Women’s hoops denied NCAA bid

After this past Saturday’s 66-61 loss in the Peach Belt Conference semifinals to No. 17 Francis Marion, head coach John Carrick and his GCSU Bobcats could only do one thing: sit and wait, in room 238 at the Centennial Center, this past Sunday night in hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Southeast Regional.

Unfortunately for Carrick and the team, that wish was not fulfilled by the NCAA selection committee. GCSU just missed out on a trip back to the postseason for the first time since 2007.

The Bobcats end the season at 21-8 overall.

“It’s disappointing,” Carrick said. “The ladies and I expected to be in (the national tournament) and we were let down.”

That letdown was due mainly to the close loss to the Patriots. The Bobcats led 30-22 heading into intermission.

The Bobcats found success in the paint early on, outscoring the swift Patriots 20-8 on the interior.

Once the second half began, the Patriots’ depth and defensive intensity started to take a toll on GCSU.

Francis Marion started the first 4:20 of the period on a 14-2 run, taking the lead at 36-32. The Bobcats would never regain the lead in the game, despite pulling close toward the end. Being down 10, GCSU was able to outscore the patriots 9-4 in the final 2:33, but it was too little, too late.

The Bobcats were led by junior guard guard Dominique Huffin’s 20 points, while junior guard Chimere Jordan knocked home 17. Senior forward Antoinette Reames ended her GCSU career with a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds.

Jordan and Reames were also named to All-PBC teams at the conference awards banquet this past weekend before the semifinals tipped off. Jordan earned a second-team spot and Reames was selected to the third team.

Now the offseason is upon the Bobcats, much sooner than they expected.

“The girls need to get away from the game for a while,” Carrick said. “Once they get their mind off things and what happened, then they need to get back in the gym and work on every aspect of their game.”

Huffin agrees.

“With us losing our current seniors, a lot is going to be put on our upcoming senior class to step up,” Huffin said.

That senior class consists of guards Shandrea Moore and Candice Clark. Also departing will be the forward positions of Reames and Katie Herndon.

“It’s hard to believe my career is over,” Herndon said. After this past Saturday’s 66-61 loss in the Peach Belt Conference semifinals to No. 17 Francis Marion, head coach John Carrick and his GCSU Bobcats could only do one thing: sit and wait, in room 238 at the Centennial Center, this past Sunday night in hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Southeast Regional.

Unfortunately for Carrick and the team, that wish was not fulfilled by the NCAA selection committee. GCSU just missed out on a trip back to the postseason for the first time since 2007.

The Bobcats end the season at 21-8 overall.

“It’s disappointing,” Carrick said. “The ladies and I expected to be in (the national tournament) and we were let down.”

That letdown was due mainly to the close loss to the Patriots. The Bobcats led 30-22 heading into intermission.

The Bobcats found success in the paint early on, outscoring the swift Patriots 20-8 on the interior.

Once the second half began, the Patriots’ depth and defensive intensity started to take a toll on GCSU.

Francis Marion started the first 4:20 of the period on a 14-2 run, taking the lead at 36-32. The Bobcats would never regain the lead in the game, despite pulling close toward the end. Being down 10, GCSU was able to outscore the patriots 9-4 in the final 2:33, but it was too little, too late.

The Bobcats were led by junior guard guard Dominique Huffin’s 20 points, while junior guard Chimere Jordan knocked home 17. Senior forward Antoinette Reames ended her GCSU career with a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds.

Jordan and Reames were also named to All-PBC teams at the conference awards banquet this past weekend before the semifinals tipped off. Jordan earned a second-team spot and Reames was selected to the third team.

Now the offseason is upon the Bobcats, much sooner than they expected.

“The girls need to get away from the game for a while,” Carrick said. “Once they get their mind off things and what happened, then they need to get back in the gym and work on every aspect of their game.”

Huffin agrees.

“With us losing our current seniors, a lot is going to be put on our upcoming senior class to step up,” Huffin said.

That senior class consists of guards Shandrea Moore and Candice Clark. Also departing will be the forward positions of Reames and Katie Herndon.

“It’s hard to believe my career is over,” Herndon said. “It was really rewarding to finish with a twenty-win season. All the hard work we put in practice paid off.”

Huffin knows that the team must work extra hard this offseason.

“I have to get stronger and prevent injuries,” Huffin added. “As a team, we all have to come out with a ‘nothing-to-lose’ type attitude when we hit the floor.”

Next year, GCSU will rely heavily upon Huffin, junior forward Tammeisha Law, and junior guards Jordan, Jessica Baker and Mandi Dudish.

Dudish, a prolific three-point shooter, missed significant time this season due to an on-going knee injury.

“Du,” as she is known by her team mates and coaches, will undergo knee surgery on March 31 to alleviate and fix her pain. If all goes accordingly, Dudish should be back in about five months.

“I should be ready to go by pre-season workout,” Dudish said. “It’s going to be tough but I’m ready.”

Even as the season ends, the players are enthused with the talent that will return.

“We have established chemistry,” sophomore guard Ashleigh Fox said. “We will have the same goals next year. We don’t want to come up short again.”

Dudish seconded Fox’s sentiments.

“We will be keeping a lot of talent,” Dudish said. “Hopefully the team will be getting better on their own during the offseason.”

Carrick will be chomping at the bit to get back on the court. For now, though, he must reminisce on a successful season that saw the Bobcats win the PBC western division title, garner a 20-win campaign (the ninth under Carrick), and complete a winning road record for the first time in more than four years.

“We played great defense all year,” Carrick said. “If we can shoot better next season, I think the foundation is there for another successful year.”

Posted by Chandler Lee on Mar 12 2010. 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