Brenau University - News

[Women's Basketball] Brenau Basketball Adds Russian Point Guard

Gary Bays — 2010-09-02T07:15:40-06:00

Gainesville, Ga - The Brenau Golden Tigers basketball team concluded their recruiting effort for the upcoming season with the addition of Point Guard Anastasia Minaeva (Moscow, Russia). Minaeva brings a wealth of experience to the Tigers, having started her playing days at eight years of age for the Basketball Sports School.

She has played on a number of successful teams, highlighted by a Regional Championship at age 15. She also played on an age group team that competed in the European Championships in 2005 and placed 9th. Minaeva was named Most Valuable Player at age 14 and her team won the Moscow City Championships on eight different occasions.

At the Russian National Championships, her team won the Gold Medal in the 12-13 age group and was runners up another year. "We are delighted to welcome Anastasia to our team and look forward to the contributions she will make. She is a gifted player with a great understanding of the game and will fit very well into our up-tempo style of play." said Head Coach Gary Bays.

Anastasia is the daughter of Roman Borisov and Natalia Minaeva.

[Women's Basketball] Cobb County All Star Signs With Brenau

Gary Bays — 2010-07-30T07:55:49-06:00

Marietta, Ga - Tala Black, who played at Hillgrove High School, has signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and basketball career at Brenau University. Black was named to the Cobb County All Star team and was one of the leading scorers, as recognized by the Cobb County Tip Off Club.

Tala was a varsity performer during her entire high school career and won four varsity letters. She received the Athletic Academic Award during her junior year for exceeding a 3.5 GPA. Black graduated with honors and was named a Hope Scholar. She plans to major in Biology at Brenau and pursue a career in Nursing.

Tala's quote for the day is "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." Coach Gary Bays said, "Tala will bring her ability to score and has proven that she can play against quality opponents throughout her high school career. She is also an outstanding student and is very focused on her career goals."

Tala is the daughter of Darryl and Phyllis Black.

[Women's Basketball] Greenville's Suber Signs With Brenau Basketball

Gary Bays — 2010-07-26T11:02:32-06:00

Greenville, SC - Brenau Basketball Coach Gary Bays picked up his first South Carolina recruit when Kori Suber signed a letter of intent to join the Golden Tigers in the fall. Suber played at Greenville High School for three years and was named Most Valuable Defensive Player all three seasons.

She also received the prestigious MLK Award for Academics and plans to major in Nursing at Brenau and eventually become a Pediatric Nurse upon graduation. Kori participated in the Hoop Hall Basketball program under the tutelage of Eric Williams, who had this to say about his protege. "This is a young lady who will work very hard and do everything you ask of her. She is all about the team and you are getting a steal with a young lady who has a bright future."

"I was impressed with Kori's fundamental skill set when she came for her tryout and I think she will make a nice addition to our team for the next four years," said Coach Bays.

[Women's Basketball] Tusculum Transfer Signs With Brenau Basketball

Gary Bays — 2010-06-29T08:54:58-06:00

Gainesville, Ga- Gabrielle Harvey, who helped lead her Berkmar High School team to the GHSA State Tournament for three years, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Brenau University. Harvey spent the past season at Tusculum, an NCAA II school in Tennessee that advanced to the Elite Eight. She set a school record for steals in a career at Berkmar with 317, was the Offensive Player of the Year her sophomore year and Defensive Player of the Year as a Junior.

Gabby was the Gwinnett County Tip Off Club Player of the Month twice and was selected to the Gwinnett County All Star Team. She also won varsity letters in volleyball and track in high school. In addition to her athletic accomplishments, she was on the All Academic Team for four years and was an Honor Graduate and Hope Scholar. Harvey was Editor in Chief of the school yearbook and a member of the FBLA and FCA. She is the daughter of Stephanie Seidel and step-daughter of Stan Seidel. Her sister is Zondria Ferguson.

"I feel that Brenau is the best fit for me. I am lucky to have been chosen to join this program." said Harvey, who was a high school teammate of current Tiger player Jasmyn Farmer.

"Gabby will be a great addition to our team and she brings some impressive credentials to the court. She is an excellent defender and rebounder and will fit well into our style of play." said Coach Gary Bays. "She is also committed to her academics and will help us reach our goals off the court."

[Women's Basketball] Brenau Basketball Adds Russian Post Player

Gary Bays — 2010-06-22T13:57:18-06:00

Gainesville, Ga - Tatiana Khudiakova, a 6-2 post player from Moscow, Russia, has signed a letter of intent to come to the United States and enroll at Brenau University to join the basketball team this fall. Khudiakova began her basketball career at age 8, competing in junior competitions with the Moscow Basketball School. She was selected as Most Valuable Player on three different occasions before moving up to Senior level.

Tatiana graduated from high school in 2005 and has continued to excel, winning the national championship in Russia on three different occasions. As a part of the Spartak team, she won two gold medals and two silver medals, playing at the highest level.

"We are delighted to add a player with Tatiana's experience and skill level." said Coach Gary Bays. "She will give us a post presence we have not previously had and she will help us move our program another step in the right direction."

[Women's Basketball] Raveen Crawford Signs With Brenau Basketball

Gary Bays — 2010-05-22T14:42:27-06:00

Toccoa, Ga- Georgia High School All State player Raveen Crawford (Stephens County High School), has signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at Brenau University. Crawford was Region Eight 3A Player of the Year and was selected to the Region All Tournament team all four years. She was her team's MVP in her sophomore and senior seasons and finished up as the 4th leading all time scorer with 1301 points.

In addition to her accomplishments on the court, Raveen was recently named "Student of the Year" by the faculty at Stephens County and will graduate with honors. She is the recipient of the "Sanders-Tatham" and "Prather-Wilson" scholarships and is a HOPE Scholar. Crawford was inducted into the National Technical Honor Society and received the "Fine Arts" seal for band.

[Women's Basketball] Gwinnett County All-Star Signs With Brenau

Gary Bays — 2010-05-21T17:57:50-06:00

Loganville, Ga- Grayson High School standout Anela Durmic has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Brenau University next season. Durmic averaged 12.2 points and had 2.1 assists this past season as Grayson improved from seven wins two seasons ago to 15 victories her senior season. Anela suffered a season-ending knee injury her junior year and worked hard to come back for this past season.

Anela made the Gwinnett County Team of the Month in December and she was selected Second Team All Gwinnett County. She was selected by the coaches to take part in the Gwinnett All-Star Game. She is a Hope Scholar and plans to major in Biology at Brenau.

First year Grayson Coach Cynthia Cooper said, "I have coached Anela for one season, but what a great individual. This young lady has character traits that I want to instill in my daughter. She is very personable, respectful, and a hard worker in the classroom as well as on the basketball court."

[Women's Basketball] Brenau Basketball Adds All State Player

Gary Bays — 2010-05-03T11:05:03-06:00

Carnesville, Ga- Franklin County High School point guard Brittney Wiley has signed a letter of intent to play for the Brenau Golden Tigers beginning in the Fall of 2010. The signing ceremony was attended by her parents, Troy and Angie Wiley, Franklin County High School Coach Holly Wilk, AAU Coach Robert Daniel and Brenau Coach Gary Bays. Wiley was a GACA All State Selection her senior year in addition to be named to the North All Star Team. She was also named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution All State Honorable Mention team as well as the All Region First Team.

Brittney led her high school team to the Regional Championship her sophomore and junior years and the Georgia State Championships Elite Eight her sophomore and senior seasons. She also was named to numerous All Tournament teams during her AAU competition. She enters Brenau as a Hope Scholar and a member of the BETA Club.

"Brittney is a strong, unselfish leader on the court. She has led our team for three years and will be greatly missed. She will be a great fit at Brenau," said Coach Wilk. AAU Coach Daniel said, "Brittney is a great young lady with tons of potential. I have really enjoyed coaching her over the past four years. I know she will be a success at Brenau."

"One of the needs we had to address in recruiting was the point guard position and we feel that the addition of Brittney fills that need. Her success at Franklin County under Coach Wilk and in the AAU ranks with Coach Daniel speaks for itself and she has been well-schooled by those two," said Coach Bays.

[Women's Basketball] Kaitlin Fleming Signs Basketball Letter of Intent

Gary Bays — 2010-04-29T11:57:25-06:00

Mt. Airy, Ga- Kaitlin Fleming (Habersham Central High School) became the first basketball recruit to the rebuilding effort underway at Brenau University for next season. The Tigers have to replace eight departed seniors, including two-time All American Ashley Hagans and two All Conference players in Paige Cooper and Sarah Ledford. Fleming will join seven returning players as Brenau enters an new era in the program.

In addition to playing two years on the varsity team at Habersham, Fleming has played travel basketball for four years. She was named Most Improved Player this past season and is a member of the 8000 point club for the Lady Raiders, scoring the most three pointers for her team this season. She also participated as a football cheerleader for two years and was on the varsity track team, finishing fifth in the high jump in the regional meet.

She will graduate with honors this spring, having made the Honor Roll throughout her high school years. She is a Hope Scholar and also belongs to FCA, Focused Women, and has been a mentor and "Raider Reader" for the last two years in local elementary schools. Kaitlin will major in Fashion Merchandising and minor in Dance at Brenau.

"Kaitlin represents all the good things about a student athlete and her record throughout high school bears that out," said Coach Gary Bays. "She will be a solid addition to our roster and I would expect her to develop into a good college player."

[Women's Basketball] Hagans Repeats on All American Team

Gary Bays — 2010-03-24T06:35:56-06:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the 2009-10 Division I Women's Basketball All-America Teams on Tuesday and Brenau senior guard Ashley Hagans (Snellville) is a repeat member of the team in the Honorable Mention category.

The selections are made by the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America Committee and comprises a First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention Team. There are 10 members on each of the first three teams.

[Women's Basketball] NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Daktronics Scholar Athletes Announced

Gary Bays — 2010-03-23T08:40:41-06:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced that 120 Division I women's basketball players have been named 2009-10 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Carroll College (Mont.), a member of the Frontier Conference, and Saint Xavier University (Ill.), from the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, lead the way with six selections each.

Nominated by each institution's head coach, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status to qualify.

To view the complete team, click here (PDF).

[Women's Basketball] Bays Selected to NAIA National Tournament Committee

Gary Bays — 2010-03-12T10:41:56-06:00

Kansas City, Mo- Brenau basketball coach Gary Bays has been selected by the NAIA to serve on the Division I Women's Basketball Tournament Committee to be held in Jackson, Tennessee from March 17-23. Bays also served last year on the committee and was a member of the Men's Basketball Tournament Committee from 1988-1991. The tournament consists of 32 teams that have qualified through tournament play and at-large rankings. There will be three teams representing the SSAC with #11 Lee, #18 Southern Poly and Shorter in the field.

[Women's Basketball] Hagans and Reed Receive Conference Awards

Gary Bays — 2010-03-05T15:34:09-06:00

Rome, Ga- Senior Ashley Hagans and Freshman Nikki Reed were recognized at the SSAC Basketball Banquet on Wednesday night. Hagans is a repeat member of the All Conference team and finished as the second leading scorer in the league at 18.2 ppg. She also finished 3rd in free throw percentage (.765), third in steals (71), 15th in rebounding (5.13) and 19th in assists (1.9). Ashley was an Honorable Mention All American last year and reached the 1,000 point plateau this year in less than two seasons.

[Women's Basketball] Four Golden Tigers Named SSAC All Academic

Gary Bays — 2010-03-05T15:26:52-06:00

Rome, Ga- The SSAC All Academic Team was announced Wednesday night at the conference championships banquet and four Brenau players were selected. Seniors Natasha Anderson, Meg Henson and Vicky Wilson were honored along with Sophomore Brittany Crews. The requirements for this recognition are a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and a minimum of two semesters of completed college work. Anderson and Wilson will graduate in May with a degree in Education and Henson will complete her work in Nursing. Crews is pursuing a degree in Biology.

[Women's Basketball] Brenau Basketball Season Comes to a Close

Gary Bays — 2010-03-04T19:48:05-06:00

Rome, Ga- NAIA #18 Southern Poly's press was the difference today as the Hornets (27-4) defeated Brenau (17-14) in the first round of the SSAC Tournament today by a score of 58-36. The Tigers turned the ball over a school record 32 times and shot a paltry .316 from the field on a day that their defense held SPSU twenty points under their season scoring average. Two time SSAC All Conference Ashley Hagans was the only BU player to score in double figures with 11 and Paige Cooper pitched in eight points to go with a team leading five rebounds. One bright spot for the Tigers was a 9-9 effort from the free throw line and they held the Hornets well below their season field goal percentage at .368.