Senior Whitney Hoey along with fellow senior Sabrina Gregory have led the 49ers to their school-record sixth straight postseason tournament appearance. |
|
|
49ers Host VCU In First Round of WNIT, Saturday, March 22
March 18, 2008
Charlotte, NC -
The Charlotte 49ers women's basketball (18-13) have a earned a bid to the WNIT as the automatic qualifier from the Atlantic 10. The 49ers, who are making their school-record sixth straight postseason tournament appearance, host former Metro Conference foe VCU (25-7) in the first round of the WNIT in Halton Arena, Saturday, March 22 at noon. The winner of the Charlotte-VCU game advances to a second round WNIT game at Michigan, Monday, March 24.
"It is a privilege to earn a postseason bid," Charlotte coach Karen Aston said. "It is a tribute to our players that they withstood a tough start to the season to finish the regular season strong. It is great that we get to play our first round WNIT game at home in front of our tremendous fans. We face a talented VCU team that I saw play last week on television in the CAA Championship game against Old Dominion. They will be a tough opponent. Again, I am very proud of our players and it is great that our seniors get to play another game in Halton Arena."
The 49ers seniors Sabrina Gregory and Whitney Hoey have played an integral role in helping the 49ers win 80 games over the past four years including 50 wins in Halton Arena. The two seniors have guided the 49ers to postseason play in each of their four seasons as well as helping the 49ers capture the 2006 Atlantic 10 regular season title.
Gregory, who earned third-team All-Atlantic 10 honors this season, leads the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and assists (119). Junior center Danielle Burgin, who earned honorable-mention All-Atlantic 10 honors, is second on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg) and first on the team in rebounding (8.3 rpg). Junior guard Traci Ray, who just became the 14th player in school history to record 100 assists in a season, is third on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg). Ray leads the team in three-point field goals made (57) and steals (55).
The 49ers have reached the second round of the WNIT in three of the last four years. The last two seasons the 49ers have defeated James Madison (70-62 in 2006) and High Point (72-45 last season) at home in the first round of the WNIT.
Charlotte holds a 19-6 series lead against their former Metro Conference foe VCU. The 49ers defeated VCU in their last meeting in Halton Arena, 81-72, December 7, 2003.
Admission for adults is $6 and $3 for youth. The first 500 UNC Charlotte students get in free with a valid student ID and then the admission price is $1 for every student after the 500.
|
|
 |
