Henderson looks to 'Turn Up' for 2018-19 basketball teams

ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State's athletics department will partner with student affairs and the Student Activities Board to host the fifth annual "Turn Up for Tipoff" event at the Duke Wells Center.

Members of the 2018-19 men's and women's basketball teams will be introduced at 9 p.m. The event is open to the public and will kick off homecoming week activities.

The first 200 students at the door will receive free pizza and a shirt.

"Henderson State Athletics would like to thank student affairs, the Student Activities Board and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for their efforts in assisting to make this a first class event," said Hunter Lively, director of marketing for the athletics department.

"We want to give the student-athletes an exciting season-opening experience and encourage everyone to come out and support our men's and women's basketball programs."

The men's team will play an eight-minute scrimmage before team captains and coaches address the crowd. The Reddies were 14-14 in the 2017-18 season and 9-13 in the Great American Conference.

The Reddie cheer and pom squads will perform after the scrimmage. The event will also include several basketball contests.

This year's contestants for the 3-point contest on the women's side include junior guard Hailey Estes, from Conway; freshman guard Maci Mains, out of Springdale Har-Ber; and sophomore guard Lani Snowden, of Van Buren. The Reddies were 21-9 overall and 16-6 in the GAC last season, exiting in the semifinals of the GAC Women's Basketball Championships tournament in Bartlesville, Okla.

The contestants from the men's side are sophomore guard Chris Parker, out of Plano East High School in Texas; redshirt sophomore guard Kyle Murphy, out of Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio; and junior guard Anthony Lupardus, a transfer from Johnson County Community College in his hometown of Overland Park, Kansas.

The dunk contestants are 6-9 junior forward Mike Fofana, a native of Memphis, Tenn., and a transfer from UT-Martin; 6-9 freshman forward Adrian McConnell, of Warren High School in San Antonio; 6-5 sophomore forward Jeremiah Toney, a graduate of Wilbur D. Mills University Studies High School in Little Rock and a transfer from Arkansas-Fort smith; and 6-10 junior forward Tanner Hamilton, a graduate of Trinity Christian in Texarkana and a transfer from Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.

Students in attendance will be able to win a variety of prizes throughout the night. A handful of students will be preselected to participate in a half court shot at the end of the event for a grand prize of $500.

The women's team will begin its season on Nov. 9-10 at the Southwest Baptist Classic in Bolivar, Mo. The Reddies will play two more non-conference road games before opening GAC play at Southern Arkansas in Magnolia on Nov. 29. Their first home game is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. against Wiley College.

The men's season begins on Nov. 1 with an exhibition at Division I Louisiana-Monroe. The Reddies' first home game is scheduled for Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. against Ecclesia College.

Sports on 10/12/2018

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