RUSTON - Louisiana Tech fans will get their first look at life without Cheryl Ford Monday night when the No. 12 ranked Lady Techsters host the Pernik Jumpers from the Netherlands in a 6 p.m. exhibition game at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Head coach Kurt Budke's squad returns four starters and seven letter winners from a team that posted a 31-3 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. However, the one loss to graduation was Ford, who showed her true worth by earning the 2003 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award for the Detroit Shock.

"I would say the biggest question mark on this team right now is our depth inside," Budke said. "There is no way one person can replace everything that Cheryl did for us last year. However, I really think Amisha Carter has a great chance to have an outstanding year and we need her to in order to be successful."

Carter, who averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game coming off the bench as a junior, will have an opportunity Monday night to showcase her talents as the Lady Techsters will also be without senior forward Trina Frierson, who was recently named the preseason Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Frierson is still recovering from early-October knee surgery and is expected to be ready by Tech's regular season opener Nov. 21 against Stephen F. Austin.

"Amisha is the only post player we have right now who saw action last year," Budke said. "Neither Tiffany (Thompson) nor Tamika (Kursh) played for us last season so this game will be good experience for them. I'm anxious to see how they both do."

Thompson is a junior college signee from Trinity Valley Community College while Kursh is a redshirt freshman who missed last season due to an injury.

Lady Techster fans will also get their first look at arguably the quickest team in the country this season as Budke boasts a wealth of guards, including speedsters Tasha Crain, Lakiste Barkus, Amber Obaze and Erica Smith-Taylor.

"One of our biggest strengths will be our quickness," Budke said. "We played up tempo last year but I think people will see that we are going to turn it up another notch this season. We have to use it to our advantage."

The 6 p.m. game will be the first of an exhibition double header as the Bulldogs will face the Spirit Express at approximately 8 p.m.