 |
 Head women's basketball coach Beth Dunkenberger was named the Southern Conference's Coach of the Year |
 |
March 3, 2003
Spartanburg, S.C. - The Southern Conference announced today that Western Carolina women's basketball head coach Beth Dunkenberger has been named the SoCon Coach of the Year, as voted by the leagues coaches. This is the first time a WCU women's basketball coach has received this honor.
The women's basketball team has posted its best record in 26 years with a 21-6 overall mark and a 14-4 ledger in the league. The team's 21 victories marks the most ever regular-season wins the program has seen. The Catamounts are heading into this weeks' Southern Conference Championship as the second seed. This will be the first time the program will enter the tournament higher than the fourth seed.
With the team's win over Appalachian State on Tuesday, Feb. 25, the third year head coach accomplished something that no other coach in WCU women's basketball history has accomplished. The victory marked Dunkenberger's 50th career win as a Catamount in just 83 games at the helm, reaching the milestone faster than any other coach in the history of the program. Dunkenberger is now 51-32 overall as WCU's head coach, after posting a 13-15 record in her first year and a 17-11 mark during the 2001-02 season.
Also announced today was the SoCon All-Conference team. Junior Tiffany Hamm and sophomore Jennifer Gardner are representing Western Carolina on the 10-member team, voted on by the league's coaches.
Hamm currently ranks fifth in the conference with 13.6 ppg and 10th in rebounding, pulling down 6.3 boards per game. The Cats' leading scorer also ranks seventh in field goal percentage, shooting 47.2 percent, as well as seventh in free throw shooting at 79.3 percent. Gardner, the team's second leading scorer, ranks 12th in the league with 11.8 ppg and fourth in rebounding with 7.6 rpg. She continues to lead the SoCon in field goal percentage, shooting 51.5 percent, and is tied for 11th in free throw shooting at 76.2 percent. Offensively, Gardner is pulling down 3.07 boards per game to rank third and she is tied for fifth in defensive rebounds with 4.52 per contest.
Rookie Kala Greene was named to this year's All-Freshman team for her outstanding performance on the court. Greene has averaged 7.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game as the team's fourth leading scorer. Greene ranks fifth in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 47.9 percent from the floor.
Western Carolina is now in preparation for the Southern Conference Championship, which begins this week. WCU will play at 5:00 pm on Thursday, March 6, facing the winner of game two, which features seventh seeded Davidson and tenth seeded Wofford.
|
|
 |
