2013 Basketball Preview by Niner Times

Basketball Preview 2013

Student Niner Media

2012-13 Conference USA Final Standings

Puerto Rico Tip Off Preview

One-on-One with Coach Major

Men’s Conference USA League Preview

11 Men’s Roster and Schedule 12 49ers Seniors 14 One-on-One with Coach Consuegra 16 Women’s Conference USA League Preview 19 Women’s Roster and Schedule 20 Men’s Assistant Coaches 21 Women’s Assistant Coaches 22 2012-13 Postseason in Review Headshots Courtesy of Charlotte 49ers Athletics

STAFF NT SPORTS EDITOR

NT EDITOR -IN- CHIEF

sports@nineronline.com

editor@nineronline.com

NT MANAGING EDITOR

MARKETING DIRECTOR

managing@nineronline.com

mktdirector@uncc.edu

Libby Weihsmann Patrick Bogans

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: MATT CHAPMAN

Eden Creamer

Emmanuel Loredo

PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRIS CREWS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: NIKI PRESTEL CIRCULATION MANAGER: PATRICK WISNIEWSKI CIRCULATION: JOSH LATON, SARA NAUMAN, TIMOTHY STARNES NINER MEDIA ADVISER: WAYNE MAIKRANZ MARKETING ADVISER: KELLY MERGES BUSINESS MANAGER: LAURIE CUDDY GRAPHICS & PRODUCTION: PETE HURDLE OFFICE MANAGER: MARK HAIRE

Student Niner Media 2013

Basketball Preview 2013

Conference USA 2012-2013 Final Standings

MEN’S TEAMS

WOMEN’S TEAMS

Memphis (16-0)

SMU (12-4)

Southern Miss (12-4)

East Carolina (11-5)

UTEP (10-6)

Tulane (11-5)

UCF (9-7)

UAB (9-7)

East Carolina (9-7)

UTEP (8-8)

Tulsa (8-8)

Houston (7-9)

Memphis (8-8)

UAB (7-9)

UCF (7-9)

Tulane (6-10)

Houston (7-9)

Marshall (6-10)

Southern Miss (6-10)

SMU (5-11)

Rice (6-10)

Rice (1-15)

Marshall (3-13) Student Niner Media

PUERTO RICO TIP OFF PREVIEW Matt Chapman ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

From the Alaska Invitational in 2012 to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in 2013, the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team will enjoy not only an improvement in scenery, but also a big step up in competition during this year’s preseason college basketball tournament. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off, along with the Maui Invitational and Preseason NIT, is considered as one of the most prestigious and highly anticipated preseason college basketball tournaments in the nation. This event annually draws a collection of the best teams in the country and the 2013 bracket is packed full of big-name programs with high expectations come March Madness. This year’s eight-team field includes the Charlotte 49ers, Long Beach State 49ers, Northeastern Huskies, VCU Rams, Kansas State Wildcats, Florida State Seminoles, Georgetown Hoyas and the Michigan Wolverines. VCU, Kansas State, Georgetown and Michigan were all participants in last season’s NCAA Tournament with the Wolverines making it all the way to the title game before dropping a heartbreaker to the Louisville Cardinals. Michigan and VCU appear to be the early favorites heading into this year’s event. Both teams are ranked nationally in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll as the Wolverines enter the season ranked No. 9 and the Rams aren’t far behind at No. 15. This tournament will no doubt be a tough early test for a Charlotte squad with high hopes heading into the new season. The 49ers will have just three games to work out the early season jitters before packing their bags and heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the four-day event. The Charlotte 49ers have drawn the Kansas State Wildcats as their first round opponent in a game that will take place on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 10:30 a.m. EST. This game, along with the rest of the tournament, will be televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks. The 49ers will play again on Friday, win or lose, given the winners and losers bracket format of the tournament. If Charlotte can defeat Kansas State, they will advance to a semifinal matchup against the winner of the GeorgetownNortheastern game which will also take place that Thursday. The championship game is scheduled to be played on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted on ESPN2.

Basketball Preview 2013

One-on-one with

Coach Major

Libby Weihsmann SPORTS EDITOR

What are some of the strengths of the team that you’ve seen so far? I think we have some decent depth at the guard spot and some experienced guys that have played on the perimeter from last year. Maybe not quite as deep in the post, but I think we can develop depth in the post as the year wears on. We’ve also got a little experience, even though we have five new faces, some of the other guys have played a lot. We’ve got a lot of experience, but it’ll be a lot of meshing some of the new guys with that experience.

What excites you about joining Conference USA? The thing I’m probably most excited about for our fans is that they get to come to more games on the road. Unfortunately in the A-10, it was a great league, but Richmond was our closest conference road game, and that wasn’t exactly across the street. It’ll probably help create some new rivalries, too.

What has been your focus in preseason going into the regular season?

What are some of the potential concerns you have for this team?

Offensively, getting up and down the floor at the pace we like, but also having great control. Taking great shots every possession. Sometimes in the preseason, there’s a tendency to go too fast. Everyone is trying to find their way. Defensively, just grasping it all and bringing the energy that the game requires and demands.

Like any year, you want to make sure that you stay healthy. Maybe not being quite as deep, and those two things go together. The healthier you are, the depth is usually not an issue. Every time someone gets hurt, you’re coaching a totally different team than you were before that. Hopefully we won’t have to deal with that too much this year.

Student Niner Media

Coach Major and the team during the January 2013 whiteout game against Xavier. Photo by Chris Crews

Do you have any goals for this season?

How do you prepare for a new season in a new conference?

Play in March. We always want to play as long as we can. Last year, we played a little bit longer than the year before that, but every year you always try to play a little bit longer than the year before. What that equates to, I try not to hang that over the guys’ heads too much. The main thing is maxing out as a team.

We’ll start doing a little homework on Conference USA coming up at the end of October and early November. Obviously the focus is always Charlotte first. We’ve got a lot of new faces and just trying to teach some of these guys in some of these early practices our system. They’ve got a lot of learning to do, which is a good problem to have.

How do you prepare all of the new guys on the team for this upcoming season? Early on and off the court, making sure they know what our culture is about. Which is, in a nutshell, that you give your max effort in all three of the major areas: as a student, as a player and as a human being. That’s first and foremost. In some of the early practices basketball wise, just getting them to defensively understand how hard we want them to play. The high school effort and the college effort are two entirely different things. In college, you’re one of the best players that were best players in high school, so there’s a different level of effort required. Offensively, just trying to get them to understand playing fast, but still taking great shots. Just learning how to play under control. Basketball Preview 2013

How does your experience as a coach in the Big Ten and Atlantic 10 prepare you for Conference USA? Hopefully I can stay out of the players’ way as best as I can. The Big Ten is a tremendous league and the A-10 was obviously amazing as well, but I think it prepares you for playing against high-level competition, and we’re still going to have some high-level competition in Conference USA. Maybe some fans might not recognize team names right off the bat, but it’ll force them to kind of get online and do some homework to find out there’s a bunch of really good teams in this league. Understanding that every night you’re going to have a tough game, and going out and playing the tough game. 7

MEN’S C-USA LEAGUE PREVIEW Matt Chapman ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

A look inside the 16 men’s basketball teams that make up Conference USA

Louisiana Tech The Bulldogs enter their first season as a member of Conference USA riding off of a 27-win 2012 season. The team fell in the second round of the NIT to Southern Miss. Head Coach Michael White is entering his third season after leading the team on an 18-game winning streak and the program’s first AP Top-25 ranking in 28 years in 2012.

FIU The Panthers finished the 2012 season above .500 with an overall record of 18-14 in their final season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers finished third in the eastern division of the Sun Belt, but will return two of their five starters from last season as they move to C-USA. The team welcomes Anthony Evans for his first season as head coach of the Panthers.

North Texas Despite the efforts of NBA Draft pick Tony Mitchell, the Mean Green finished the 2012-13 season with a disappointing record of 12-20 overall. Head Coach Tony Benford is entering his second season at the helm of the program as he looks to build on last year’s 12 wins with his tough, defense-first mindset.

Rice The Rice basketball program is entering their 100th season of play and looking to put a disastrous 2012 campaign behind them as they finished 5-26 overall. The Owls finished last in Conference USA last season with a record of 1-15. Head Coach Ben Braun is ready for success in his sixth season at Rice as he is just 56-105 throughout his first five years with the Owls.

Student Niner Media

UAB The Blazers enter the 2013 season looking to build on a somewhat mediocre 2012 campaign that saw them finish with an overall record of 16-17. The team will have plenty of experience on a squad that returns four of their five starters. Head Coach Jerod Haase is entering his second year with the Blazers and will surely benefit as the team returns 76 percent of their scoring from 2012.

Old Dominion The Monarchs will look to start fresh in their first season as a member of Conference USA after finishing the 2012-13 season with an abysmal overall record of 5-25. The Monarchs are just two years removed from their most recent NCAA Tournament appearance when they lost in the first round. Head Coach Jeff Jones is entering his first season in charge and faces the daunting task of returning ODU to their winning ways.

Florida Atlantic The Owls look to improve after a disappointing 14-18 season in 2012 as they move from the Sun Belt to C-USA. They return two of their five starters from last season under Head Coach Mike Jarvis.

Basketball Preview 2013

UTEP The Miners just barely missed out on postseason play after finishing the 2012 season with a record of 18-14. The team will be hosting the Conference USA Tournament again for the second time in four years as the Don Haskins Center will welcome the conference’s best teams in March. Head Coach Tim Floyd is entering his 20th season of coaching and his fourth season with UTEP.

UTSA The Roadrunners didn’t fare well in their last season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference and will look to improve on a 10-22 record in their first season in Conference USA. Head Coach Brooks Thompson is entering his eighth season with the team and will attempt to regain the success he had early on in his career. Thompson captured the school’s first-ever NCAA postseason victory in any sport and has won one league championship in his first seven seasons.

Tulane The Green Wave finished their 2012 season with a 20-15 record and made their first postseason berth since 2000. The team’s season came to an end with a second-round loss to Bradley in the CIT under Head Coach Ed Conroy.

Tulsa The Golden Hurricanes will try and build on a 17-16 campaign in 2012 as they enter their second season under star Head Coach Danny Manning. Manning is a former No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft after playing at Kansas. Two Tulsa players, James Woodard and D’Andre Wright, were selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team after impressive play last season.

Charlotte The 49ers enter the 2013 season with high expectations after finishing last season with an impressive overall record of 21-12. The team parlayed those 21 wins into a berth in the NIT where they were bounced in the first round by Providence. Head Coach Alan Major has shown steady improvement each season and he enters his fourth year with the 49ers with a record of 44-49.

Marshall The Thundering Herd wrapped up their 2012-13 season with a 13-19 overall record. The team finished tied for ninth in Conference USA and fell in the first round of the conference tournament. Head Coach Tom Herrion is entering his fourth season with the team with an overall record of 56-45.

Southern Miss With the departure of Memphis from Conference USA, the Golden Eagles enter the 2013 season as the top returning team from 2012. The team finished 27-10 last season and earned a top seed in the NIT before falling in the quarterfinals to BYU. Head Coach Donnie Tyndall is entering his second year with the team. In his first year, Tyndall delivered the program’s first two postseason victories since 1988.

East Carolina There’s plenty of excitement surrounding the ECU program coming into the 2013 season after winning a school-record 23 games during the 2012 campaign. Pirates Head Coach Jeff Lebo is entering his fourth season at the helm of the program and will look for a way to replace 70 percent of his team’s scoring and 79 percent of its rebounding after losing a few key pieces from the 2012 team.

Middle Tennessee The Blue Raiders dominated the Sun Belt Conference in 2012 en route to an overall 28-6 record. The team made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but fell in the opening game to Saint Mary’s. Head Coach Kermit Davis has implemented a winning tradition and is entering his 12th season with a career record of 208-139 with the Blue Raiders.

Student Niner Media

MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER No.

Name

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Yr.

Hometown (Prev School)

Braxton Ogbueze

6-0

179

So.

Charlotte, N.C. (University of Florida)

Gavin Wilson

6-1

208

So.

Raleigh, N.C. (Garner)

Shawn Lester

6-4

189

So.

Mooresville, N.C. (Mooresville)

Mason Wyrick

6-4

190

Fr.

Greensboro, N.C. (New Garden Friends School)

Denzel Ingram

6-0

171

So.

Chapel Hill, N.C. (Chapel Hill)

Ivan Benkovic

6-6

213

So.

Zagreb, Croatia (Mack Academy)

Mike Thorne Jr.

6-11

257

RSo.

Fayetteville, N.C. (Trinity Christian)

Terrence Williams

6-4

203

Jr.

Charlotte, N.C. (West Mecklenburg)

Pierria Henry

6-4

189

Jr.

Charleston, W. Va. (South Charleston)

Cameron Blakely

6-9

216

Fr.

Winder, W. Va. (Apalachee)

Willie Clayton

6-9

237

So.

Thomasville, Ga. (Thomasville)

Bernard Sullivan

6-8

224

Jr.

Gastonia, N.C. (Clemson University)

Ben Cherry

6-3

180

Charlotte, N.C. (Tulane University)

Reid Aube

6-6

212

Fr.

Concord, N.C. (Concord)

Marcus Bryan

6-7

224

Fr.

Raleigh, N.C. (Ravenscroft)

Mitch Warner

6-2

184

So.

Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Christian)

MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE NOV 2 WINGATE

DEC 21 USC UPSTATE

FEB 7 TULANE *

NOV 8 ETSU

DEC 29 GEORGIA TECH

FEB 9 SOUTHERN MISS *

NOV 12 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

JAN 04 N.C. A&T

FEB 15 MARSHALL

NOV 15 ELON

JAN 09 UTEP *

FEB 20 MIDDLE TENNESSEE *

PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF NOV 21 KANSAS STATE

JAN 11 UTSA *

FEB 22 UAB *

JAN 16 TULSA *

FEB 27 EAST CAROLINA *

JAN 18 NORTH TEXAS * Halton Arena 7 p.m.

MAR 2 OLD DOMINION * Halton Arena 4 p.m. (Senior Day)

JAN 23 LOUISIANA TECH *

MAR 6 MARSHALL *

JAN 25 RICE *

CUSA TOURNAMENT MAR 11 - MAR 15

Halton Arena 4:30 p.m. (Exhibition)

Halton Arena 7:30 p.m.

at Charleston, S.C. 7 p.m.

Halton Arena 4 p.m.

at San Juan, Puerto Rico 10:30 a.m.

NOV 22

GEORGETOWN/NORTHEASTERN

at San Juan, Puerto Rico TBA

NOV 24 TBA

at San Juan, Puerto Rico TBA

DEC 1 UNC ASHEVILLE Halton Arena 6 p.m.

DEC 4 DAVIDSON Halton Arena 7 p.m.

DEC 8 APPALACHIAN STATE at Boone, N.C. TBA

DEC 17 FLORIDA STATE

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at El Paso, Texas 9 p.m.

at San Antonio, Texas 4 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at Ruston, La. 7:30 p.m.

at Houston, Texas 8 p.m.

JAN 30 FLORIDA ATLANTIC * Halton Arena 7 p.m.

FEB 1 FIU *

at New Orleans, La. 8 p.m.

at Hattiesburg, Miss. 2 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

Halton Arena 3:30 p.m.

at Greenville, N.C. 7 p.m.

at Huntington, W. Va. 7 p.m.

at El Paso, Texas TBA

* Conference Games

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at Tallahassee, Fla. 7 p.m.

Basketball Preview 2013

Ben Cherry Graduate student getting a master’s in real estate

SLAM

WITH THIS YEA

Transfered from Tulane

Named to Conference USA Men’s Basketball All-Academic team in 2012

Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.

6’3” Guard

In 2012, saw action in 34 games while averaging 4.4 points per game Made 34 threepoint field goals when shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc in 2012-13

Student Niner Media

DUNK

AR’S SENIORS

Ny Hammonds Hometown: Concord, N.C.

Senior studying Sociology

5’5” Guard

Set program singleseason records for assists (209) and minutes played (1,101)

Finished the 2012 season tied for eighth nationally with 6.7 assists per game

Basketball Preview 2013

Selected as one of the Players Making the Buzz for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given at the end of the year to the nation’s top point guard

One-on-one with

Coach Consuegra Libby Weihsmann SPORTS EDITOR

You’ve lost two key starters from the previous season. How do you regroup and rebuild your team? I do think that we’re very capable. I think that we have a lot of talent. We obviously have some youth, and we have some great youthful energy behind us, but we have a lot of talent. I think we have a chip on our shoulder, and that’s something we talk about because we feel like we earned an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament last year and unfortunately, we weren’t given that opportunity. It is something in the back of our minds to drive us to keep wanting to get better and getting to the point that nobody can stop us from getting that opportunity.

What are some of the strengths this team possesses?

How is this year’s team different than last year’s team? I think our team is going to be very different this year. We’re very young. We’ve returned one senior and we have five freshman, and probably a slew of players that haven’t really been expected to step up in pressure situations. For us, the challenge for us right away is going to be how we’re going to bring this team together with people that will have very different roles. We lost 55 percent of our scoring and 65 percent of our rebounding from last season, so obviously significant numbers.

Our team is going to be more athletic than we’ve ever been. I think that we’re going to be more versatile than we’ve ever been. I think those are two really big positives for us. A big key for us this season will be our guard play. I think that’s going to be significant. Ny Hammonds, Hillary Sigmon and Ayanna Holmes have the chance to be what I consider to be some of the best guards or combination of guards in Conference USA. I feel pretty confident going into our season saying that.

Will having so many new faces on the team be challenging? Absolutely. It’ll be a challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to. I feel very confident in the people that we have coming back, and I think we have great leadership. While we lost some seniors who were good leaders, we have some returners that have a lot of respect from their team.

Student Niner Media

CONSUEGRA IN ACTION Top: Consuegra at a recent practice for the 2013 team. Top right: Team huddle during App State (WNIT - Round 1) game on March 21, 2013. Right: January 2013 game against Fordham. Photos by Chris Crews

What are your thoughts surrounding the move to Conference USA?

What playing style are you expecting from your team this season?

We’re looking forward to the season. We think Conference USA is going to be a great challenge for us, and we’re going to do everything we can to get ourselves prepared and go in and compete for a championship in that league, as that’s our goal every single season.

I think we’d like to play a little more up-tempo in terms of our offense. I think that while we have lost some depth in our post play, we still have some really good options. We still want to be balanced. While we still have depth at the guard and more skill top-to-bottom right now at the guard, I do think that we do want to be a balanced team in terms of who’s getting touches. Not one person, not two people are going to make up what we lost in statistics. We’re just not that type of team. It’s going to be a group effort. We’re going to have to work together to be able to get that done. I think the biggest change from us hopefully this year is to be more aggressive defensively. We want to use our athleticism. We want to use more depth at the guard to defend. We didn’t press at all last year, so we’d like to incorporate that into our game and create some more offense.

What are your goals as a coach for this team? For me, I’m just going to have to stay patient. Last year we talked into the season knowing exactly who we were and what we were capable of doing. Obviously there are a few more question marks this year. Again, I don’t necessarily see that as a negative. That’s a challenge and that’s part of the fun in coaching.

Basketball Preview 2013

WOMEN’S C-USA LEAGUE PREVIEW Libby Weihsmann A look inside the 16 women’s basketball teams that SPORTS EDITOR make up Conference USA

Louisiana Tech The Lady Techsters wrapped up their 2012-13 season 14-17 overall and 9-9 in the Western Athletic Conference under Head Coach Teresa Weatherspoon. The team fell to Seattle in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament last season. The 2013-14 season will be their first in Conference USA and the team is ranked 11th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

FIU The Panthers finished their 201213 season 19-13 overall and 12-8 in conference under Head Coach Cindy Russo, the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I women’s basketball. The Panthers fell to Florida in the first round of the WNIT last season. The team is ranked fifth in the 201314 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and senior Jerica Coley was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

North Texas The Mean Green finished their 2012-13 season 11-19 overall and 10-10 in the Sun Belt Conference under Head Coach Mike Peterson. The team fell to Louisiana-Lafayette in the opening round of the SBC Tournament last season. The team is ranked 12th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Rice The Owls wrapped up their 2012-13 season 1416 overall and 6-10 in conference play under Head Coach Greg Williams. The team fell in the first round of the C-USA Tournament to Tulsa last season. Rice is ranked 10th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and senior Jessica Kuster was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

Student Niner Media

UAB The Blazers finished the 2012-13 season 18-13 overall and 9-7 in conference play. Head Coach Randy Norton is in his first year as head coach after former Head Coach Audra Smith accepted the same position with Clemson. The team fell in the opening round of the WNIT last season to Auburn. UAB is ranked eighth in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and senior Karisma Chapman was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

Old Dominion The Monarchs wrapped up their 2012-13 season 19-12 overall and 10-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association under Head Coach Karen Barefoot. The team fell in the first round of the WNIT to Davidson last season. ODU is ranked sixth in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and junior Shae Kelley was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

Florida Atlantic The Owls concluded their 2012-13 season 1217 overall and 9-11 in the Sun Belt Conference under Head Coach Kellie Lewis-Jay. The team fell to ULM in the first round of the SBC Tournament last season. The 2013-14 season will be their first in Conference USA and are ranked 14th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Basketball Preview 2013

UTEP The Miners finished the 2012-13 season 22-10 overall and 8-8 in conference play under Head Coach Keitha Adams. The team fell to UCF in the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament last season. UTEP is ranked second in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and senior Kayla Thornton was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

UTSA The Roadrunners finished the 2012-13 season 16-14 overall and 10-8 in the Western Athletic Conference. The team is not only in a new conference, but also under the new Head Coach Lubomyr Lichonczak. UTSA fell in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament last season. The team is ranked 14th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Marshall The Thundering Herd finished their 2012-13 season 9-21 overall and 3-13 in conference play under Head Coach Matt Daniel. Marshall fell in the first round of the C-USA Tournament to UTEP last season. The team is ranked 16th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Tulsa

Southern Miss

The Golden Hurricanes finished the 2012-13 season 17-17 overall and 8-8 in conference play under Head Coach Matilda Mossman. The team is the defending C-USA Tournament Champions and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, but fell to the No. 1 seed Stanford. Tulsa is ranked ninth in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Golden Eagles finished the 2012-13 season 15-16 overall and 6-10 in conference play under Head Coach Joyce Lee-McNelis. The team fell to ECU in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament last season. Southern Miss is ranked 13th in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and senior Jamierra Faulkner was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

Charlotte The 49ers finished the 2012-13 season 26-6 overall and 13-1 in their final term with the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team fell in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament to Temple and in the Sweet 16 of the WNIT. Head Coach Cara Consuegra is in her third season with the 49ers. The team is ranked fourth in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Tulane The Green Wave finished the 201213 season 24-9 overall and 11-5 in conference play under Head Coach Lisa Stockton. The team made it to the WNIT last season, but fell to Auburn in the Sweet 16. Tulane is ranked third in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and junior Danielle Blagg was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

East Carolina The Pirates finished their 2012-13 season 22-10 overall and 11-5 in conference under Head Coach Heather Macy. The Pirates made an appearance in the WNIT last season after receiving an at-large bid, but fell in the first round in overtime to Western Kentucky. The Pirates are ranked seventh in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Middle Tennessee The Blue Raiders finished the 2012-13 season 25-8 overall and 17-3 in the Sun Belt Conference under Head Coach Rick Insell. The team made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, but fell to Louisville in the first round. The team is ranked first in the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll and senior Ebony Rowe was named to the 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Team.

Student Niner Media

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER No.

Name

Pos.

Ht.

Yr.

Hometown (Prev School)

Ciara Gregory

5-7

Fr.

Jeannette, Pa. (Jeanette)

Ayanna Holmes

5-7

Jr.

Salisbury, N.C. (Salisbury)

Mylia “Meme” Garner

6-0

Fr.

Siler City, N.C. (Jordan-Matthews)

Ny Hammonds

5-5

Sr.

Concord, N.C (Concord)

Gabby Tyler

6-2

Jr.

Emporia, Va. (Greensville County)

Kira Gordon

6-0

So.

Kennesaw, Ga. (Kennesaw Mountain)

Danielle Webster

5-8

Fr.

Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk Christian)

Hillary Sigmon

6-0

Jr.

Hickory, N.C. (Hickory)

Kenya Olley

6-3

Fr.

Spartanburg, S.C. (Dorman)

Tori Carter

5-8

So.

Atlanta, Ga. (Norcross)

Jessica Johnson

6-0

RSr.

Durham, N.C. (Northern Durham)

Alexis Alexander

6-1

So.

Atlanta, Ga. (Alpharetta)

Tanisha Brown

5-11

Fr.

Loris, S.C. (Myrtle Beach)

Olivia Rankin

6-2

Jr.

Salisbury, N.C. (Salisbury)

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE NOV 2 JOHNSON C. SMITH

DEC 17 STETSON

FEB 1 EAST CAROLINA *

NOV 8 LIBERTY

DEC 21 DAVIDSON

FEB 8 SOUTHERN MISS *

NOV 10 KANSAS STATE

DEC 29 FURMAN

FEB 13 LOUISIANA TECH *

NOV 13 MINNESOTA

JAN 3 UNC WILMINGTON

FEB 15 MARSHALL *

NOV 20 FGCU

JAN 8 OLD DOMINION *

FEB 19 FLORIDA ATLANTIC *

NOV 23 UCF

JAN 11 NORTH TEXAS *

FEB 22 MIDDLE TENNESSEE *

NOV 26 WINTHROP

JAN 15 UTSA *

FEB 26 FIU *

LADY REBEL ROUND-UP NOV 30 CINCINNATI

JAN 18 UTEP *

MAR 1 MARSHALL *

DEC 1 UNLV/FORDHAM

JAN 22 TULANE * Halton Arena 7 p.m.

MAR 5 TULSA *

JAN 25 RICE *

CUSA TOURNAMENT MAR 11 - MAR 15

Halton Arena 2 p.m. (Exhibition)

Halton Arena 5 p.m.

at Manhattan, Kan. 1:30 p.m.

at Minneapolis, Minn. 8 p.m.

at Ft. Myers, Fla. 7:05 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at Las Vegas, Nev. 6:30 p.m.

at Las Vegas, Nev. TBA

DEC 8 SOUTH CAROLINA Halton Arena 2 p.m.

at DeLand, Fla. 5 p.m.

at Davidson, N.C. 1 p.m.

Halton Arena 4 p.m.

Halton Arena 12 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at San Antonio, Texas 8 p.m.

at El Paso, Texas 9:05 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

JAN 29 UAB * at Birmingham, Ala. 8 p.m.

Basketball Preview 2013

at Greenville, N.C. 5 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at Ruston, La. 9 p.m.

at Huntington, W.Va. 1 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at Murfreesboro, Tenn. 4 p.m.

Halton Arena 7 p.m.

at Tulsa, Okla. 8 p.m.

at El Paso, Texas TBA

* Conference Games

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Assistant Coaches

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Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Assistant Coaches

Basketball Preview 2013

2012-13 POSTSEASON IN REVIEW Matt Chapman ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

The 2012-13 season marked the first time since 2007-08 that both the men’s and women’s Charlotte 49ers basketball teams earned postseason berths beyond the conference tournament. Both squads were selected to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) after flirting with an NCAA Tournament berth throughout the year. The Charlotte 49ers women’s team headed into the Atlantic-10 (A-10) tournament with an impressive overall record of 24-4, earning them the second seed and putting them in good contention for NCAA Tournament action. The 49ers drew an apparently outmatched Temple Owls team in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament. Unfortunately for Charlotte, they may have overlooked the sub .500 Owls squad when they suffered a devastating 48-47 loss which relegated them to a berth in the WNIT. Charlotte disposed of in-state rival Appalachian State rather easily in their first round matchup of the WNIT. The 49ers earned a 79-61 victory behind the stellar play of their two senior forwards Jennifer Hailey and Amanda Dowe. Hailey dropped a game-high 20 points to go along with her 11 rebounds, and Dowe picked up a doubledouble of her own with 19 points and 16 boards. The 49ers faced off against another in-state foe, the Davidson Wildcats, in their second round game of the WNIT. Charlotte parlayed the momentum of the Appalachian State victory into a 72-60 win over a game Wildcats squad. Hailey turned in another big-time performance with 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots on the defensive side of the ball. Charlotte’s magnificent season came to a crashing halt in the Sweet 16 of the WNIT in a heartbreaking 67-65 defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators. Florida’s Jaterra Bonds dropped in a three-foot shot with two seconds left to send the 49ers home for the remainder of the season. The Charlotte 49ers men’s team entered the A-10 tournament needing a miracle to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. A miracle is exactly what the 49ers got in their first round game of the A-10 tournament against the Richmond Spiders. Charlotte pulled out a miraculous 68-63 victory after Pierria Henry hit eight free throws in

the final four seconds of regulation. A foul followed by a deadball technical and then another technical on the Spiders coach resulted in the ridiculous free throw-filled ending to the game. Unfortunately, Charlotte’s luck ran out in their quarterfinal matchup against the top-seeded Saint Louis Billikens. The 49ers dropped a 72-55 decision to the 16th-ranked Billikens and they were clearly outmatched throughout the entire contest. Chris Braswell led the way for Charlotte recording his 24th career doubledouble with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Despite the 49ers’ quarterfinal loss, they still earned a berth in the NIT and drew a matchup with the Providence Friars in the first round. Charlotte fought hard against the Friars, but ended up dropping the match by a final score of 75-66. The 49ers most impressive season since 2008 came to a halt much too quickly in the eyes of the players, but Coach Alan Major was proud of his team’s effort. “Our team has shown a lot of different faces this season,” said Major after the loss. “Our effort tonight was indicative of the season as we fought to the end. I am very proud of our team.” Both the men’s and women’s teams have high expectations entering the 2013-14 season, which involves playing deep into the month of March. Both squads look drastically different as the start of the new season nears. The women have lost their two top seniors in Hailey and Dowe, and the men’s team lost their top scorer in Braswell. It’ll be up to the new faces and young players to carry the load this year if the 49ers want to meet their lofty expectations.

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Basketball Preview 2013

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