By: Lara Russell, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
ATLANTA- On Monday afternoon, the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) announced its women's basketball post-season awards, Head Coach
Wendie Austin being deemed SAA's Coach of the Year.
In her 18th season with the Colonels, Coach Austin was selected by her peers as the SAA Coach of the Year, an honor bestowed upon her three separate times in past seasons. She headed the 2022-23 women's basketball team to a 20-8 overall record and 12-2 in conference play. The Centre women's basketball team clinched the regular season title after taking down the Stormy Petrels in an overtime thriller. For the first time since the 2012-13 season, Centre women's basketball entered the SAA Tournament as the undisputed No. 1 seed. After winning the regular season title, the Colonels fell to the two-time SAA defending champions, Rhodes College, in the conference tournament.
Amongst SAA Coach of the Year, Centre was highlighted by First Team All-SAA recipient
Bailey Rucker, Second Team All-SAA honoree
Natalie Duggins, and SAA Honorable Mentions
Emma Rose Vincent and
Payton Herold.
Representing Centre on the First Team All-SAA was 2021-22's Newcomer of the year
Bailey Rucker. In her sophomore season, Rucker led the Colonels in points with 307 this season. After going 92-113 at the line, her 81 percent in free-throws landed her second in the SAA for best free-throw shot percentage.
Centre's defensive headman
Natalie Duggins was the sole Colonel on the Second Team All-SAA list. The junior fronted the Gold & White in both blocks and rebounds. Her collective 205 rebounds placed her in the top two in the SAA for most rebounds. Playing a key factor on both ends of the court, she performed a double-double in six separate SAA Colonel victories, including a career high of 23 points in the win over Birmingham-Southern.
Payton Herold and
Emma Rose Vincent represented the Colonels on the All-SAA Honorable Mentions. Herold led both the SAA and Centre in assists, averaging 3.5 a game (88 collectively). The senior owns the most three-pointers for the Colonels, averaging 2.8 a game. Twice this season, Herold netted game winning buzzer-beaters, including the game winner against Millsaps that solidified the Colonels as the 2023 SAA Regular Season Champions. In that same Millsaps contest, Emma Rose placed the buzz-beater that took the game into overtime, allowing Herold to solidify the title for Centre. During the regular season, Vincent led the Gold & White in defensive rebounds, taking 144, averaging 5.8 a game. The junior fronted the Colonels in field goals, netted 101 this season, averaging 8.7 a game. Vincent's support on both ends of the court were pivotal in Centre's successful 2022-23 campaign.
The Colonels have concluded the 2022-23 season unless they earn an at-large bid from the national office for the NCAA Women's BAsketball Tournament. For all updates and more information on the Centre Colonels, go to
https://centrecolonels.com.
