Charlotte Women's Basketball Looking to Bounce Back

Courtesy of Charlotte Athletics

Charlotte women’s basketball begins the season celebrating 50 years of women’s hoops for the program, as the revamped roster begins the year in Halton Arena, taking on Auburn University.

“This year marks our 50th anniversary,” said Head Coach Tomekia Reed. “So we want everybody to come back and support our top players that play here in Charlotte, who have put blood, sweat and tears into this program. Who developed this program and got the program off the ground.”

Returners leading the way

Much like most teams in the nation, Charlotte returns a small fraction of their roster from last season, with three players returning in Imani Smith, Caroline Thiel and Daphne White.

Smith brings defensive toughness to the team and is one of the team’s captains, helping integrate new faces with staff and returners and setting the tone and expectations.

Courtesy of Charlotte Athletics

“It’s so funny watching Smitty, you know, Smitty went from a player who’s trying to figure it out last year to a player who's been placed in the Captain role by her teammates,” said Reed. “Smitty brings a lot of leadership and direction to the team because she knows how the flow is supposed to work. She knows my expectations and my staff's expectations. So I’m really loving where Smitty is in terms of her mental space and the knowledge she brings to the floor to help the other teammates.”

Caroline Thiel took a big step in her development last year and has set the tone in putting in all the work she can every day.

“Caroline is just phenomenal, she works extremely hard,” said Reed. “She is the hardest worker on the team, from the data that we get after every workout. CT’s numbers are through the roof, and so they’re telling me every time she hits the floor, she’s working hard. She’s been really consistent in her efforts. When I got the job here, everybody told me you gotta keep CT on the team. She’s a workforce, and that’s what I’ve seen since day one.”

White had injury issues last year that derailed her debut season in the Queen City, but now that she’s healthy, she can be a major defensive anchor in the paint.“I’m really loving where she is, she’s finally getting on the floor, getting into some action with the team, and you know, Daphne White getting healthy, this would be a really scary team to have to go against, having her on the block,” said Reed.

Shoring up weaknesses

Efficient scoring and rebounding were major weaknesses during last season, and the 49ers went portal shopping to address those issues dramatically.

“I told my staff we had to change how we do things and change how we recruit,” said Reed. “We have to go out and get shooters, and so collectively the shooters that we brought in averaged 34% from the three-point line. We’re bringing in players who can score. We brought in about 150 points.”

One major addition in those areas was Ja’Navia Gage, who comes to Charlotte from Gulf Coast State, where she averaged 12 points per game on 56% shooting while grabbing 12.9 rebounds per game, which was fifth in the nation last season.

Another player brought in to help with both scoring and rebounding is Asianae Nichols, who averaged 12.8 points and 12 rebounds per game with Bethune-Cookman. The addition of Nichols and Gage should make for a dominating pair inside, helping grab boards and provide consistent inside scoring.

Transfer building off an impressive freshman season 

Zoe Best, coming off an Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year campaign at Southeast Missouri State University, is primed to be a major scorer for the 49ers and a star on the team. She averaged 14.1 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game while scoring double-digits in 21 of her 28 games played.

Best earned her coach’s praise for being one of the smartest players out on the court, and her ability to lead the team and mesh well with all the new faces will be crucial to the team’s success.

“I feel we meshed as a team super early and super good,” said Best. “I feel like by now we’re really getting the hang of things out on the court. Since day one, we’ve all really gotten along, so it’s been super easy transitioning onto the court.”