PBC champs add new talent

Three new recruits are expected to increase the talent of Georgia College & State University’s women’s basketball team.

The GC&SU women hope to replace starter Betsy Foy and reserve April Hartley with three players from Gwinnett County, Jenica Johnson, Amanda Lomax and Kelley Fleischmann. Joining them this year will be a junior college transfer from Tennessee, Alicia Ransom. Among the returnees expected to contribute for the Lady Bobcats are senior Dalana Watson (12.2 points per game), Andrea Lee (11.7 ppg), Larkin Cleveland (6.3 ppg) and Adrienne Tucker (5.0 ppg).

Johnson graduated from Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga. where she was named to the All-Tournament team in the state playoffs. She was voted her team’s Most Valuable Player. She also earned the Coach’s Award and was a member of both the Gwinnett County and Atlanta Tip-Off Club Teams of the Year. She was a Scholar Athlete all four years in high school. She chose exercise science for her major.

“I like to work with athletes, and I want to either be an athletic trainer or physical therapist,” Johnson said. “I want to be on the team, and I want to be there when they get hurt.”

Lomax graduated from Dacula High School in Dacula, Ga. She was named to the academic honor roll and also attended Sandcreek High School for one year where she earned MVP honors. When she played in the national finals, she earned All-Tournament honors. She has quickly adjusted to life in Milledgeville.

“It wasn’t really that hard,” Lomax said. “I’ve lived away from my parents for a year, and I’ve really gotten used to [being at GC&SU].”

Ransom transferred from Chattanooga State Tech Community College in Tennessee where she earned All-America honors. She is a junior physical education major. She had visited the campus before this year.

“[The players] were the nicest when I went on my visit, and I like the coaching staff,” said Ransom.

Fleischmann is a walk-on for her first season with the Lady Bobcats. She is also a member of the Bobcat cross country team who just completed their season. Fleischmann graduated from Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga.

Head Women’s Basketball Coach John Carrick said that the defense still needs to work on their aggressiveness.

“One of the biggest weaknesses was our lack of aggression,” he said. “That’s one of the areas we must get better at.”

Last season, the GC&SU women’s basketball team needed a buzzer-beating shot by Larkin Cleveland to win the Peach Belt Conference tournament and earn the ensuing NCAA tournament bid along with it.

This year, however, it may take more than luck for the Lady Bobcats to defend their title, according to Carrick.

“Will the girls be hungry enough to repeat again and get after it? Only time will tell,” Carrick said. “Talent wise, we’ve got enough talent, and we should be a little bit better than what we were last year.”

The Lady Bobcats will find out quickly how good they are when they open the season at the Holiday Inn Classic at Kennesaw State Nov. 22-23. GC&SU’s home opener is Monday, Dec. 2 against Miles College.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 8 2002. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry