was named the PC SAAC Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Dec. 1. Mills combined for 33 points to lead the Blue Hose in wins over Colgate and Montreat on Nov. 24 and Nov. 26. She also tallied four assists and four steals and made her first career block against the Raiders on Tuesday. The Oregon City, Ore. native has started all five games this year.
BIG D: PC played tough defense against Montreat on Nov. 26, forcing the Cavaliers to turn the ball over 29 times. The Blue Hose also made 13 steals and freshman Brittany Brown made the team's only block of the game. By contrast, Montreat made one block, two steals, and were only able to force 18 turnovers for PC.
SEEING DOUBLE: Five members of the Blue Hose squad scored double-digits against the Raiders. Freshmen Brittany Brown and Kristen Stevens notched double-digit scores for the first time in their collegiate careers with 10 and 14 points, respectively. Sophomore transfer Amanda Mills scored a game-high 15 points while veterans Katlin Moore (11 points) and Lea Smith (10 points) also hit double-digit figures. The game marked the third time Moore has racked up double-digit scores this season.
IT'S RAINING THREES: The team shot 50 percent from beyond the arc on Monday with guards Kristen Stevens and Amanda Mills each knocking down three shots. Prior to Monday's match, PC was ranked fifth in the Big South Conference in three-point percentage, making 29 percent of shots from three-point land. Meanwhile, the hot shooting Blue Hose are first in the conference in defense against the three-point shot. PC has held its first three opponents to a combined percentage of .077 (thee of 39 attempts).
PC PACKS THE HOUSE: PC ?packed the house' on Nov. 24, setting a new attendance record of 581 fans who came to watch the Blue Hose take down the Colgate Raiders. PC will compete against other Big South programs as well as NCAA Division I schools for a chance to be the 2008-09 "Pack the House" Challenge Champion.
BREAKOUT FOR MOORE: Katlin Moore had a career day at East Carolina as she set career highs for field goals (seven) and three-pointers (three) as well as three-pointers attempted (six). Her 17 points were just two points shy of her career-high performance at Stetson last year.
FRESH FACES: The Blue Hose looks dramatically different this year, as first-year head coach Ronny Fisher welcomes five new players to the squad. The former associate head coach for PC's men's basketball program signed freshmen Brittany Brown, Megan Lee, and Kristen Stevens, in addition to sophomore transfer Amanda Mills. Current PC junior Holly Whatley also joins the team for the 2008-09 season.
Brown and Whatley will join veterans Lea Smith and Chelsea Wright in the frontcourt. Brown is a three-time Charlotte Independent Athletic Association All-Conference team selection averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and 1.7 steals per game as a senior at Charlotte Latin in Charlotte, N.C. Whatley averaged eight points and nine rebounds as a forward at Travelers Rest in Greenville, N.C., receiving all-county honors her senior season.
In the backcourt, Lee, Mills and Stevens will join sophomore returner Katlin Moore. Mills won two state championships at Oregon City before playing for one year at San Diego Mesa CC where she averaged 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Lady Olympians.
Lee and Stevens both hail from Ohio, where Lee won the SEOAL South Division Championships and advanced to the sectional semifinals of the 2008 Division II tournament with her Chillicothe High School team. Stevens played for back-to-back sectional and district champion Pickerington Central. She earned All-Central District Honorable Mention status in her senior season.
ON THE SIDELINE: Head coach Ronny Fisher took the reigns of the PC women's basketball program in April 2008. He is the sixth head coach in the program's 30-year history. Fisher assumes the position after serving as the associate head coach for the Blue Hose men's basketball program in 2007-08. He received the promotion to associate head coach after working as an assistant coach for sevens under current head coach Gregg Nibert.
ASSISTANT COACHES: Coach Fisher hired three new assistant coaches to help mold the 2008-09 team. Eric Burrow is a 1999 PC graduate who played for four years under current men's head coach Gregg Nibert. He was the 12th player to reach the 1,000-point plateau under Nibert's watch, finishing his career with 1,076 points. Burrow comes from a two-year stint as the head girls' basketball coach at Grayson High School in Grayson, Ga.
Joining Fisher and Burrow on the bench is Monique Dawson and Nichole Bennett. Dawson is a 2008 graduate from Western Carolina where she was named to the All-Southern Conference Preseason Team her junior and senior seasons. She became the 19th Lady Catamount to reach 1,000 points, ending her career with 1,216 points and ranking 12th in the Western Carolina record books.
Bennett comes from USC Aiken, where she was a two-year letterwinner, helping lead the Pacers to a 20-9 record in 2006-'07. She accepted a job coaching the junior varsity team at North Augusta where she helped guide the Yellowjackets to a 9-7 record in 2007-08.
SMALL ON ALL FRONTS: Coach Fisher's squad is one of the smallest in the nation, both in numbers and in height. Eight girls make up the 2008-09 roster that averages 5'7". The team varies in size from 5'6" (Amanda Mills) to 5' 11" (Chelsea Wright).
FROM A LAND FAR, FAR AWAY: Sophomore Amanda Mills wins the award for most miles away from home. The Oregon City, Ore. native attended the University of Oregon before transferring to San Diego Mesa Community College in San Diego, Calif. After graduating with a 4.0 grade-point average the guard decided to head East to join Coach Fisher and the Blue Hose in Clinton, roughly 2,746 miles from home.
A BUNCH OF SMARTIES: PC's student-athletes learn to balance academics and athletics. The women's basketball team boasts several student-athletes who have excelled in the classroom. Junior forward Lea Smith was one of 154 Blue Hose athletes named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll for the 2007-08 year. The Sociology major posted a 3.0 GPA or better to qualify for the honor.
Sophomore Amanda Mills has also been recognized for her skills in the classroom. The Biology major graduated from Oregon City High School and San Diego Mesa Community College as the class valedictorian, with perfect 4.0 GPAs both times. She aspires to be a pediatrician.
HONORS FOR MOORE: Sophomore Katlin Moore was named to the All-Independent All-Newcomer Team in 2007-08. The All-Independent awards recognize teams that are transitioning to the Division I level in addition to teams that chose not to join a conference. Moore averaged 9.8 points and 2.8 assists in 25 appearances for PC. She started at point guard for 20 games and was named PC SAAC Student-Athlete of the Week twice.
SOUTHERN BELLE: In addition to playing basketball and majoring in Business Management junior forward Holly Whatley competes in beauty pageants. The Greenville, S.C. native was crowned Miss Williamston 2008 and competed in the Miss South Carolina pageant.
PRESEASON POLL: PC was picked to finish ninth (out of nine) in the Big South Conference preseason poll. This is the first season the Blue Hose are eligible to win the regular season title and Player of the Week accolades.
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL:
1. Liberty
2. Winthrop
3. High Point
4. Radford
5. UNC Asheville
T-6. Coastal Carolina
T-6. Gardner-Webb
8. Charleston Southern
9. Presbyterian
PC IN THE BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE: Although this is the first year the Blue Hose are officially part of the Big South Conference, PC has played several Big South members in the past. The team met UNC Asheville and Radford twice last year and played High Point, Charleston Southern, Winthrop and Liberty once. In 2008-09 Fisher's squad will play a full conference schedule, meeting each of the nine teams in the Big South twice. Here's how PC has done against Big South opponents in the past:
Charleston Southern......0-1
Coastal Carolina...........4-10
Gardner-Webb..............22-6
High Point.......................0-1
Liberty.............................0-1
Radford...........................0-1
UNC Asheville................0-3
Winthrop.........................0-7
