Women’s Hoops 2012-13 Preparations In Full Swing
GREENSBORO, N.C. – With just over three weeks remaining before the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the UNCG women's basketball team has been working hard inside Fleming Gymnasium under the watch of second-year head coach Wendy Palmer.
The Spartans welcome back four players who earned at least 24 starts last season in senior guard Natalie Headley, senior forward Sidnei Harmon, junior forward Janae' Stevenson and sophomore guard Jarae Savage. Headley was second on the team in scoring at 8.2 points per game while also chipping in 3.7 rebounds per contest. She also held the highest minutes played mark, seeing the court an average of 30.6 minutes a game.
Stevenson served as the squad's top rebounder (5.6 r/g) and shot blocker (38 total) and moved into the career top 10 in blocks, taking over fifth place with 74 stuffs.
UNCG also has the luxury of returning its leading scorer in junior guard Breonna Patterson. The Greensboro, N.C. (Dudley High School) native dropped in 11.1 points per game last season but was somewhat limited due to injury. She ended up playing in 22 games, making 14 starts and averaging 26.4 minutes per outing.
A total of nine newcomers have joined the program in Palmer's second season, including seven freshmen. Junior guard Vianka Cotton (New Hill, N.C./Barton College) and sophomore guard Jessica Collins (Raleigh, N.C./Eckerd College) will provide the Spartans with experience, having already played the collegiate game.
UNCG will surely count on its freshmen to make an immediate impact. The group is made up of guards Jazmine Missouri (Kensington, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross), Lucy Mason (Chamblee, Ga./Chamblee Charter), Ebona Goins (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) and Ciara Morris (Hope Mills, N.C./South View), forwards Diamond Cooper (Orlando, Fla./West Orange) and Medena Bartley (Savannah, Ga./Beach), and center Sarafina Arthur-Williams (Germantown, Md./Winston Churchill).
The Spartans open up the season Saturday, Nov. 10 when they travel to Asheville, N.C. for the Asheville Collegiate Invitational. UNCG will battle Charleston Southern at 2 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena.
Keep up to date with the UNCG women's basketball team all season by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official twitter feeds @uncgsports and @uncgwbb.
- UNCG -