Women's Basketball | 11/10/2016 9:10:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----The defending South Atlantic Conference champion Wingate University women's basketball team will commence its 2016-17 journey Friday, Nov. 11 when the Bulldogs travel south to Savannah, Ga. for a non-conference match-up versus the Armstrong State University Pirates at 7:30 p.m. in their opening contest of the Peach Belt Conference (PBC)- SAC Challenge. The 'Dogs face the Clayton State University Lakers the next day (Saturday, Nov. 12) for a 2 p.m. start.
 
The Bulldogs seek to build from a stellar 2015-16 campaign when they finished 21-9 overall and 15-7 in the SAC. Wingate's accomplishments included a conference championship tournament game victory over the nationally-ranked Anderson University Trojans. The 'Dogs claimed their first SAC title since the 2013 season. Wingate also earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament, but fell in the opening round to 23rd-ranked Columbus State University.
 
Wingate head coach Ann Hancock enters her fourth season at the helm of the women's basketball program and returns one of the more talented squads she has possessed in her tenure with the Bulldogs.
 
Hancock sat down with the Wingate athletic media relations department to express her thoughts on the upcoming season. The 1992 Wingate graduate discusses her expectations at each position, the talent of this season's SAC competition and the strengths and weaknesses of her team (a transcript of the interview follows):
 
Position-by-Position Breakdown
Center
 
Junior Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) is the first player who comes to mind when talking about talent at the center position. At 6-4, she finished the season really strong last year and had a great conference tournament. If she can stay healthy, then I think she will make it very difficult for opponents to match up with her size. I am expecting big things from Marta.
 
Sophomore Zasha Barrett (Monroe, N.C.) has performed very well in our pre-season practices. She runs like a deer and is a great rebounder. Zasha is a versatile player who has the ability to do many different things.
 
Freshman Jordan Quick (High Point, N.C.) is also another player who has stood out early in the pre-season. She has the versatility to play the center and forward positions for us.
 
Position-by-Position Breakdown
Forward
 
Sophomore Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) was a SAC All-Freshman team performer last season, so I think she has a great chance to improve upon what she did in her first season. Danasia does so many things people don't see in a stat sheet, even though she averaged about 10 points a game (last year). The things she does defensively…casual fans would never know everything she does to help our team be successful. She amazes me at how well she can guard her opponent and mark everybody else's person at the same time.
 
Senior Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) is a very different player than Danasia. She can play with her back to the basket, but also can step out and hit the three along with stretching the defense. Kristina and Danasia are very different, but add a lot of talent to the post position. Those two along with Jordan Quick are our combination of post players. I am not sure about what the rotation will be, but it will depend on the type of defense the opposing team is playing.
 
Position-by-Position Breakdown
Shooting Guard
 
Senior Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) has continued to get better each season she has been at Wingate. She can shoot the three very well, along with getting to the basket and the free throw line. She is the first stellar shooting guard on our roster who comes to mind. She finished last season strong by earning the SAC Tournament MVP award.
 
Senior Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) is another solid option on the wing. She is another player who could be overlooked with all she provides to our team. She does not do anything flashy, but has a tremendous basketball IQ, sees the floor well and really knows the game. Alex is a stabilizing factor out on the court and cannot be underestimated with what she does for the team.
 
Junior Taziya Moody (Columbia, S.C.) is very different from our other two shooting guards. She is very quick and really does a good job of attacking the basket while getting in the paint. Taziya can either score or dish the ball to someone. Sophomore Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) had a solid year as a freshman. She is very fundamental and goes to the boards hard. She can shoot the three if she is open and can get to the rim.
 
Seniors Taylor Walker (Trinity, N.C.) and Rebekah Hairston (Charleston, S.C.) have much invested in our program. As a four-year player, Taylor knows our system inside-and-out. Freshman Lindsey Barber (Mebane, N.C.) is going to be a difference-maker for us before her career concludes.
 
Position-by-Position Breakdown
Point Guard
 
Graduate student Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) does a great job at running the team…she is very athletic. Amber gets into the paint and serves as a very good distributor of the basketball. She has a lot of experience as a fifth-year senior.
 
Sophomore Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) has been playing point guard for us at practice and started at the point in our exhibition game against Elon University. Courtney does a great job taking care of the ball. She can distribute the ball and get to the basket as well. If Amber is healthy, this changes the line-up a little bit as Courtney would move to the wing. Now we become more athletic, but Courtney is solid at point guard. She started at this position last season for a good portion of the year.
 
Sophomore Taylor Helms (Monroe, N.C.) will be our third point guard option this season. Taylor will gain more experience and strength, along with learning how to run the team. She can move over and play the wing as well.
 
What are the strengths of this year's team?
 
The biggest strength of this year's team is our experience. We have so many players coming back…Shelby, Alex and Amber are our leaders…they have been here for four years. They know what is expected and know how to run the offense. They are thinking ahead of what needs to be done and know the game-type situations. We also have some very good, young players like Danasia and Courtney who fit in our team really well now that they have more experience. I think our depth and experience are probably our strongest suits.
 
What are the weaknesses?
 
I think we are going to have to play without getting in foul trouble. Some of our younger players like Zasha Barrett did not have much experience last season and I think she is going to play for us frequently in the post. I think it is going to be a challenge because we do have a lot of people on the perimeter. Therefore, I think for us to be really good, we are going to have to shoot the ball effectively from the three-point line.
 
What is the outlook for the South Atlantic Conference?
 
The conference is always very tough. It is hard to know right now how good the SAC will be because at the Division II level, there are always players coming in-and-out. It depends on transfers and player injuries for other teams. I think the SAC is a very difficult league and many people who do not watch the conference have no idea how good the conference really is.
 
I think Anderson University has a good team coming back. It will be interesting to see how they transition because they have a new coach. Catawba is going to be a very good team as well, along with Carson-Newman. We have to be at our best on any given night because there is so much talent. Several teams have a good amount of experience coming back as well. There are also a few coaching changes throughout the league, so it will be challenging to see what kind of new systems people install.
 
Pre-Season Notes
 
Shelby Tricoli was the lone Bulldog selected to the pre-season All-SAC squad as she was awarded second team honors. In the 2015-16 season, the Tuscola High School product averaged 10 points per game during her junior campaign. She also compiled three rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest, along with shooting 41 percent from the field. Tricoli was also named the SAC Tournament MVP when the Waynesville native posted 13 points in the conference title game versus the Anderson University Trojans.
 
The Bulldogs earned their first conference championship crown last season since defeating the (then) 24th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears by a narrow 77-73 decision on March 9, 2014 at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. The victory earned Wingate a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Wingate was voted by the SAC head coaches as the pre-season favorite in the 2016-17 pre-season league poll. The 'Dogs received 119 points and nine first-place votes. Anderson was second in the coaches' poll with three first-place votes and 105 points. Newberry (99 points), Carson-Newman (86) and Lincoln Memorial (76) rounded out the top five teams in the SAC pre-season standings.
 
Danasia Witherspoon returns as the second-leading scorer on the Bulldogs last season. The Hickory High School graduate seeks to build on a break-out freshman season in which she finished second on the team in scoring (9.8 points per game), third in field-goal percentage (.535), and first in rebounds per game (5.1). In only her eighth game in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold, Witherspoon hit a career-high 29 points in a SAC road triumph over the Brevard College Tornadoes, while adding 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
 
WU assistant women's basketball coach Celeste Stewart was promoted from graduate to full-time assistant coach during the off-season. The former East Carolina University basketball student-athlete replaces Cherie Lea, who is now the assistant women's basketball coach at Duquesne University, a Division I program in Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
Katelyn Grisillo joins the WU coaching staff this season as the new graduate assistant. Grisillo began her collegiate playing career at Division I Presbyterian College before spending the next two seasons at USC Aiken.
 
The Bulldogs had three post-season All-SAC selections after the conclusion of the 2015-16 regular season. Morgan McGee earned second-team honors with Witherspoon and Courtney Robinson being named to the All-Freshman squad. Witherspoon was also an All-SAC honorable mention pick.
 
Wingate opens its regular season home slate at Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court on Nov. 22 in a conference show-down versus the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears. The opening is tip-off is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 10 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 86 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 86 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 95 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. He is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)