By Chris Stevens, Editor
The difference in the speed of NCAA Division I women’s basketball compared to that of Division II is something Wilmington University head coach Kerry Jenkins feels will serve his team well later in the season.
As for last Tuesday night, it was an advantage for the Delaware State University women’s basketball team, which snapped a 32-game losing streak spanning parts of three seasons with a 66-36 win over the Wildcats, giving head coach E.C. Hill her first win as Hornets head coach.
“It felt good to get that monkey off our back,” Hill said afterwards. “I’m excited for the girls because they’ve been working really hard.”
That hard work, after tough losses at Michigan State, Michigan and Hampton to start the season, began to pay off early as senior point guard Denijsha Wilson used her quickness to steal WilmU possessions and either find her teammates (team-high four assists) or take matters into her own hands (team-high 17 points).
“Coach has told me early on that I have to be the leader,” Wilson said. “I was just trying to get my team together so we can come out with a win.”
This year’s edition of the Hornets is all new, save for guards Alexis Moragne and Rebekkah Twine, and the newcomers aside from Wilson came up big. First-year guard Savannah Brooks added 15 points while sophomore forward Ty Tollie hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds. Manhattan College transfer Sydney Watkins scored eight points, including two three-point shots that kept the Wildcat defense honest.
For Jenkins, he has much the same task as Hill – getting a whole new team of players together for battle in the always tough Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).
“This is a team of players that has never played together before, so we’re still defining roles,” Jenkins said of a team that features just four players from a season ago and has some Delaware ties – Sanford graduate Kanisa Tucker transferred in from Goldey-Beacom, as well as St. Georges alumnae Amber Washington (the Wildcats’ leading scorer Tuesday with 11 points) and Trinity Brittingham, who both returned closer to home from CACC foe Chestnut Hill. A lack of height is cause for concern, but Jenkins feels the quickness of his team will be an asset if they can’t bang with taller teams.
“When I put certain lineups on the floor, we’re really quick and athletic. We may end up playing small but fast,” he says. “We can shoot the ball, we just have to do a better job of being patient and letting good shots come to us.”
Delaware men
The defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Blue Hens are 1-2 to start the season. The Hens defeated WilmU 78-54 to start the season, lost a close 75-71 decision to the Air Force Academy, then fell to Number 7-ranked Duke 92-58 Friday.
Sanford graduate Jyare Davis and Jameer Nelson Jr. share the team scoring lead with 15.3 points per game each. UD returns to action Friday night when they play Colgate at the Palestra in Philadelphia as a part of the Cathedral Classic weekend event.
Delaware women
The Blue Hen women, under new head coach Sarah Jenkins, are off to a 3-1 start. UD, also defending CAA champions, are led by grad transfer Jewell Smalls, who scored her 1,000th career point in Delaware’s 58-53 win at Vermont on Saturday.
The Hens are in action Friday and Saturday at the Daytona Beach invitational, where they’ll square off against Fresno State and Illinois.
Delaware State Men
The Delaware State men played two tough games earlier last week before running out gas Sunday night at UConn. The Hornets led No. 16 Villanova 27-24 at halftime on Monday before the Wildcats pulled away to a 60-50 win, while a comeback attempt at Ivy League team Columbia fell short 70-65.
The Hornets lost to the Huskies 95-60 Sunday and return to action Saturday at Liberty University.
The Hornets are led by senior center Brandon Stone (15.5 points a game) and sophomore guard Khyrie Staten (15.3), while Caravel graduate O’Koye Parker, who spent three seasons at Livingstone College in North Carolina, has returned home to play for the Hornets and is average 8.7 points per game.
Del Tech men
The Delaware Tech men, defending Region 19 champions, are 4-3 to start the 2022-23 season. Caesar Rodney grad Syed Myles leads the team in scoring at 22.4 points per game while getting contributions from CR’s Jaelin Joyner (9.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game), Cole Matthews of Smyrna, Devin McDowell of Glasgow and Dover’s Keyon Scott. Tech visits RCSJ – Cumberland Tuesday for their only game of the week.
Goldey-Beacom Men
The Goldey-Beacom men’s basketball team certainly lives up to the Lightning mascot, as they score quickly and in may ways. The 2-2 Lightning have four players in double figures, led by sophomore guard David Aikens who averages 24 points per game. GBC, averaging 87.5 as a team, returns to the court Tuesday at Kutztown University for a non-conference battle.
Goldey-Beacom Women
The GBC women are 1-3 heading into their visit from Millersville University on Tuesday. The Lightning are led by a pair of St. Elizabeth grads – senior Alanna Speaks and 2022 DSBA first-team all-state guard Rory Ciszkowski.
Speaks is averaging a team-high 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while Ciszkowski is second with 9.7 points per game and leads GBC in three-pointers made (nine).
Wilmington Men
The Wildcat men are 1-3 and visit West Chester University tonight. Sophomore guard Jordan Jackson leads WilmU in scoring at 15 per game while Cape Henlopen grad Randy Rickards and former Newark Charter standout Justin Thomas are next at 14.8 and 11.3 points per game respectively.
Our next college corner will feature updates of #delhs kids hooping at the next level. Know of a player and players we need to mention? Email us at firststatehoopsreport@gmail.com, inbox us at facebook.com/firststatehoopsreport or DM us on Twitter (@FSHoopsReport) or Instagram (FirstStateHoopsReport)
