It has been a rough start to the season for Howard University women’s basketball. The Bison entered the season with high expectations after earning a spot in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2022 and making it to the title game of the MEAC Tournament the last three years. The team’s 46–45 win over Florida Atlantic provided the boost of energy it had been seeking.
“I feel my first year I was trying to figure out what my role was,” said sophomore forward Nile Miller, who had nine points and 11 rebounds in the win. “Being able to start a couple of games my first year prepared me. Starting off my second year and being able to be a starter, I’m able to work on certain things. I know my role is.”
Miller, who is from Haddonfield, New Jersey, has started eight of 12 games so far this season. “Now, I know I’m a rebounder; I’m a stretch forward,” she said. “I’m working on my game more because I know my role.”
Despite the losses, Miller said she and her Howard teammates were keeping a positive spirit. The Bison also had a rough start last season, but made it to the MEAC championship game, falling to Norfolk State. The players are learning from the losses and are preparing for conference play, which starts on January 6
“We got this,” said Miller, who chose Howard because growing up she went to predominantly white Catholic schools. “I wanted to experience going to a Black school with more culture and more people that look like me. I feel people who look like me have good intentions for me. It is more family oriented. I’m very happy.”
Miller’s first sport was gymnastics. When she tired of it, she switched to basketball, which made sense because she was always the tallest person in her class. By middle school, she realized she was pretty good. She liked the competition and was also motivated by the circle of friends she developed in the game. That team bonding and competitive drive are still motivators.
Miller is looking forward to a MEAC championship and another trip to the NCAA’s tournament field of 68 teams. In 2022, Howard won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Non-conference play wraps up on Dec. 30 with a Washington, DC, match up against American.
