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News Release
2012-13 UMBC Women’s Basketball Team Captains Announced
7/31/2012
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BALTIMORE – UMBC head women’s basketball coach Phil Stern has announced the Retrievers’ will be led by three captains during the 2012-13 season, senior guard Kristin Coles (Charles Town, W.Va./Notre Dame Academy/American), junior center Dana Lewis (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) and sophomore guard Lauren Chase (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist).
"These three young ladies will provide us leadership in different ways on and off the court this season," Stern said.
Coles ranked second in the America East during the 2011-12 campaign in field goal percentage (.467), seventh in rebounding (7.6 per game) and ninth in steals (1.8 per game). The 5-9 guard nearly doubled her rebounding average from her redshirt sophomore season (3.9 rpg to 7.6 rpg) in addition to increasing her scoring output from 5.3 points per game in 2010-11 to 9.3 last year.
Coles appeared in 26 contests last season, missing five games due to a sprained ankle, but came on strong at the end of the campaign. She finished out the regular season with back-to-back double-doubles – two of her team-high six double-doubles on the year – against Boston University and Vermont, in addition to recording double-figure points in each of the last five games.
"Kristin has been with us for three years and understands what we want out of our players,” explained Stern. “She has already graduated and is working towards her master’s degree."
Lewis will see an increase in action this season following the graduation of 6-3 center Topé Obajolu. Lewis has appeared in 45 games in her two seasons with the Retrievers, including action in each of the last 14 games of the 2011-12 slate.
"Dana is constantly communicating in practice and games and does a good job helping our younger players understand our system,” Stern said. “As we look for Dana to get more playing time in her junior season, we will also look for her to provide additional leadership."
Chase, the first UMBC freshman to be named the America East Rookie of the Year since the Retrievers joined the conference prior to the 2003-04 campaign, was an unanimous selection to the league’s All-Rookie Team. She earned America East Rookie of the Week recognition four times during the 2011-12 campaign.
The 5-6 point guard led the team with 129 assists, the most ever by a UMBC freshman and ranking eighth on UMBC’s single-season record list. Chase sat atop of the conference in assists, averaging 4.6 per game, placed second in assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and ranked ninth in free throw percentage, shooting at a .702 clip from the charity stripe.
"Lauren is our leader on the court and now has a really good grasp of our system,” Stern said of the sophomore. “She is the player that everyone will look to in tough situations on the court.”
The Retrievers finished the 2011-12 campaign with a 17-15 overall mark, falling in the championship game of the America East Tournament at Albany, 69-61. UMBC returns seven letterwinners from last year’s squad, with Coles and Chase being the only returning starters from a season ago.