"We'd like to return UNCG to the mix in the Southern Conference."
That's UNC Greensboro coach Lynne Agee's goal for 2009-10.
Once one of the dominant teams in the SoCon, the Spartans have fallen on hard times the last couple of seasons. Injuries to prominent players have decimated the roster in each of the last two years - with two-time first-team All-Southern Conference point guard Kristen Boone playing a combined three minutes in that span - but you won't hear Agee and UNCG feeling sorry for themselves. In fact, they think the program is about to undergo a renaissance.
"We're playing at a higher level this preseason," Agee said. "The returning players are looking good, and the freshmen are settling in."
After a disastrous 7-24 campaign in 2007-08, the Spartans rebounded a bit with a 13-18 effort in 2008-09. Twelve of those 18 losses last season were by 10 points or fewer, with three of them coming in overtime.
The pieces needed for success are there. And with four of last season's starters and the league's Defensive Player of the Year in Monique Floyd returning, the Spartans seem poised to return the proud program to its winning ways.
The leadership on the bench is there. Agee is one of the winningest coaches in the game, as she is one of just 23 active Division I coaches with at least 500 wins. In fact, she's closing in on win No. 600, as she sits 579-298 over her 31-year career. The majority of those wins have come at the helm for the Spartans, as she boasts a 533-275 mark at UNCG.
The leadership on the court is there, as well. Floyd and senior Lakiah Hyson will serve as captains for the 2009-10 edition of the Spartans, and both are battle-tested. Floyd, a junior, has started 58 of a possible 62 games during her career, while Hyson earned the starting nod midway through her sophomore season and has been a stalwart in the lineup since. The two anchor a loaded backcourt for the Spartans.
Hyson and Floyd took turns running the point for UNCG in Boone's absence last season, but with Boone gone for good now, that duty falls to Hyson full time. The Accokeek, Md., native filled in admirably last season, finishing second on the squad with a career-high 69 assists and scoring a career-best 10.5 points per game. Hyson improved nearly every facet of her game in 2008-09, going to the free throw line a team-high 122 times and making 23 3-pointers - more than three times her previous career high of seven. She also amped up her defense, coming away with a career-best 71 steals to lead the SoCon in total steals and finish second in steals per game. And now, with the point guard position Hyson's from the get-go, the Spartans should find more continuity from the 1-spot.
Redshirt junior Amanda Leigh returns at shooting guard after a solid first season of action for the Spartans. Leigh averaged 7.5 points per game and made a team-high 45 3-pointers in her first year of active duty after transferring from Winthrop prior to the 2007-08 campaign. Leigh did a little bit of everything in 2008-09, averaging 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. This season, the Spartans will need more scoring from the Charlotte, N.C., native, who led UNCG with a 77.5 free throw percentage, but went to the line just 40 times on the season.
"We're going to need more from Hyson and Leigh this year in terms of scoring," Agee said. "They're both capable of doing it, and Hyson's certainly got the ability to take over a game when she needs to, but the bottom line is that we need more points out of the two of them. I'm confident they can step up."
Relieved of her point guard duties this season, Floyd moves back
to her natural position at the 3. Floyd led UNCG with 79
assists last season (2.6 per game), but that didn't come at the
expense of her offense, as she upped her scoring to 9.7 points per
game. She was in double figures 13 times on the season, averaging
12.7 points per game over her last six. The Fairmont, N.C., native
also routinely guarded the opposing teams' best players.
Junior TaShama Banner should continue to provide a spark off the bench for the Spartans this season. The Bladenboro, N.C., native had a knack for coming up with a big steal and a fastbreak layup last season, finishing with a career-best 66 steals (2.1 per game) in just 15 minutes of work per contest.
Sophomore Sarah Folwell saw action in 26 games last season, averaging 1.2 points and 1.0 rebound per game, and should continue to see minutes off the bench for the Spartans this season.
Three freshmen will join the mix in the backcourt. Dayshaun Richbow (Hopkins, S.C. / Lower Richland) provides UNCG with a true point guard that won state titles in each of her four years in high school. Richbow will spell Hyson at the point, and should see significant action this season.
"I'm excited about Dayshaun, but she is a freshman," Agee said. "She should come along pretty quickly."
Brey Dorsett (Winston-Salem, N.C. / Forsyth Country Day) has shown promise in preseason practice, and will "definitely be in the rotation," according to Agee. Dorsett was her conference's co-player of the year and an all-state performer as a prep senior.
Natalie Headley (Fayetteville, N.C.) was a three-time all-state player for Fayetteville Academy, but has been injured for much of the preseason. When healthy, she gives the Spartans a versatile, athletic player - who was all-state in volleyball and soccer, as well - that scored nearly 2,000 points in high school and helped her squad to a 29-1 record and a state title as a senior.
In the frontcourt, the Spartans must replace the graduated Gini Grimsley, who led UNCG in both scoring (10.8 points per game) and rebounding (6.1 per game) last season. Grimsley, who is the only player in program history to finish her career in the school's top five in both career blocked shots and 3-pointers, played in 120 games over the last four years - the second-best total in school history. Grimsley signed a professional contract after graduation, and is currently playing in Herne, Germany.
One of the student-athletes called upon to fill that void will be redshirt junior center Agne Girstautaite, who blocked a school-record 53 shots last season. The 6-4, Kaunas, Lithuania, product also took advantage of her first season as a starter to average 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, both career highs. Girstautaite enters the 2009-10 campaign 48 blocked shots shy of the school record, a mark easily within her reach with two years of eligibility ahead of her.
Also returning in the frontcourt is junior Kendra Smith. The Columbus, Ga., native appeared in 30 games last year with five starts, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. In addition to playing in the paint, Smith can also step out and shoot the 3 from time to time, as she was 5-for-14 from beyond the arc last season. She'll likely step in at Grimsley's vacant starting spot at the 4.
"We need Kendra to step up this season, make herself more of a factor," Agee said. "We need some balance in the post."
Senior Dee Corbett battled injuries during her first season in a UNCG uniform, but took the floor in 19 games after transferring in from Louisburg Junior College. The center from Kelly, N.C., averaged 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest.
Sophomore forward Agneta Morkunaite appeared in 18 games last season, averaging 7.1 minutes per game to lead all UNCG freshmen. The Vilnius, Lithuania, native averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game and shot 77.8 percent from the free throw line on the year.
Sophomore forward Jazz Weaver came off the bench in 11 games last season, scoring 0.5 points and pulling down 0.8 rebounds per game. The Covington, Ky., native hit her only 3-point attempt of the season and took care of the ball, turning it over just once on the year.
New to the frontcourt this season will be freshman Amy Clapper, who redshirted last season after a knee injury in the summer. Clapper, a Newark, Ohio, native, is a fundamentally sound center that should see some action in relief of Girstautaite.
Rounding out the frontcourt is freshman Sidnei Harmon (Cincinnati, Ohio / Turpin). The 5-11 forward was named the co-player of the year for her school's conference as a junior and should see some action in her first year as a Spartan.
"We're working hard at attacking the paint," Agee said. "We have to be aggressive, have to get to the free throw line."
The 2009-10 Spartans have an impressive schedule lined up. In addition to the always-daunting Southern Conference slate, UNCG will face a tough nonconference schedule that features top-25 fixture Ohio State (2008-09 Big Ten regular-season and tournament champion), Bowling Green (Mid-American regular-season champion) and Liberty (Big South regular-season and tournament champion).
The Spartans will need contributions from the top of the roster to the bottom to get the program back on track, but it's the juniors and seniors that Agee will rely on most.
"The upperclassmen have to carry us," she said. "They've all been there before. They've been through the battles. They have to be consistent, and they have to be better."
UNCG will host Catawba at Fleming Gymnasium on Saturday in the Spartans' lone open exhibition of the preseason. The game follows the men's team's Blue-Gold scrimmage and is set for a 3 p.m. tip. Admission is free.
"We need Kendra to step up this season, make herself more of a factor," Agee said. "We need some balance in the post."
Senior Dee Corbett battled injuries during her first season in a UNCG uniform, but took the floor in 19 games after transferring in from Louisburg Junior College. The center from Kelly, N.C., averaged 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest.
Sophomore Agneta Morkunaite appeared in 18 games last season, averaging 7.1 minutes per game to lead all UNCG freshmen. The Vilnius, Lithuania, native averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game and shot 77.8 percent from the free throw line on the year.
Sophomore Jazz Weaver came off the bench in 11 games last season, scoring 0.5 points and pulling down 0.8 rebounds per game. The Covington, Ky., native hit her only 3-point attempt of the season and took care of the ball, turning it over just once on the year.
New to the frontcourt this season will be freshman Amy Clapper, who redshirted last season after a knee injury in the summer. Clapper, a Newark, Ohio, native, is a fundamentally sound center that should see some action in relief of Girstautaite.
Rounding out the frontcourt is freshman Sidnei Harmon (Cincinnati, Ohio / Turpin). The 5-11 forward was named the co-player of the year for her school's conference as a junior and should see some action in her first year as a Spartan.
"We're working hard at attacking the paint," Agee said. "We have to be aggressive, have to get to the free throw line."
The 2009-10 Spartans have an impressive schedule lined up. In addition to the always-daunting Southern Conference slate, UNCG will face a tough nonconference schedule that features top-25 fixture Ohio State (2008-09 Big Ten regular-season and tournament champion), Bowling Green (Mid-American regular-season champion) and Liberty (Big South regular-season and tournament champion).
The Spartans will need contributions from the top of the roster to the bottom to get the program back on track, but it's the juniors and seniors that Agee will rely on most.
"The upperclassmen have to carry us," she said. "They've all been there before. They've been through the battles. They have to be consistent, and they have to be better."