https://uncwsports.com/news/2019/4/30/wo...nsion.aspx
Barefoot Receives Contract Extension
WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Second-year UNCW head women's basketball coach Karen Barefoot has been rewarded with a contract extension following one of the best seasons in Seahawk history.
The UNCW women went 18-12 overall, including a 13-1 mark at home, and 11-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2018-19. The Seahawks are 20-9 at Trask Coliseum under Barefoot and a perfect 11-0 vs. non-conference opponents at home.
Barefoot's extension will keep the energetic head coach in the Port City through the 2023 season.
"I want to thank the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Sartarelli and AD Jimmy Bass for their belief and confidence in me and our program," said Barefoot, who was named head coach on May 3, 2017. "I take so much Teal pride in being the head women's basketball coach at UNCW.
"This year has been a true testimony of hard work, commitment and excellence on and off the court. I'm extremely excited about the future of this upcoming program and the University. This is a reflection of championship effort our student-athletes, coaches and everyone who has given us so much to our program on and off the floor! It's a great day to be a Seahawk!"
Barefoot's overhaul of the UNCW program began last season and took another big step in 2018-19. The Seahawks registered their most wins in the conference in seven years (since 2011-12) and featured three players on the All-CAA team for the first time.
Senior guard Shrita Parker was named USBWA National Player of the Week on Jan. 22 – the first national honoree in the history of the program - and the Seahawks earned the No. 3 seed in the CAA Tournament. UNCW was the only CAA team to defeat regular season champion James Madison during the regular season with a 66-63 victory on Jan. 18 at Trask Coliseum.
"It's apparent that Coach Barefoot has injected new energy into our program," said Jimmy Bass, UNCW's athletic director. "We're excited that she has agreed to this extension and will continue to take our women's basketball program to greater heights. The future is very bright for our program with Coach Barefoot at the helm."
The Seahawks played an exciting style of basketball that translated into a never-say-die attitude each night on the hardwood. Barefoot's club overcame a deficit in nine of its 11 conference wins and rallied from 16 points down at Elon on Jan. 13.
Barefoot and her coaching staff welcome back 12 players for the 2019-20 campaign, including two of the team's top three scorers, along with four talented newcomers. Recruiting service All-Star Reports rated UNCWs class as tops in the CAA ad 55th overall in early April.
UNCW's talented returning group includes All-CAA performers GiGi Smith and Lacey Suggs. Smith, from Norfolk, Va., started all 30 games for Barefoot's squad and ranked second on the team with 14.9 ppg. Suggs, from White Lake, N.C., earned her first All-CAA honor after finishing as the Seahawks' third-leading scorer with a 10.3 ppg clip and started all but one contest.