Last Sunday UNCG beat Chattanooga 64-57 in OT in the SoCon women’s tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Spartans have won 14 games in a row as they claimed the school’s 1st NCAA tourney bid since 1998. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with UNCG SR PG Jayde Gamble about being a great defender and making the NCAA tourney.
You began your college career at UNCW: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose UNCG? I had 2 different coaching changes during my 2 years at UNCW, and UNCG has 1 of the best speech pathology programs in the state.
You play for Coach Trina Patterson: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? She is a players’ coach and gives us what we need at that moment. She taught me to embrace the present and never get too high/too low.
Last year you were also named 1st-Team All-Conference and conference All-Tournament Team: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It was a blessing, especially after coming here from a new conference and having to prove what I could do.
In the 2024 WNIT you scored 8 PTS in a 5-PT loss to North Carolina A&T: what did you learn from that loss that you think will help you this time around in the postseason? When you get into March everyone knows what you like to do. This year I am more than just a scorer so I can focus on trying to impact the game in different ways.
You are leading the team in PPG/APG: how do you balance your scoring with your passing? The opposing defense kind of makes it easy for me. I do not force shots up and just play within the flow of the game.
You faced several power-conference teams in non-conference play (North Carolina/Georgia/Wake Forest): which of them impressed you the most? I think the Tar Heels are always a good matchup because they have a lot of athletic players who can run the floor. The SEC is very big, so it was also fun to face Georgia.
You finished top-3 in the conference in SPG during each of the past 2 years: what is the key to being a great defender? Just being in the right place at the right time. I am lucky to have a teammate behind me in Khalis Cain who is a shot-blocker. It also can fuel our offensive energy to get steals.
Last Sunday in the SoCon tourney title game you scored 12 PTS in a 7-PT OT win over Chattanooga to clinch the title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? I was blessed to be in that moment. I did not win a lot of games at UNCW, and the chance to play a Chattanooga team who beat us in the conference tourney last year was nice. It has brought a lot of attention to our school, and we have received a lot of appreciation from our alumni and the people who work here because this has not been done in a long time.
You enter the NCAA tourney on a 14-game winning streak: has it reached a point where you expect to win every time that you step onto the court? 1 thing that I have been taught is to play hard, so even if we are in a hole early, we will not give up because we thrive in those moments. We are in great physical condition and are mentally tough, which allows us to compete with anyone.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? I have never been in this position, so I do not know what we deserve. I have heard that we will get a 15/16 seed, but I am just grateful for this moment.
