Carrie Saunders enters her eighth year as the head coach of the Frostburg State women’s basketball team in 2021-22. Last season, she led the Bobcats to a 2-14 record with wins over Davis & Elkins and West Virginia Wesleyan. The Bobcats finished 8th in the conference in blocked shots (31), and 6th in steals (121).
Off the court, Saunders coached 5 Bobcats to an All-MEC academic status.
Saunders, just the fifth head coach in 56 years of the women's program, has guided Frostburg to 55 wins along with three 1,000-point scorers, six all-conference selections and a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Following the 2016-17 season, Saunders was tabbed as the Capital Athletic Conference Co-Coach of the Year and under her tutelage, the Bobcats have posted the three most prolific three-point shooting seasons in program history.
Last season, Saunders guided FSU to six wins in its first season at Division II and the Bobcats narrowly missed out on a spot in the Mountain East Conference Tournament. The Bobcats, who closed the season with back-to-back wins, finished fourth in the conference in scoring defense (74.9), field goal percentage defense (40.9) and defensive rebounds (38.3). Both Victoria Diggs and Amanda Emory capped their careers as 1,000-point scorers.
In 2018-19, Saunders led the Bobcats to their most successful season in a decade. Frostburg posted a 15-11 overall record, its top mark in the nine-year CAC era. The campaign was capped with appearances in both the CAC Tournament and ECAC Tournament. The Bobcats posted their first win over CAC foe Mary Washington since 2003 and defeated York (Pa.) for the first time since 2015. The Bobcats posted a 9-3 record at Bobcat Arena, including a 72-67 victory over first-place Southern Virginia.
Diggs and Emory both garnered All-CAC honors following the season, while Diggs captured the Bobcats all-time record in three-pointers made. U
During the 2017-18 season, Saunders led the Bobcats to their first Jim Crawley Tournament title in a decade with an overtime win over Rutgers-Camden. The Bobcats clawed their way to the CAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season and it marked the first time that Frostburg reached postseason play in consecutive seasons since 2011. Diggs led the conference in scoring at 15.6 points per game and was awarded First Team All-CAC honors.
The Bobcats proved to be one of the top shooting teams in the conference in 2017-18 and led the CAC in free-throw shooting (70.3%) and finished second in three-point shooting (32.0%). Frostburg also finished third in threes made per game (6.2) and blocked shots per game (4.0).
In 2016-17 Saunders helped guide the Bobcat women’s team to their first CAC Tournament appearance since 2012-13 and also became the first Frostburg head coach to earn Coach of the Year honors by the league.
Saunders was named the CAC’s Co-Coach of the Year, while Diggs was named the CAC Rookie of the Year. Diggs averaged 11.3 points per game and Kirsten Rayner, an All-CAC Second Team selection, concluded the 2016-17 season sixth in the conference in scoring at 13.2 PPG.
Frostburg finished the 2016-17 season second in the conference in steals (11.8), third in scoring average (68.0), third in three pointers made (160), third in assists (14.4) and fourth in blocks (4.1).
In 2015-16, Frostburg collected three wins and finished runner-up in the Jim Crawley Tournament for the second-straight season. The Bobcats finished fifth in the CAC in offensive rebounding (14.8), sixth in assists (12.5), sixth in blocks (3.5), seventh in total rebounding (39.2) and eighth in three-pointers made (86).
The Bobcats capped the 2014-15 campaign with five wins in their final eight games. FSU finished 6-19 overall and was runner-up at the Jim Crawley Tournament.
Saunders took over the reins of the program after serving as a graduate assistant for the last two years.
The Bobcats saw steady improvement during her two seasons as an assistant. Frostburg increased its win total in each season, and capped the 2013-14 campaign with five wins in its final nine games.
The Bobcats scored 19 points per game higher than the 2012-13 campaign and finished third in the Capital Athletic Conference at 68.8 PPG. In addition to its improved scoring, FSU led the league in offensive rebounds (17.3) and finished second in total rebounds (42.5), steals (13.2) and blocks (3.4).
Saunders came to Frostburg after a four-year playing career at NCAA Division II Shepherd University. She finished 14th in school history in scoring and ranked second in field goals made and attempts during her career. As a junior, she was the recipient of both the Coach’s Award and Sara Cree Distinguished Athlete honor.
Saunders completed her master’s degree in education from Frostburg State in May 2015 and received her bachelor’s degree in communication and new media from Shepherd in 2011.
