Former 2K-point scorer Lainey Gosnell’s hard work totally worth it!
Lainey Gosnell saw plenty of action as a freshman at App State in 2017-18. In fact, not many freshman play in 27 games, start five times, and average 23.4 minutes per game. However, that wasn’t enough for the former Habersham Central standout (Class of 2017).
“I worked a lot on ball handling and my shot over the last summer and preseason, and just my game all-around,” says Gosnell, who as a sophomore post player is a full-fledged starter for the Mountaineers.
“It is definitely part of my everyday life, and it is a lot of work, but it all pays off. I wouldn’t say I lose love [for the game], but I cannot say that some days aren’t hard. In the end, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”
The hard work certainly has paid off for Gosnell, as she plays 26.1 minutes per game through 15 contests, and has career highs in points (10.0), rebounds (4.7), and field goal percentage (.380), as well as free throw percentage (.744).
Gosnell posted a double-double earlier this season on December 17 against Wofford (12 pts, 11 reb), and has nine double-digit scoring efforts, including a season-high 19 on December 10 at UT Arlington. Her career-high of 20 points came last season in her first career start at Davidson.
Gosnell, who has always been a threat to score anywhere on the court, continues to also be a factor beyond the arc as well. This season, she is shooting 25% from 3-point range (14-for-56), after making 38-of-143 last season (27%).
Despite the success around the midway point to the 2018-19 season, Gosnell hasn’t lost focus on what the primary goal is for this year. “Our team goal is to win a conference tournament of course!”
She was an all-around stellar athlete at Habersham, winning 10 varsity letters (4 in basketball, 4 in volleyball, 2 in track & field). In basketball, she was an all-region member all four seasons, and averaged no less than 17 points and 9 rebounds per game. Her sophomore year (17.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) was followed by a better junior year (18.9 ppg, 10.8 rpg) and a best senior season (20.3 ppg, 11.5 rpg). The senior season saw her named region player of the year and all-state in Class 6A, and became Habersham Central’s all-time leading scorer with 2,008 points and single-season record holder (590 points).
Feature Photo by AppStateSports.com
