Cats open at Asheville in the Asheville Collegiate Invitational

Karen Middleton's 2012-13 Catamounts will open their season against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs as part of the Asheville Collegiate Invitational.  The 4:30 p.m game on Saturday Nov. 10 will be regionally televised by WMYA (Channel 40).

Asheville's first-year head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick's Lady Bulldogs returns four starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team including center Kelli Riles who finished 12th in the nation in rebounding; sophomore guard Shonese Jones who earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors; and sophomore forward Leah Wormack who made the Big South All-Freshman team..

A big concern for Coach Kirkpatrick early in the season is injuries, especially in the backcourt. "We've got to get healthy," said Kirkpatrick at the Big South media day. "We have Grace Blaylock and Brittany Gwyn out at the start of practice and that really hurts our perimeter presence. Hopefully, we can get both of them healthy once the season starts and that will make a difference."

The Lady Bulldogs completed the 2011-12 season with a 7-23 overall record and was picked by the league coaches to finish in 10th place (out of 11 teams) in the Big South Conference this season