James Madison Favored To Win CAA Women's Basketball Title In 2020-21
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (November 12, 2020) – Perennial power James Madison, which has won at least 25 games in 10 of the past 11 seasons, has been picked to capture the CAA women’s basketball championship in 2020-21 according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The Dukes received six first-place votes and 76 total points to finish in front of second-place Drexel, which picked up two first-place votes and 65 points, and third-place Towson, which had one first-place vote and 60 points. Elon, which also garnered one first-place vote, and Northeastern were tied for fourth in the poll, followed by Delaware, Charleston, William & Mary, UNCW and Hofstra.
Towson senior guard
Kionna Jeter, a two-time, first-team all-conference honoree, was selected as the 2020-21 CAA Preseason Player of the Year. She was joined on the preseason All-CAA first team by Delaware junior guard/forward
Jasmine Dickey, Northeastern junior forward
Alexis Hill, James Madison sophomore guard
Kiki Jefferson and Drexel junior guard
Keishana Washington. Chosen to the preseason All-CAA second team were Northeastern senior guard
Stella Clark, Elon senior guard
Ariel Colon, Charleston junior forward
Arynn Eady, Hofstra junior forward
Jaylen Hines and Charleston junior guard
Latrice Perkins.
JMU went 25-4 overall last season and earned a share of the CAA regular-season title with a 16-2 mark. The Dukes face the task of replacing four starters, but return Jefferson, who was named CAA Rookie of the Year after averaging 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Also back are junior guards
Madison Green (4.9 ppg) and
Jaylin Carodine (2.6 ppg), as well as sophomore forward
Rayne Tucker (3.3 ppg/4.3 rpg). JMU is expected to get a significant boost from the addition of transfers
Brianna Tinsley (Virginia),
Morgan Smith (Georgetown) and
Anne Diouf (Georgia Tech).
Drexel also claimed a share of the CAA regular-season crown with a 16-2 record a year ago and reached the 20-win plateau (23-7) for the fifth time in the past six seasons. The Dragons welcome back four of their top five scorers, led by Washington, who was chosen as the CAA Sixth Player of the Year after contributing 10.0 ppg. She’s joined by seniors
Hannah Nihill (5.9 ppg) and
Mariah Leonard (6.6 ppg) and junior
Kate Connolly (5.3 ppg). Amy Mallon begins her first season as Drexel’s head coach after serving as an assistant to Denise Dillon for the past 16 seasons.
Towson, which went 14-15 overall and 9-9 in the CAA last season, will build around Jeter, who averaged 18.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and a conference-best 3.3 steals per game last season. The Tigers also return guard
Shavonne Smith (3.9 ppg) and senior center
LaKaitlin Wright (3.9 ppg/4.3 rpg). Towson should be helped by the addition of transfers
Kiara Johnson (Eastern Michigan),
Aleah Nelson (Cincinnati) and
Skye Williams (Eastern Florida State).
Elon returns nearly its entire roster, including all five starters, from last year’s 14-16 squad (8-10 CAA). Topping the group of returnees is Colon, who averaged 11.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg and earned a spot on the All-CAA third team. Also back for the Phoenix are junior guard
Brie Perpignan (10.2 ppg), senior forward
Jaylin Powell (8.8 ppg) and senior guard
Saadia Munford (8.1 ppg).
Northeastern has seven of its top eight scorers back from a team that went 13-16 overall and 9-9 in the CAA a year ago. The Huskies will be led by Hill (13.1 ppg/6.4 rpg), a second-team All-CAA honoree, and Clark (11.0 ppg/4.8 rpg). Also back for NU are junior guard
Kendall Currence (8.6 ppg) and graduate forward
Ayanna Dublin (5.9 ppg/4.7 rpg).
Delaware has to replace four starters from last year’s 12-17 (8-10 CAA) squad, but welcomes back one of the league’s top players in Dickey, who made the All-CAA second team in 2019-20. She led the conference with 13 double-doubles and averaged 12.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Also back are guards
Tee Johnson (4.3 ppg) and
Paris McBride (4.0 ppg).
Charleston went 13-17 (6-12 CAA) in its first season under head coach Robin Harmony, which was the most wins for the program since 2013-14. All five starters return, highlighted by preseason All-CAA picks Eady (8.0 ppg/9.7 rpg) and Perkins (13.5 ppg), as well as junior guard
Tyler Collins (12.2 ppg).
William & Mary set school season records for overall (21) and CAA (12) victories during the 2019-20 campaign. While the Tribe must replace its top two scorers, there is plenty of experience on hand with seniors
Nyla Pollard (6.1 ppg),
Gabby Rogers (6.1 ppg) and
Bailey Eichner (3.6 ppg), along with junior guard
Sydney Wagner (8.1 ppg).
UNCW will have a very different look this season with only two players who saw significant playing time returning from a 10-20 team. The Seahawks will rely on the experience of senior forward
Carol-Anne Obusek (5.5 ppg/4.6 rpg) and senior forward
Paige Powell (4.3 ppg/4.4 rpg) to provide leadership to a large group of newcomers.
Hofstra is looking to make a move up the conference standings in the second year under head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. Back to lead the Pride are Hines, who topped the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), and sophomore guard
Sorelle Ineza (8.0 ppg), who made the CAA All-Rookie squad.
2020-21 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. James Madison (6 first-place votes) 76
2. Drexel (2 first-place votes) 65
3. Towson (1 first-place vote) 60
t4. Elon (1 first-place vote) 54
t4. Northeastern 54
6. Delaware 44
7. Charleston 36
8. William & Mary 33
9. UNCW 15
10. Hofstra 12
2020-21 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Hometown/High School
Jasmine Dickey, Delaware Jr. G/F 5-10 Baltimore, Md./Catonsville
Alexis Hill, Northeastern Jr. F 5-11 Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon Catholic
Kiki Jefferson, James Madison So. G 6-1 Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic
Kionna Jeter, Towson Sr. G 5-8 Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg
Keishana Washington, Drexel Jr. G 5-7 Pickering, Ontario/Durham Prep
Second Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Hometown/High School
Stella Clark, Northeastern Sr. G 5-4 Sea Girt, N.J./Manasquan
Ariel Colon, Elon Sr. G 5-10 Orlando, Fla./Ocoee
Arynn Eady, Charleston Jr. F 6-1 Atlanta, Ga./St. Francis
Jaylen Hines, Hofstra Jr. F 5-10 Clinton, Md./Elizabeth Seton
Latrice Perkins, Charleston Jr. G 5-11 Winder, Ga./Winder-Barrow
CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Kionna Jeter, Towson
Honorable Mention: Tyler Collins, Jr., G, Charleston;
Hannah Nihill, Sr., G, Drexel;
Carol-Anne Obusek, Sr., F, UNCW;
Brie Perpignan, Jr., G, Elon;
Brianna Tinsley, Jr., G, James Madison;
Sydney Wagner, Jr., G, William & Mary