Troy University women’s basketball guard Harriet Winchester took advantage of her increased playing time in her sophomore season, and became the first underclassmen to lead the Trojans in 3-pt field goals since Laura Lee Homan in  the 2004-05 season.

“I did not know that was a stat,” Winchester said. “It was a really humbling experience. I’m glad I did shoot that much.”

Winchester made 52 3-pointers this past season, and shot 36.1 percent from beyond the arc.

The 5-foot-11 guard from Keith High School worked on improving her shooting after her freshman season, and the results prove it.

As a freshman, she averaged 3.1 points per game, made 11 3-pointers and averaged 9 points per game.

She more than doubled each of those statistics this past season.

This season was better than my first season, and that was expected because I knew a little more,” Winchester said. “It didn’t end like I wanted it to because we didn’t win the conference, but I did gain some more experience. I think I’m more prepared for next year because of that.”

In addition to her team leading 3-pointers made, Winchester averaged eight points per game and nearly 20 minutes per game.

On New Year’s Eve, Winchester scored a season high 18 points all on 3-pointers against Georgia State. She played in 11 games where she scored more than 10 points.

“I moved to the shooting guard position and [my coaches] made me do a lot of shooting workouts,” she said. “I built up my confidence from last year and improved my game a lot.”

Not only did her offense improve, but she also led her team in steals this season (49).

“My defense was lacking a whole lot, and that was my second thing to improve on to keep playing,” she said. “I did a lot of defensive drills. I started practicing holding the best player on our team, and that’s what made me better.”

The key to her improvement in practice and correlating increase in playing time was the boost in her confidence. She is able to enjoy the game more because she no longer doubts whether or not she’s good enough to compete at the collegiate level.

“I’m enjoying it way better now,” she said. “At first, I thought I couldn’t do it. As time progressed, it got easier. I just continue to be hungry and just want to represent for my city.”