GA Women's Basketball Looks Forward to Another Successful Season

McKeesport, Pa. - To bring in the 2013-14 season, the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team looks forward to another exciting season.

They will be building on a great run that ended in last year's PSUAC Championship Finals. The team looks to win the division title and continue to be a strong force to battle with to keep in contention for the PSUAC Championship. GA is also casting an eye towards the USCAA National Championship Tournament.

Penn State Greater Allegheny finished tenth in the final USCAA National rankings and returns four out of the five starters this season. Three of those starters averaged double digits in the conference last season.

Leader of the returning starters include PSUAC Co-Player of the Year and USCAA First Team All-American, senior point guard Taylor Fulton (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin), who led the conference and the nation in several statistical areas. Last season, Taylor averaged 20.2 points per game, dropped 522 points, totaled 156 rebounds and grabbed 115 steals.

Junior power forward Christina Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./Saints Neumann-Goretti) is a powerful returning force inside for the Lady Lions, who averaged 12.4 points per game last season. Floyd has been a PSUAC Honorable Mention and Second Team USCAA All-American throughout her GA career, alongside being one of the top leading rebounders in the conference as well as in the nation.

Returning junior standout guard Nakayla Layne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice), who averaged 11.8 points per game, led the team in double digit scoring several times last year. "She returns for her junior year as a big time threat and mismatch for several teams," said head coach Lou Zadecky.

The final comeback player is junior guard Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport Area), a player who notched 3.1 points per game coming off of the bench. "Because of her hardwork and strong presence as a defender, Shelby found herself in the starting lineup midway through the second half of the season and never looked back. She brings strong court awareness that will help guide the team," said Zadecky.

Joining the veteran players this year are seven freshmen. "This freshmen class has the potential to be GA's best recruiting class since they brought this program back three years ago." They include two high school teammates, both forwards from the same high school, freshman Aaquila Youngblood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) and freshman Tenisha Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy). Both will be competing for a starting position, but each will see considerable time on the court. Freshman forward Ashley Grinage (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy) rounds out the post players and will also be competing for time in the forward position. Freshman point guard Shacobia Horn (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) and freshman guard Tra-Esha Carswell (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) will help fortify the guard position for GA. The last two players to join the team are dual-sport athletes, who contribute their athletic ability to both basketball and volleyball. Freshman Raven Gribbins (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oyler) and freshman Brianna Audette (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) bring athleticism and depth to the guard position.

"This season looks to be very exciting and has the potential to take the team to the next level."