Countdown to Blastoff: Volleyball leads to basketball unveiling Tuesday
October 8, 2009
PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Coming off a pair of 20-win seasons, there’s much anticipation about the pending basketball season at Pikeville College.
Fans anxious to get a sneak peek at the Bears and Lady Bears will have their first opportunity on Tuesday night when the school holds the annual Basketball Blastoff at the Pikeville College Gym.
The evening will also afford fans the opportunity to take a look at the volleyball team, which will open the evening’s action at 7 p.m. with a Mid-South Conference match against highly-regarded Campbellsville University.
“It’s a great night for us at Pikeville College and kicks off what is usually the biggest week of the year,” said Athletics Director Robert Staggs, who also coaches the volleyball team. “Founders Week is a tradition as old as the college itself and we’re honored in athletics to get it started with our special night.”
Basketball activities will begin immediately following the volleyball match.
Bill Watson is beginning his 13th season at the helm of the Lady Bears with a veteran team returning, joined by some talented newcomers. “We’re cautiously optimistic about what we have right now,” said Watson, the all-time leader in wins for a head coach in Lady Bear history. “We have some veteran leaders who we really like, and with only one senior on the roster we feel good about the long-term success of our program.”
The team is led by junior wing Natiera Hinton, a first-team All-Mid-South Conference player from a year ago. Hinton, an honorable mention NAIA All-American, led the league and was fifth in the country last year when she averaged 20.4 points per game.
The 6-0 product of Rock Hill, S.C., also led the conference with 2.82 steals per game. She was also in the Top 10 in five other categories: She was second in blocked shots at 1.46 per game; third in field goal percentage (51.0 percent); fourth in double-doubles with eight; fifth in rebounds (8.18 per game); and seventh in free throw percentage (74.5 percent).
Hinton will be joined by the second- and third-highest scorers on last year’s team in junior Whitney Compton, who tossed in 8.9 points per game a year ago, and junior Lakia Bailey, who averaged 7.9 per game. The trio is also the top three returning rebounders from last year, averaging a combined 17.6 boards per game.
The team is led by point guard Megan Mosley, a 5-6 sophomore from Emmalena in Knott County. She averaged 5.9 points and 3.1 assists starting all but one game last year for the Lady Bears.
New to this year’s team are sophomore Jalisa Jones, who transfers from Alcorn State University, and freshmen Katelyn Minix from Magoffin County High, Kayla Pennington from Pike County Central and Sally Roberts of Shelby Valley.
Coach Kelly Wells’ Bears also return their top two scorers from a team that was 20-12 a year ago. The mix of talented returners and promising newcomers has him excited about the season.
“We like what we’ve seen to this point and are working hard to get ready to start the season,” said Wells, who will be in his fourth season as head coach of the Bears. “Our guard play will be solid with Josh Samarco and Justin Hicks back, and we believe our interior will be a lot better this season as well.”
Samarco, a 6-1 senior from Ypsilanti, Mich., led the league in scoring at 20.9 points per game. He also led the conference in three-point shooting, hitting 49.2 percent and nailing 3.43 three-point shots per game. He was also the league’s top free throw shooter, hitting 88.3 percent.
Samarco was in the nation’s top 10 in all four categories: He is fourth in free-throw and three-point percentage, sixth in three-pointers made per game and 10th in scoring.
Hicks, a 5-11 junior from Hazard, was ninth in the league in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game. He was second in the conference in free throw percentage at 83.2 and assists at 4.57.
Senior Anthony Smith, who started 18 of Pikeville’s 32 games last year, is back as well. The Parkersburg, W.Va., product averaged 6.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a year ago.
New additions this year include Seniors Jonathan Clark, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, and Maurice Thomas, who comes to Pikeville from St. Bonaventure; juniors Andre Thornton from Central Florida and Chris Donald from Pfeiffer; and freshman Trevor Setty, a product of Mason County High School.
PC
PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Coming off a pair of 20-win seasons, there’s much anticipation about the pending basketball season at Pikeville College.
Fans anxious to get a sneak peek at the Bears and Lady Bears will have their first opportunity on Tuesday night when the school holds the annual Basketball Blastoff at the Pikeville College Gym.
The evening will also afford fans the opportunity to take a look at the volleyball team, which will open the evening’s action at 7 p.m. with a Mid-South Conference match against highly-regarded Campbellsville University.
“It’s a great night for us at Pikeville College and kicks off what is usually the biggest week of the year,” said Athletics Director Robert Staggs, who also coaches the volleyball team. “Founders Week is a tradition as old as the college itself and we’re honored in athletics to get it started with our special night.”
Basketball activities will begin immediately following the volleyball match.
Bill Watson is beginning his 13th season at the helm of the Lady Bears with a veteran team returning, joined by some talented newcomers. “We’re cautiously optimistic about what we have right now,” said Watson, the all-time leader in wins for a head coach in Lady Bear history. “We have some veteran leaders who we really like, and with only one senior on the roster we feel good about the long-term success of our program.”
The team is led by junior wing Natiera Hinton, a first-team All-Mid-South Conference player from a year ago. Hinton, an honorable mention NAIA All-American, led the league and was fifth in the country last year when she averaged 20.4 points per game.
The 6-0 product of Rock Hill, S.C., also led the conference with 2.82 steals per game. She was also in the Top 10 in five other categories: She was second in blocked shots at 1.46 per game; third in field goal percentage (51.0 percent); fourth in double-doubles with eight; fifth in rebounds (8.18 per game); and seventh in free throw percentage (74.5 percent).
Hinton will be joined by the second- and third-highest scorers on last year’s team in junior Whitney Compton, who tossed in 8.9 points per game a year ago, and junior Lakia Bailey, who averaged 7.9 per game. The trio is also the top three returning rebounders from last year, averaging a combined 17.6 boards per game.
The team is led by point guard Megan Mosley, a 5-6 sophomore from Emmalena in Knott County. She averaged 5.9 points and 3.1 assists starting all but one game last year for the Lady Bears.
New to this year’s team are sophomore Jalisa Jones, who transfers from Alcorn State University, and freshmen Katelyn Minix from Magoffin County High, Kayla Pennington from Pike County Central and Sally Roberts of Shelby Valley.
Coach Kelly Wells’ Bears also return their top two scorers from a team that was 20-12 a year ago. The mix of talented returners and promising newcomers has him excited about the season.
“We like what we’ve seen to this point and are working hard to get ready to start the season,” said Wells, who will be in his fourth season as head coach of the Bears. “Our guard play will be solid with Josh Samarco and Justin Hicks back, and we believe our interior will be a lot better this season as well.”
Samarco, a 6-1 senior from Ypsilanti, Mich., led the league in scoring at 20.9 points per game. He also led the conference in three-point shooting, hitting 49.2 percent and nailing 3.43 three-point shots per game. He was also the league’s top free throw shooter, hitting 88.3 percent.
Samarco was in the nation’s top 10 in all four categories: He is fourth in free-throw and three-point percentage, sixth in three-pointers made per game and 10th in scoring.
Hicks, a 5-11 junior from Hazard, was ninth in the league in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game. He was second in the conference in free throw percentage at 83.2 and assists at 4.57.
Senior Anthony Smith, who started 18 of Pikeville’s 32 games last year, is back as well. The Parkersburg, W.Va., product averaged 6.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a year ago.
New additions this year include Seniors Jonathan Clark, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, and Maurice Thomas, who comes to Pikeville from St. Bonaventure; juniors Andre Thornton from Central Florida and Chris Donald from Pfeiffer; and freshman Trevor Setty, a product of Mason County High School.
PC
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Pikeville, Kentucky 41501
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