With the graduation of leading scorers Unique Drake and Jillian Archer, St. John’s women’s basketball has a new look. Picked to finish fourth in the Big East Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, returning players are building chemistry with newcomers as they aim for a return to the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m pretty excited about the team this year,” said junior guard Jailah Donald, who is studying sports management. “We have a lot of different pieces. I’m looking to compete, work hard and play for a Big East title. Practices have been good, very competitive.”
Graduate student guard Ber’Nyah Mayo is entering her second season with the Red Storm. She’s excited to play again in Madison Square Garden during conference action. “It’s always a blessing to be able to play in an NBA arena, obviously not many people get to do it,” said Mayo. Johnnies newbie Lashae Dwyer, a senior guard, is looking forward to a winning season. “Honestly, I’ve just been working on shooting the ball, trying to be more of an on-the-ball type of person,” said Dwyer.
This is the second year at Seton Hall for graduate student forward I’yanna Lops, who is studying digital information technology. Last year, she earned a certificate in public relations, and she promises to be more active on social media sharing her basketball journey. “I love the closeness and the community at Seton Hall,” said Lops, who noted that both head coach Anthony Bozzella and assistant coach Ka-Deidre Simmons are Seton Hall alumni.
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Guard Amari Wright, in her fifth year, has been at Seton Hall throughout. She’s looking forward to enjoying her last year of college basketball, winning and playing with a great group of people.
Bozzella said he deeply appreciates the sense of community at Seton Hall, and he’s excited to see what this basketball season brings. “Every coach is always excited this time of year, but I’m a little extra excited,” he said. “The kids are fun to work with. They work really hard. We have a great group of younger and older players. Our freshmen are eager to learn, so they kind of bring a little bit of energy, and the team is doing really well. It’s the fastest team we’ve had in the last five years, and I’m going to utilize that speed to put pressure on other teams.”
