2001-02 Women's Basketball Prospectus
Thirteenth-year head coach Beth
Couture returns three starters and nine letterwinners
from last year’s squad which posted a record of 22 wins
against 8 losses and a 11-3 mark in the South Atlantic
Conference (SAC) regular season, good for second place and
ended the season ranked #23 in the final USA Today/WBCA Top
25 poll.
PC enters the 2001-02 season picked second in the South
Atlantic Conference preseason Coach’s Poll behind defending
champion, Catawba College.
The
Blue Hose will have to find a way to fill the void left by a
quintet of players in seniors Amy Monroe, Rachel
Sloan, and Tracy Woody, along with redshirt senior
guard Candice Choice, and junior post Heather
Parnell. The seniors finished their career at PC with a
97-24 (.802) four-year mark, and accounted for 45% of the
offense last season.
Monroe’s
leadership both on and off the court will have to be replaced
for this year’s team to reach its potential.
Sloan,
the program’s first Kodak All-American and two-time SAC
Player of the Year selection, left as arguably the most
decorated player in program history and as the program‘s
all-time leading scorer (1,889) and rebounder (1,034).
Woody,
the program’s best all-around player and one of the top
perimeter defenders in the nation, finished her career as one
of only five players in SAC history to tally 1,000 points, 500
rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 steals in their career.
Choice
decided to move to the sideline this season after an
injury-plagued career and will assist the coaching staff.
Through
12 seasons, Couture, the 1994, ‘96,‘98, and ‘99 SAC
Coach of the Year, has compiled a 237-108 career record and
led her squads to five NCAA Division II national tournament
appearances. She is the all-time winningest coach in the
program’s history and bears the distinction of being the
only coach in the South Atlantic Conference to earn coach of
the year honors in two different women’s sports, having also
been honored in volleyball in 1990, ’91, & ’92.
Couture, a 1984 graduate of Erskine College, will be aided on
the sidelines by first-year assistant coach Seph
Hatley, a 1994 graduate of Pfeiffer University, while
Choice and Sloan move from the court to the sideline after
finishing their careers last season.
BACKCOURT
In
the backcourt, both starters return from last season in senior
shooting guard Katie Davis
and sophomore point guard Bonnie
Werner.
Davis,
a returning starter, will see time at shooting guard to start
the season. A starter in 24 contests last season, Davis had a
solid season for the Blue Hose. She finished fourth on the
team in scoring (8.5) and assists (2.1), and shot 32.9% from
three-point range. Joining Davis in the backcourt is Werner,
who had an impressive freshman campaign. A starter in 24 of 30
contests, she averaged 6.0 points and 2.8 assists en route to
SAC All-Freshman team accolades. She was named to the Kennesaw
State University All-Tournament last season and will return to
her starting position at point guard this season.
Adding
depth to the backcourt are senior Nicole
Chittam and sophomore Billie
Haskins. Chittam saw action in 25 games with one
starting assignment, and brings a deadly outside shooting
touch from three-point land. She shot 29.8% from beyond the
arc and will compete for a starting slot while being called
upon to be a consistent scorer this season. Haskins saw action
in 19 games with three starts before being lost for the season
due to a knee injury. She has fully recovered in the off-season
and will look to break into the starting five entering
preseason. Before the injury, Haskins was on tract for a fine
season, averaging 5.9 points and shooting 45.7% from
three-point range.
A
quintet of freshmen in Dana
Birnie (Suwanne, GA/Wesleyan School), Lauren
Dobson (Greenville, SC/Wade Hampton HS), Joanna
Day-Lewis (Blairsville, GA/Union County HS), Noel
Livernois (Greenwood, SC/Emerald HS), and Sarah
Woods (Florence, KY/Calvary Christian HS) will compete
for playing time. All five players will have to make the
transition to the college game immediately to make an impact
this season.
POST
In
the post, five letterwinners return: seniors Toni
Leopard, Merritt Misner,
and Ja’Net Vicks,
junior Jennifer Dorminey
and redshirt freshman Lauren
Yanik.
Leopard,
who is a three-year starter, started 26 games last season and
finished second on the team in scoring (13.8) and rebounding
(4.7). She shot 46.8% from the field while leading the team
and the SAC in free throw percentage (87.8%). For her efforts,
she was selected to the first team All-SAC squad. Leopard, who
was named to the preseason All-SAC squad, is one of the most
versatile scorers in the league, which gives opponents major
matchup problems and one of two captains this season entering
preseason.
Misner,
who saw action in 26 games with two starts, had a solid junior
campaign. She was second on the team in blocks (15) while
averaging 2.7 rebounds and shooting 45.8% from the field.
Misner, who will be asked to step up her production on both
ends of the floor, will compete with Vicks and others for the
starting slots in the post this season. Misner along with
Leopard are the team’s co-captains entering preseason.
Joining
Misner in competition for the starting slot in the post is
Jan’et Vicks. Last season Vicks had a solid season after
averaging 2.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and shooting 49.3% from the
field. She saw action in 29 games with two starting
assignments a year ago. Vicks, as with Misner, will be asked
to contribute at both ends of the floor for the team to be
successful this season.
Joining
Misner and Vicks is Dorminey, who saw action in 16 games with
one start in 2000-01. She averaged 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds
while shooting 40.7% from the field while coming off the
bench. Dorminey will battle for a starting slot and playing
time entering preseason.
Yanik,
who saw action in two games before being diagnosed with
Mononuceloious, brings tremendous potential to the frontcourt.
She has a rare blend of size and speed while not shying away
from mixing it up in the paint.