Delaware and Drexel Tabbed as Favorites to Win the 2021-22 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship

10/27/2021 9:00:00 AM

Hunter Peters

RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 27, 2021) – Last year’s regular-season champion, Delaware, and tournament champion, Drexel, have been selected as the favorites to claim the 2021-22 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) women’s basketball championship according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.

The Blue Hens and Dragons each received five first-place votes and a total of 77 points to tie for the top spot in the preseason poll. James Madison finished third, with 64 points, followed by Towson in fourth, receiving 58 points. Hofstra, picked fifth, tallied 47 points while Elon, Charleston and William & Mary, finishing sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, were separated by nine points. UNCW and Northeastern rounded out the field.

Delaware guard/forward Jasmine Dickey, the reigning CAA Player of the Year, was selected as the 2021-22 CAA Preseason Player of the Year. She is joined on the preseason All-CAA first team by her teammate forward Ty Battle, James Madison guard Kiki Jefferson, and a pair of Drexel guards Hannah Nihill and Keishana Washington.

Voted to the preseason All-CAA second team were Hofstra guard JaKayla Brown, Charleston guard Tyler Collins, James Madison guard Peyton McDaniel, Towson guard Aleah Nelson, and William & Mary guard Sydney Wagner.

Delaware returns a wealth of talent from last season’s team that finished 24-5 overall and made a run to the WNIT semifinals. The Blue Hens are led by Dickey and Battle, who were excellent two-way players last season. Dickey was second in the league in scoring with 22.6 points per game while adding 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Battle led the conference in rebounding (11.1) and was second nationally with 19 double-doubles. Delaware also returns Paris McBride (6.0 ppg/3.4 apg) and Lizzie Oleary (7.2 ppg/6.0 rpg) from its starting lineup, along with Tyi Skinner (8.8 ppg) and Jewel Smalls (7.1 ppg), who provided depth off the bench last season.

Drexel won its first CAA Championship since 2009 last season and returns all five starters as it attempts to defend the title. Nihill was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league with 2.8 steals per game, but she also led Drexel in scoring with 16.3 points per game. Washington (14.6 ppg) was a key contributor to the Dragons' championship run and was named the CAA Tournament MOP after back-to-back 30-point performances. Kate Connolly (7.2 ppg), Maura Hendrixson (6.6 ppg/4.2 apg), and Mariah Leonard (8.4 ppg/6.5 rpg) round out the rest of last year’s starting five while adding first-team All-Patriot League graduate transfer Tessa Brugler (13.2 ppg/10.0 rpg) from Bucknell.

James Madison, a perennial contender for the CAA title, is poised to challenge for the championship again this season. Jefferson paced the Dukes in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.2 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game, while McDaniel took the league by storm, scoring 12.2 points per game en route to CAA Rookie of the Year honors. Another first-year standout returning for James Madison is Jamia Hazell (9.9 ppg/2.6 apg), who joined McDaniel earning CAA all-rookie accolades last season. Madison Green (7.0 ppg), Jaylin Carodine (4.4 ppg/6.0 rpg), and Brianna Tinsley (5.1 ppg) are among the returners adding experience for the Dukes. Additionally, they add the ODAC Player of the Year Abbey Oguich (14.9 ppg/9.5 rpg) from Lynchburg College.

Towson welcomes a bunch of newcomers to its roster, but they will look to Nelson (13.5 ppg/6.5 rpg) and Allie Kubek (8.8 ppg/7.1 rpg) to bridge the gap as the top returners for the Tigers. Along with Nelson and Kubek, Skye Williams (7.4 ppg) is back after providing quality minutes off the bench last season. Among the newcomers for Towson are Anissa Rivera (16.5 ppg/10.5 rpg), the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Rayne Tucker (10.3 ppg/6.5 rpg), who earned third-team All-CAA honors last year at JMU.

Hofstra advanced to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament in year two under head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. The Pride returns all five starters from last year’s squad led by Brown (16.3 ppg), a second-team All-CAA honoree. Also, back for Hofstra is All-CAA Defensive team member Jahsyni Knight (9.7 ppg/2.6 spg), Jaylen Hines (13.0 ppg/7.4 rpg), Jaala Henry (7.5 ppg/6.1 rpg), and Rosi Nicholson (5.3 ppg).

Elon retains two of its top three scorers from last season’s team. Brie Perpignan paced the Phoenix with 9.9 points per game and 3.2 assists per game, while Evonna McGill added 9.3 points per game.

Charleston returns four starters and its top five scorers from last season. The returners are highlighted by Collins (13.1 ppg/ 3.2 apg), a third-team All-CAA honoree, and Arynn Eady (9.3 ppg/8.7 rpg), a CAA all-defensive team selection.

William & Mary ended its season last January due to COVID concerns, and the Tribe should be eager to hit the court this winter. William & Mary gets back one of the league’s top scorers as Wagner averaged 21.3 ppg last season and earned second-team all-conference accolades.

UNCW has a bunch of new faces, with 10 newcomers made up of seven Division I transfers and three incoming freshmen. The Seahawks welcome back a pair of starters, Mary McMillan (7.8 ppg/3.1 apg) and Dazia Powell (7.1 ppg), who look to build chemistry with their new teammates.

Northeastern enters its first season under the leadership of head coach Bridgette Mitchell. The Huskies return Kendall Currence, who is their top returning scorer from last season, putting up 10.7 points per game. Also back is CAA All-Rookie selection Maddie Vizza, who led the league in three-point shooting percentage (44.0%) during her freshman campaign.

2021-22 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL

Team	Points
T1. Delaware (5)	77
T1. Drexel (5)	77
3. James Madison	64
4. Towson	58
5. Hofstra	47
6. Elon	38
7. Charleston	33
8. William & Mary	29
9. UNCW	15
10. Northeastern	12

( ) = First-place votes

2021-22 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team	School	Height	Class	Position	Hometown / Highschool
Ty Battle	Delaware	6-0	R-Sr.	F	Plainfield, Ill. / Oswego East
Jasmine Dickey	Delaware	5-10	Sr.	G/F	Baltimore, Md. / Catonsville
Kiki Jefferson	James Madison	6-1	Jr.	G	Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic
Hannah Nihill	Drexel	5-3	Sr.	G	Drexel Hill, Pa. / Cardinal O’Hara
Keishana Washington	Drexel	5-7	Sr.	G	Pickering, Ontario, Canada / Durham Prep

Second Team	School	Height	Class	Position	Hometown / Highschool
JaKayla Brown	Hofstra	5-10	Sr.	G	LaPlata, Md. / St. Mary’s Ryken
Tyler Collins	Charleston	5-6	Sr.	G	Atlanta, Ga. / Woodward Academy
Peyton McDaniel	James Madison	6-0	So.	G	Birdsboro, Pa. / Twin Valley
Aleah Nelson	Towson	5-6	Jr.	G	Baltimore, Md. / McDonogh
Sydney Wagner	William & Mary	5-6	R-Sr.	G	Phoenixville, Pa. / Spring-Ford Senior High

2021-22 CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Jasmine Dickey, Delaware

Honorable Mention: Kendall Currence, Northeastern (G); Arynn Eady, Charleston (F); Brie Perpignan, Elon (G); Anissa Rivera, Towson (G/F); Rayne Tucker, Towson (F)

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