Jamie Craighead didn't mince words. In her first season as Sacramento State's women's basketball coach, she plans to crank up the tempo.
How fast does she want the Hornets to play? Remember Paul Westhead's men's teams at Loyola Marymount?
"That's a really good comparison," said Craighead, whose team begins practice tonight and opens the season Nov. 15 at home against Cal State Fullerton.
"I've always believed it's a fun way to play. Kids enjoy it. It's entertaining for people who want to come out and watch the games. I want to shoot the ball 80 times a game."
The Hornets averaged 55.8 shots per game last season, a number that should increase dramatically if Craighead's running, pressing and trapping style takes root.
"I'm a big believer in everything is about putting points on the scoreboard," said Craighead, a former Hornets assistant who was elevated to the top job May 1 after Dan Muscatell left to become an assistant at Oregon.
"I want to score more points than our opponent. I didn't say stop our opponent. I said score more points."
Craighead's plans include full-court pressure and half-court traps to disrupt opponent's offenses.
"Our goal is to take the other opponent out of what they want to do," she said.
Senior forward Charday Hunt, a second-team all-Big Sky Conference selection last season, said she was looking forward to the running game.
"I have never conditioned this much in my life," she said. "It's just going to be a track race pretty much. It's going to be really fun to play."
Sac State returns four starters – Hunt, post player Erika Edwards and guards Sami Field-Polisso and Ashley Garcia – and seven reserves from a team that finished 9-21 overall and earned a spot in the league tournament for the first time in four years with a 7-9 mark.
Craighead said she has the depth to run. Hunt hopes more experience and a faster pace translates into more wins.
"I feel like we've already gotten better since last year," Hunt said. "Our new system is going to make us that much better."
Call The Bee's John Schumacher, (916) 326-5523.
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