Nowhere to go but up for Winthrop women’s basketball

Lynette Woodard said her first offseason as a head women’s basketball coach has been a never-ending fast break.

Woodard was named Winthrop’s head women’s basketball coach in July following an interim stint during the second half of last year’s very difficult season. The Eagles finished 2-29 and head coach Kevin Cook was removed at the end of the season, after a mid-season suspension that revealed a program in poor health for various reasons.

Woodard, the former Harlem Globetrotter and basketball Hall of Famer, is picking up the pieces from last year. She wouldn’t be drawn on expectations for the upcoming season but is focusing on the team’s conditioning and its defensive energy.

“That’s what I’m preaching the most,” she said. “The rest will come. But we’ve got to learn to do it together.”

Winthrop should shoot the ball well, especially with the addition of 3-point ace Emily Kelley. She and fellow freshman Kayla Brown, from Charlotte, will see plenty of minutes early on in the Eagles’ back court. Woodard said she feels like she needs to invest in her youngest players because they’ll be with her the longest. Post player Zaria McBride returns after missing all of last season, another boost for the Eagles.

Preseason scrimmages against Claflin and North Carolina A&T will tell Woodard more about where he team is heading into the winter. But other than that, Woodard, fighting off a soar throat on Tuesday, didn’t offer many specifics.

“First, let’s just get this thing turned around,” she said, grinning.

2017-18 Winthrop women’s basketball roster

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Nowhere to go but up for Winthrop women’s basketball."