Photo by: © Tim Cowie | GWUPhotos.com
Runnin' Bulldogs Set to Open 2018-19 Campaign Tomorrow at Florida
November 02, 2018 | Women's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team is set to open the 2018 season tomorrow morning, with an 11 a.m. tip against the Florida Gators in what will be the first game of the Alex Simmons era for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
"We've worked a lot on attention to detail, discipline and being a good teammate," said Simmons. "The team has really brought in to that." Those traits are something that Simmons learned from her time as a player under legendary Hall of Fame coach and women's basketball pioneer Pat Summitt. Simmons most recently spent time at Ole Miss under Matt Insell and before that coached with his father, Rick Insell, at Middle Tennessee State of the C-USA.
"They're all different, and all taught me lessons that are invaluable," said Simmons. Coach (Rick) Insell instilled a discipline impact, while Coach Matt (Insell) bought energy and enthusiasm for basketball. Coach Summitt really taught me about discipline and attention to detail. All three coaches taught me great lessons."
Simmons and staff, assistant coaches, Danielle Bell, Garner Small, Chynna Turner, inherit a team that went 19-13 overall in 2017-18 and finished 8-10 in the Big South Conference. The 'Dogs made a run in the Big South tournament as the seven seed, defeating 10th seeded Winthrop in the opening round before battling No. 2 Radford in the quarterfinals, falling by just two points, 53-51.
The Runnin' Bulldogs roster has a perfect mix of youth and experience for the upcoming season. Eight players return, while six newcomers, five of which are freshman, have joined the team for the 2018-19 campaign.
Ky'Asia Stanford (Bear, Del. / Carvel Academy) is the lone senior on the roster and the 'Dogs top-returning scorer for the 2018-19 season. Stanford averaged 9.2 points per game during her junior campaign and was recently named a Big South Second-Team All-Conference member at the league's annual preseason media day gathering.
"Ky'Asia has become a leader, especially by example," said Simmons. "She does a great job of talking to and coaching her teammates, which is something that you want in a leader from a coaching perspective. As a point guard, she has to be a coach's eyes and ears on the court, and she has done that very well.
Junior twins Carley Plentovich and Savannah Plentovich (Clearwater, Fla. / Calvary Christian Academy) combined to average more than 15 points per game last season and hope to expand that this season for the guard-oriented Runnin' Bulldogs.
"I've never seen two people who love basketball so much and who would probably sacrifice everything that they had just to play the game," said Simmons. "Their love of the game is contagious. My experience with them has been humbling to see their sacrifice and excitement."
Also on the wing are a pair of sophomores Nia Lee (Lawrenceville, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) and Alexis Hueston (Roanoke, Va. / Northside HS).
Junior Morgan Pointer (Greensboro, N.C. / Northwest Guiford HS) returns in the post, while Gabrielle Caponegro (Allenwood, N.J. / LIU-Brooklyn) will be eligible to suit up for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Caponegro sat out last season after transferring in from LIU-Brooklyn. Corinna Wiegand (Neuhof-Gisel, Germany / FT Fulda) hopes to expand her role. The German post appeared in 21 contests last season and saw an average of five minutes per contest.
There are six new faces on the roster this season, including graduate student Neydja Petithomme (Boca Raton, Fla. / University of Miami). Petithomme began her collegiate basketball career at Auburn University before playing her final three seasons at Miami. After obtaining her undergraduate degree, she made the move to Boiling Springs to attend graduate school and have one last season on the hardwood.
"Neydja will provide leadership for us as she has plenty of experience playing at a high level," Simmons said.
Freshmen Robyn Bouwer (Rotterdam, Netherlands / CTO Amersterdam), Jhessyka Williams (Augusta, Ga. / Laney HS), Mikayla Dyson (Lincolnton, N.C. / Lincolnton HS), Lauren Adam (Caro, Mich. / USA HS) and Anna Munoz-Vidueira (Hospitallet de Llobregat Spain / Sant Josep Obrer) are ready for their first season of college basketball.
"Jhessyka is versatile and plays extremely hard, while Mikayla can shoot the lights out of it," added Simmons. "Lauren and Anna will be both be assets to our team. Robyn actually just finished representing her country in the FIBA World Championships and 3x3 Youth Olympic Games."
Munoz-Vidueira joins redshirt sophomore Corinna Wiegand as the second player on the roster from overseasons. Munoz-Vidueira comes to GWU from Spain, while Wiegand, who played in 21 contests last year is from Germany.
Heading into the season, Simmons feels comfortable with the squad and their current state. "We established our goals earlier in the summer," said Simmons. "We tell our girls to never get satisfied. Take what you're doing well now and try to do it better. That's our mindset. Our hope is for everybody to sell out for our team and just contribute to our ultimate goal."
Following the roadtrip to Florida, the Runnin' Bulldogs will place four consecutive games inside Paul Porter Arena, including two to close out the first week of action – Friday November 9 vs. Warren Wilson (6 p.m.) and Sunday, November 11 vs. Morehead State (3 p.m.).
Gardner-Webb's second non-conference road test will take place at Wofford on Thursday, November 29. Other non-conference road trips include a trip north to face Drexel (Sunday, December 16) and Delaware (Tuesday, December 18), as well as a battle with Western Carolina (Saturday, January 2nd).
Simmons' squad will begin Big South Conference play at Campbell on Tuesday, January 8, before playing two straight BSC games at home on January 10 and 12 respectively. In-state rival UNC Asheville will visit Boiling Springs on the 10th, while High Point will visit two days later.
After an 18-game conference slate that concludes with a road contest against conference newcomer USC Upstate, the Runnin' Bulldogs will play in the Big South Conference tournament, which is set to begin on March 12th with the opening round taking place at the higher seeds. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played March 14 and 15 at the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, while the championship is set for March 17.
To stay up to the date with the Runnin' Bulldogs women's basketball team, follow @GWU_WBK on Twitter and Instagram or visit www.gwusports.com.
"We've worked a lot on attention to detail, discipline and being a good teammate," said Simmons. "The team has really brought in to that." Those traits are something that Simmons learned from her time as a player under legendary Hall of Fame coach and women's basketball pioneer Pat Summitt. Simmons most recently spent time at Ole Miss under Matt Insell and before that coached with his father, Rick Insell, at Middle Tennessee State of the C-USA.
"They're all different, and all taught me lessons that are invaluable," said Simmons. Coach (Rick) Insell instilled a discipline impact, while Coach Matt (Insell) bought energy and enthusiasm for basketball. Coach Summitt really taught me about discipline and attention to detail. All three coaches taught me great lessons."
Simmons and staff, assistant coaches, Danielle Bell, Garner Small, Chynna Turner, inherit a team that went 19-13 overall in 2017-18 and finished 8-10 in the Big South Conference. The 'Dogs made a run in the Big South tournament as the seven seed, defeating 10th seeded Winthrop in the opening round before battling No. 2 Radford in the quarterfinals, falling by just two points, 53-51.
The Runnin' Bulldogs roster has a perfect mix of youth and experience for the upcoming season. Eight players return, while six newcomers, five of which are freshman, have joined the team for the 2018-19 campaign.
Ky'Asia Stanford (Bear, Del. / Carvel Academy) is the lone senior on the roster and the 'Dogs top-returning scorer for the 2018-19 season. Stanford averaged 9.2 points per game during her junior campaign and was recently named a Big South Second-Team All-Conference member at the league's annual preseason media day gathering.
"Ky'Asia has become a leader, especially by example," said Simmons. "She does a great job of talking to and coaching her teammates, which is something that you want in a leader from a coaching perspective. As a point guard, she has to be a coach's eyes and ears on the court, and she has done that very well.
Junior twins Carley Plentovich and Savannah Plentovich (Clearwater, Fla. / Calvary Christian Academy) combined to average more than 15 points per game last season and hope to expand that this season for the guard-oriented Runnin' Bulldogs.
"I've never seen two people who love basketball so much and who would probably sacrifice everything that they had just to play the game," said Simmons. "Their love of the game is contagious. My experience with them has been humbling to see their sacrifice and excitement."
Also on the wing are a pair of sophomores Nia Lee (Lawrenceville, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) and Alexis Hueston (Roanoke, Va. / Northside HS).
Junior Morgan Pointer (Greensboro, N.C. / Northwest Guiford HS) returns in the post, while Gabrielle Caponegro (Allenwood, N.J. / LIU-Brooklyn) will be eligible to suit up for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Caponegro sat out last season after transferring in from LIU-Brooklyn. Corinna Wiegand (Neuhof-Gisel, Germany / FT Fulda) hopes to expand her role. The German post appeared in 21 contests last season and saw an average of five minutes per contest.
There are six new faces on the roster this season, including graduate student Neydja Petithomme (Boca Raton, Fla. / University of Miami). Petithomme began her collegiate basketball career at Auburn University before playing her final three seasons at Miami. After obtaining her undergraduate degree, she made the move to Boiling Springs to attend graduate school and have one last season on the hardwood.
"Neydja will provide leadership for us as she has plenty of experience playing at a high level," Simmons said.
Freshmen Robyn Bouwer (Rotterdam, Netherlands / CTO Amersterdam), Jhessyka Williams (Augusta, Ga. / Laney HS), Mikayla Dyson (Lincolnton, N.C. / Lincolnton HS), Lauren Adam (Caro, Mich. / USA HS) and Anna Munoz-Vidueira (Hospitallet de Llobregat Spain / Sant Josep Obrer) are ready for their first season of college basketball.
"Jhessyka is versatile and plays extremely hard, while Mikayla can shoot the lights out of it," added Simmons. "Lauren and Anna will be both be assets to our team. Robyn actually just finished representing her country in the FIBA World Championships and 3x3 Youth Olympic Games."
Munoz-Vidueira joins redshirt sophomore Corinna Wiegand as the second player on the roster from overseasons. Munoz-Vidueira comes to GWU from Spain, while Wiegand, who played in 21 contests last year is from Germany.
Heading into the season, Simmons feels comfortable with the squad and their current state. "We established our goals earlier in the summer," said Simmons. "We tell our girls to never get satisfied. Take what you're doing well now and try to do it better. That's our mindset. Our hope is for everybody to sell out for our team and just contribute to our ultimate goal."
Following the roadtrip to Florida, the Runnin' Bulldogs will place four consecutive games inside Paul Porter Arena, including two to close out the first week of action – Friday November 9 vs. Warren Wilson (6 p.m.) and Sunday, November 11 vs. Morehead State (3 p.m.).
Gardner-Webb's second non-conference road test will take place at Wofford on Thursday, November 29. Other non-conference road trips include a trip north to face Drexel (Sunday, December 16) and Delaware (Tuesday, December 18), as well as a battle with Western Carolina (Saturday, January 2nd).
Simmons' squad will begin Big South Conference play at Campbell on Tuesday, January 8, before playing two straight BSC games at home on January 10 and 12 respectively. In-state rival UNC Asheville will visit Boiling Springs on the 10th, while High Point will visit two days later.
After an 18-game conference slate that concludes with a road contest against conference newcomer USC Upstate, the Runnin' Bulldogs will play in the Big South Conference tournament, which is set to begin on March 12th with the opening round taking place at the higher seeds. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played March 14 and 15 at the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, while the championship is set for March 17.
To stay up to the date with the Runnin' Bulldogs women's basketball team, follow @GWU_WBK on Twitter and Instagram or visit www.gwusports.com.
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