate head coach on Miller's inaugural staff was once at Louisville, where she coached Burke as an assistant under Jeff Walz. 'She's funny because coach Norman is like, Becky is kind of like my boss in a way, being a head coach,'' Miller said. 'She's (Burke) really competitive and comes from a great program in Louisville. It'll be fine because I have a lot of respect for how she's kind of climbed and been there." Arizona and Arizona State have new women's basketball coaches for the first time — outside of the programs' first season in 1981 — since the Wildcats hired June Olkowski and Maura McHugh took over the Sun Devils in 1987. Miller and Burke have the same goal — winning — yet will come at it from different starting points. Burke takes over an Arizona program that's on firm standing, earning trips to the NCAA Tournament four of the past five years under previous coach Adia Barnes, including a run to the 2021 national championship game. When Barnes left for SMU during the offseason, Arizona turned to Burke and her resume full of winning. She played in the NCAA Tournament three times as a sharpshooting guard, reaching the 2009 national title game and the Sweet 16 two years later. After stints as an assistant coach, Burke had winning records as a head coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, the University of Charleston in West Virginia and USC Upstate. Burke spent the past three seasons at Buffalo, leading the Bulls to a 30-win season and a WNIT title last year. The transfer portal era wreaked havoc on Arizona's roster — Montaya Dew is the only returner on scholarship — but Burke has a foundation in place with recent successes and strong fan support in Tucson. 'The momentum in the brand and the fact that she (Barnes) did a great job building this is extremely helpful, but ultimately we're starting from scratch,' Burke said. 'We walk into a locker room that has one player and it doesn't help you in the moment, but it's nice to say on recruiting calls that you coach at Arizona and they know what it is and what it's about.' Miller's task will be to rebuild a brand at Arizona State that's struggled to regain relevancy since the end of longtime coach Charli Turner Thorne's tenure. The Sun Devils have not been to the NCAA Tournament since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019 and went 29-62 in three seasons under Natasha Adair after Turner Thorne's retirement in 2022. Like Burke, Miller brings a history of winning with her. Miller was one of the top scorers in Drury University history as a player and spent two seasons as an assistant following a stint at a neurological and spine institute in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri. She became the head coach at her alma mater in 2014 and won 180 games over six seasons before becoming Grand Canyon's coach. Miller led the Antelopes to a 32-3 record last season, including a 30-game winning streak, and took the program to its first NCAA Tournament. She went 117-38 at GCU before moving across town to Arizona State. 'I think with any good program to have a quick turnaround, you have to have buy-in,' Miller said. 'That's the biggest piece and I think we've gotten our teams to buy in pretty quickly the last few years.' Burke has done the same everywhere she's been. Now the two coaches will try doing it on opposite ends of a rivalry. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and
