Sports Editor

Every hear the tired old cliche ­ today is the first day of the rest of your life? That might sum up the Troy State Lady Trojans’ position right now.

When it comes to simple wins and losses, the TSU women haven’t had the best luck so far this year, but now is the time to put all that behind them and concentrate on the task at hand. That task begins in Florida on Thursday at Florida Atlantic.

The game is the first of a three-game road swing, the first two of which are important Trans America Athletic Conference games. A pair of wins could shed new light on a season that has been hampered by injuries and early losses.

Getting ahead in the conference race early on is something head coach Jerry Hester has stressed and something he wouldn’t mind seeing come Thursday and Saturday.

"To win the regular season conference championship you’ve got to win your home games and you have to go on the road and win some you probably shouldn’t win," Hester said. "To make it to where we want to be, especially after losing one conference game at home already, we’re going to have to go in looking to win both of them or get out of there with a split in a worse-case scenario."

That won’t be an easy assignment for Hester’s depleted squad.

Although they pulled out a one-point 73-72 win over Texas-Pan American last week, the Lady Trojans will have to battle without the help of leading scorer Abby Boone and Keisha Ellis who was supposed to play her first game against TPA. The two are currently out on an indefinite suspension for violation of team rules.

"It was going to be tough to begin with, but not having those two certainly didn’t make it any easier," Hester said. "If I had to state a point of return I would have to say it would be after this road trip.

"It helped their confidence showing them that they can win a little short in numbers and bodies," Hester continued about those who are left to fill in. "It was a one-point win, but there were times in the game that we played really, really well."

Out numbered and on the road the Lady Trojans will have to find a way to accomplish their goals. It’s still early, but any conference win on the road will be huge down the stretch for Troy State.