2012-13 Gardner-Webb Women's Basketball Season Preview
November 05, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - For the second straight season, the Gardner-Webb women's basketball team will have a lot of young faces on the roster, as 11 of the 15 student-athletes on the squad list are true sophomores and freshmen. Head Coach Rick Reeves' squad will once again face another rebuilding year, as the 2012-13 team will have eight newcomers and a total of 11 players that have started less than 10 games at the intercollegiate level.
Coming off a 4-25 season, in which the Runnin' Bulldogs played the likes of North Carolina, Southern California, Duke and Louisville, the young team was thrown into the fire immediately and will look to use that experience heading into this season.
With injuries to seniors Kim McKenney and Cierra Harris sidelining the two for the season, the Runnin' Bulldogs will look for leadership from juniors Catrina Green, Jasmine Dale and Tabby Koerner, the lone returners from GWU's championship season in 2010-11. Green and Dale, who led the team in scoring last season, will be asked to step up on both ends of the floor even more in the junior year.
Joining Green, Dale and Koerner, along with the eight newcomers, are second-year players Jessica Heilig, Mayhana Dunovant and Chariah Harris. All three will have looked to have grown from their hardships in their first season at GWU last season and use that experience heading into 2012-13.
GUARDS
The Runnin' Bulldogs return only two players from a season ago at the guard spot in Dale and Dunovant. While both will see significant time on the court, a handful of newcomers will also be competing for playing time throughout the season.
The point guard spot is the biggest question mark of the season, as the lone returner at the position is the sophomore Dunovant. While Dunovant played in all 29 games last season, she only split time at the position, and yet will be asked this year to run the offense for Coach Reeves and his staff. However, Dunovant has battled a handful of nagging injuries throughout the offseason and preseason and hopes to be 100 percent come early November.
With Dunovant at the point guard position is newcomers Lana Doran and Doreen Richardson. Doran, a 5-9 freshman from London, England, is a versatile player that has a lot of International experience that will aid her in running the GWU offense. Richardson is a super-quick point guard that fits the mold of the point guards from Gardner-Webb University and will look to former All-Conference performer and first-year assistant coach Dominique Hudson for guidance on making the transition to the Division I level.
At shooting guard, Dale is slated to be the starter, as the junior returns after averaging 9.3 points per game last season. Dale, who is GWU's best outside shooting threat, will look to improve on last year's 30.5 percent shooting from behind the three-point line, while also transitioning to more of a leadership roll this season.
Depending on the point guard position, both Doran and Richardson will see time at the off-guard position, as both players are capable of scoring in different ways with the ball, while fellow newcomer Monica Compton will provide depth off the bench for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
FORWARDS
The small forward position is perhaps the deepest position for the Runnin' Bulldogs this season, headlined by Heilig and newcomers Candace Brown and Savannah Douglass.
Heilig will transition from the power forward spot to her more natural position at small forward this season. The 6-1 sophomore, who played against much taller competition at the four spot all season long last year, started 24 contests last season and averaged 5.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a true freshman.
Brown, who led the national in scoring last season at 36 points per game at Summer's County High School in West Virginia, will see playing time at both the shooting guard and small forward position. The 5-8 freshman brings a scoring mentality to the Runnin' Bulldogs' line up, as the McDonald's All-American honorable mention can score from both the outside and off the dribble with both hands.
Douglass, another freshman from Buckhead, Ga., will compete for immediate playing time at the forward spot. Douglass, who is recovering from an ACL tear last season, is a very athletic 6-0 player that is both quick and long and can play multiple positions for Coach Reeves and his squad.
Koerner is slated to be the starter for the Runnin' Bulldogs at the power forward spot, as the junior as added size to her frame and has worked on her inside game consistently throughout the offseason. The 6-0 forward will be asked to step up and increase both her points and rebounding numbers, as she sees an increase in minutes on the court this season.
Behind Koerner is newcomer Olivia Parker, who will see a lot of minutes this season as the true freshman as shown a lot of promise throughout the preseason. Sophomore Chariah Harris will once again be looked upon to provide depth and instant energy off the bench for the Runnin' Bulldogs, as she did last season, while Heilig could also see time at the power forward spot as well.
CENTER
The starting center will be Green, as the junior, who has made 43 starts over her first two years at GWU, is looking to have a breakout year in 2012-13. The 6-2 center, who is in the best shape of her career heading into the season, led the Runnin' Bulldogs last year with 11.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. However, like Dale, Green will be asked to take on more of a leadership role, both on and off the court, this year as one of only three active upperclassmen on the roster.
While Koerner will also see time at the center position, depth in the middle will come from a duo of newcomers in Alicia Quinn and Tierney Twing. Quinn has had a strong preseason and is quickly learning the Gardner-Webb offensive and defensive systems, while Twing, who has battled an injury for most of the preseason, brings not only size to the middle for GWU at 6-5, but is also a strong rebounder and solid defender in the paint.
SCHEDULE
In 2012-13 the Runnin' Bulldogs have concentrated on playing a lot of regional foes as well as home games, as Gardner-Webb is slated to suit up in front of its home crowd 16 different times in Paul Porter Arena this season.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will tip-off the season with three straight home games over a six-day period, as Coach Reeves' and his squad will host Lipscomb in the season opener on Friday, November 9th, and will then turn around to welcome both Tennessee Temple, November 12th, and Montreat, November 14th, to Paul Porter Arena and Boiling Springs, N.C.
Gardner-Webb will then hit the road for its next two contests, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will play back-to-back Southern Conference foes in UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State. GWU will take on the Spartans of UNC Greensboro on Saturday, November 17th, before heading up to Boone, N.C. to face off with Appalachian State on November 20th.
GWU will return home for a four-game home stand to wrap up November and kick-off the month of December, as the Runnin' Bulldogs are slated to host Asbury on Saturday, November 24th, to tip-off the longest home stand of the year.
After a seven-day hiatus, Gardner-Webb will return to game action to open up Big South Conference play at home on Saturday, December 1st, before hosting back-to-back non-conference contests versus Longwood on December 9th and Davidson on December 13th.
Gardner-Webb's third road game of the season will once again come against another Southern Conference opponent, as GWU will travel down to Spartanburg, S.C. to do battle with the Wofford College Terriers over the Christmas Break on Wednesday, December 19th.
A home contest against N.C. Central on Saturday, December 22nd, and a road bout at Kennesaw State on Friday, December 28th, will wrap up the slate for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the 2012 calendar year.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will tip-off the New Year with a Big South Conference road contest at Longwood on January 3rd and at High Point on Saturday, January 5th.
Three straight conference contests follow, as Gardner-Webb returns home to host Campbell on January 7th, then Radford on January10th, and finally Winthrop on January 12th in Paul Porter Arena.
Big South Conference play continues for the Runnin' Bulldogs on the road, as GWU will take on UNC Asheville on January 19th, Presbyterian on January 24th, and then wraps up at Charleston Southern on January 26th.
Five of the final nine games of the season will come at home for Coach Reeves' and his squad, as the Runnin' Bulldogs are slated to host return contests from UNC Asheville on January 31st, versus Presbyterian on February 7th, and against Charleston Southern on February 9th, before hitting the road to take on Campbell on Valentine's Day, February 14th, and at Coastal Carolina on February 16th in Conway, S.C.
The final two home contests of the year will come in late February, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will host High Point on February 21st and Liberty two days later on February 23rd for the two teams' only match up of the season.
Gardner-Webb will wrap up the 2012-13 regular season slate with road bouts at Winthrop on February 28th and at Radford on March 2nd, before setting its sights on the 2013 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Women's Basketball Championship which will be held on March 6-10th in Conway, S.C. at the newly constructed HTC Center.
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