10 join College of Southern Md. women’s hoops
Hawks hoping to finish 2017-18 campaign
Following a season that started slowly and then ended two months prematurely due to an injury-plagued shortage of players, 10 players have committed to the College of Southern Maryland women’s basketball program for the 2017-18 school year that should provide an immediate solution to the Hawks’ depth issues.
The CSM women finished the 2016-17 season with a 2-8 overall mark (2-4 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference), but after a pair of lopsided losses with few players available, the Hawks opted to end the season early rather than risk further injury to the remaining players, most of whom were freshmen seeking to play another year at the school. With the time away from playing and practicing, CSM head women’s basketball coach Ardell Jackson had ample time to recruit.
“Even though we could not finish the [2016-17] season, me and my coaches were busy recruiting players for the next two seasons,” Jackson said. “We were disappointed that we could not finish the schedule, but we did not want to risk further injury to any of the remaining players. Not playing meant that we had plenty of time to go out to the local high schools and recruit players for this year.”
Jackson and his coaching staff remained very busy during the winter and well into the spring. Four of 10 players who committed graduated from Southern Maryland Athletic Conference schools. Siani Downs (a McDonough High School graduate) and Kiona Montgomery (a Lackey High School graduate) can both play guard and forward, while Katy Rhodes (a Huntingtown High School graduate) and Tatyana Jones (a Calvert High School graduate) will both play guard.
“My expectation of each player starts on the academic side,” Jackson said. “Our number one goal is to focus on academics for each player, while developing them on the basketball court. We are really excited about the players that have chosen to attend CSM. We wanted to be sure that we have student-athletes who pride themselves in being successful in the classroom and on the court.”
Jackson, with help from assistant coaches Marcus LeCounte, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, and Kim Barnes, the recruiting coordinator, were also able to land six other players from just outside the SMAC area.
Madison Jones (Theodore Roosevelt) will play forward/center, Amashia Moyd (Watkins Mill) is a forward, Deana Monroe (Suitland) is a guard, Shayla Glover (Wise) will play forward, T’ea Green (Central) is another forward and Courtney Herbert (Oxon Hill), is a guard who spent last year at Greensboro College in North Carolina. Glover, Green, Herbert and Monroe all graduated from schools in Prince George’s County.
“We have signed players that believe in being a team and just want to be successful at the collegiate level,” Jackson said. “We are very excited about the upcoming season and we really look forward to working with our players.”
CSM is expected to return eight freshmen from last year’s team, including Talia Santana, Tyonna Edmonson, Hannah Heckerman, Brittany Coles, Haley Oliver, Paris Ferguson, Tamara Burns and Erica Silver.
Heckerman (Huntingtown), Coles (Westlake), Oliver (North Point) and Ferguson (Great Mills) all graduated from SMAC schools.
Last winter, the Hawks women won only two games, defeating Howard 81-38 and later edging Allegany, 64-59. But after a pair of lopsided losses, including a 95-40 thumping against Louisburg College (N.C.), the Hawks canceled the remaining eight games on the 201617 schedule and shifted their focus to building the roster for the upcoming season.