 |
 Tiffany Hamm, shown here hitting the winning shot in the season finale versus Furman, was named SoCon Player of the Year by the Media, while Beth Dunkenberger added a second Coach of the Year honor. |
 |
March 4, 2003
Cullowhee, N.C. - One day after being honored by the league's coaches, Western Carolina head women's basketball coach Beth Dunkenberger made it a clean sweep as she was tabbed 2003 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by SoCon Sports Media Association, it was announced today. The SCSMA additionally selected WCU junior forward Tiffany Hamm as its Player of the Year and sophomore forward Jennifer Gardner to its all-conference team.
Dunkenberger led the Catamounts to their 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 the Southern Conference Championship as the second seed, marking 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.
Hamm, who added first team All-SoCon honors in conjunction with her Player of the Year honor, 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 the league field goal percentage, shooting 47.2 percent, as well as seventh in free throw shooting at 79.3 percent. Hamm played a key role in the Catamounts gaining their 20th and 21st wins to end the season. She scored a career-high 28 on 11-of-20 shooting with eight rebounds a win over Appalachian State (Feb. 25), then scored a game-high 21, including the last five points of the game to lift WCU to a 58-56 win over Furman in the season finale. This is the second individual league honor for the Harlan, Ky., native as she was named SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2001.
Gardner, the team's second leading scorer, was named to second team All-SoCon by the media as she 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 (Norcross, Ga.) 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 the All-Freshman team, as voted on by the league's sports information directors, 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.
2003 Women's Basketball All-Southern Conference Media Teams First Team Media All-SoCon Individual Honors Tiffany Hamm, Western Carolina Player of the Year: Tiffany Hamm, Western Carolina Tiffany Johnson, Appalachian State Freshman of the Year: Kiki Conyers, Appalachian State Wilma Simpson, College of Charleston Coach of the Year: Beth Dunkenberger, Western Carolina Deshara Shealey, Furman Shawnica Hill, Georgia Southern
Second Team Media All-SoCon Sports Information Director's All-Freshman Team Heather McDivitt, Chattanooga Kiki Conyers, Appalachian State Jennifer Wilson, Chattanooga Katasha Brown, Chattanooga Miranda Warfield, Chattanooga Tiffani Roberson, Chattanooga Emily Callahan, Davidson Kala Greene, Western Carolina Jennifer Gardner, Western Carolina Nakia Mister, Wofford
|
|
 |
