Women's Basketball | November 06, 2024
Each week, USCA will post notes.
Young, But Experienced
Head coach
Mark Miller's team has just six upperclassmen and sports six sophomores as well as five freshmen. Despite the youth, the team has an abundance of experience.
Destiny Harman,
Serena Baker,
Paris Webster,
Morgan McDermott and
Sami Bardonaro combined to play in 98 games with 21 starts.
Talented Transfers
USCA brought in three transfer student-athletes for this year. This includes graduate student standout
Kendall Parker from New Mexico Highlands, junior
Aryanna Ingram from Clark State and sophomore
Makaylei Snyder from Scottsdale C.C.
Fab Five
Head coach
Mark Miller added five freshmen to the team this season. He added
Molly Burns (Charlotte, N.C.),
Gracie Huffard (Daleville, Va.),
Kiah McDuffie (Aiken, S.C.),
Alisa Ortiz (Frederick, Md.) and
Riley Simmons (Canton, Ga.).
Strong Teams, Familiar Place
The Pacers open the season with some tough competition. The squad takes on Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman in the Conference Challenge. However, all of the returners are familiar with the location of both games – Finis Horne Arena in Greenwood, S.C., as Lander will host the season-opening tournament.
Tough Competition
Head coach
Mark Miller's team has 28 regular-season games. Of those 28 contests, six games are against 2024 NCAA Tournament teams. The Pacers play Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman to start the season. USCA also takes on Augusta and Georgia Southwestern twice during the 2024-25 campaign.
Road Warriors
The Pacers not only open the season at the Conference Challenge in Greenwood, S.C., but the squad also plays six of its first eight contests away from the Convocation Center. USCA hosts Emmanuel on Nov. 13 before hitting the road for games at Tusculum and Erskine. After hosting Winston-Salem State on Nov. 23, the team travels to Barton and Lander.
Preseason Poll
The PBC Preseason Poll was released last week and head coach
Mark Miller's team was selected to finish 10
th. Columbus State was first with seven first-place votes. Augusta was second while North Georgia and Georgia Southwestern were third and fourth, respectively. Flagler was picked to finish fifth. The Jaguars and Hurricanes each had first-place votes.
Inside The Numbers
This week, USCA will play a pair of neutral site games against Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, Nov. 9 and Carson-Newman on Sunday, Nov. 10. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 188-197 (48.8 percent) in Saturday contests and 16-13 (55.2 percent) in Sunday games. During the same time, the program is 1-3 on Nov. 9 and 3-1 on Nov. 10.
Against The Opponents
This week, USCA will play a pair of neutral site games against Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, Nov. 9 and Carson-Newman on Sunday, Nov. 10. The Pacers hold a 10-4 edge in the all-time series against the Bears. USCA trails the all-time series to the Eagles 12-3.
