ANDERSON, SC--Make no mistake: Jim Brunelli is not taking his Lady Trojan basketball team to Hickory, NC just for the 'experience' of playing in an NCAA tournament. Coach Brunelli did not take over a team that belonged mostly to Jeff Dow, put it together like a patch-work quilt, meld them back into winners, and see a season unfold in fantastic fashion right before his very eyes, so that they could just go for the experience. Consider experiencing the Conference Carolinas tournament with the Lady Trojans. St. Andrews, Queens, #7 Barton, and #10 Mount Olive did. That experience put a combined 94 points between the Lady Trojans and their opponents over that stretch. The only experience seniors Keana Boyd, Kirsten Peterson, and Genia Holbrook care about is one that involves winning. "I am so glad that I decided to come down here and play instead of staying in New York," said center and last-minute transfer, Peterson. "There is no reason why we can't go to regionals and make another run like we did in the conference tournament." Peterson played for coach Brunelli at Albany University in New York where he was an assistant coach. Albany was a first year D-I school at the time, thus, adversity is not new to the tandem. As a team, the Lady Trojans are clicking on all cylinders, and, as assistant coach Deidra Langston put it, "they've always had the capability to pull this off, they just had to start believing in themselves; they are realizing that this is big stuff, and they want more." As for what is in store for the Trojans in the NCAA regionals: they go to Hickory to face a #1 Lenoir-Rhyne Lady Bears team that finished the season with 26 wins, jumped up to a #19 national ranking at season's end and has plenty of experience. But the Lady Trojans are sticking to what has brought them here. "I don't think we've ever backed down on any of our philosophies," said coach Brunelli. "We can push tempo and we can control tempo; where we have our success though, is on the defensive side of the ball. "We are still building along and I thinks it's only going to get better." The Lady Trojans take to the road today headed for Hickory, NC--an AU contingent hopefully in tow. The tip-off for the first round match-up is set for 6:00pm at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium. Student tickets are only $5 with a valid ID; adult tickets are $7. See you in Hickory. Independent Mail Feature Live Tournament Webcast