Baldwin-Tener prepares Women’s Basketball for second season

      After a first season full of grow- ing pains and adjustments under new head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener, Georgia State will try to establish a winning culture in the 2011 campaign.

     With a large chunk of the roster having had a full year to soak in their new coaches style and system, the Panthers will look to set a different tone on Nov. 9 when they take on Young Harris.

       "A year makes a big difference," Baldwin-Tener said. "Not only do we have six returning letter winners, we also had three people that redshirted. So we really have nine players that understand what it is we're trying to do, and we were able to build a foundation and you know, change the mindset a little bit."

       Yet, if Georgia State really hopes to improve from their 12-19 record of last season, the going will be tough early as three of their first four match-ups come against teams that posted 20-win seasons last year: Arizona, Florida State and Appalachian State.

      Baldwin-Tener is looking for- ward to these early tests saying, "I want to see early where we are and see how much we can improve and get ready for CAA play."

      And it won't be easy in CAA play to get one of the six playoff spots. The conference has talent throughout and powerhouses such as Delaware will make collecting victories challenging. The team's strength going in

to the season will be it's front line, which includes Chandra Harris and Cody Paulk, and while the backcourt is talented, the inexperience is still there.

      "We have a lot of young players, I think, in the backcourt that will be

good players," Baldwin-Tener said. "You know, but right now, Chandra Harris and Cody Paulk, they both worked very hard this summer... [And] they've both really gotten better in a year."

At the point guard position, Jerlisa Taylor has been solid but some nagging injuries have created a situation where she will be sharing some playing time with freshmen Ashley Watson and Kayla Nolan.

       Now that players are beginning to buy into and understand Baldwin-Tener's philosophy, the 2011- 2012 season will be all about mental toughness and confidence. The ability and desire is there.

"The biggest thing is making people realize that we can win," Baldwin-Tener said. "Changing the mindset. This team, they're really focused and they want to turn things around, and they want to win."