Unexpected upsets mark women’s Division I hoops

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

During the years that the University of Connecticut dominated women’s college basketball, one would often hear people say the game needed more parity. The rise of the University of South Carolina as a national powerhouse and the reemergence of Louisiana State University has shown that women’s college hoops are thriving and you can’t sleep on any team.

On Feb. 21, St. John’s University drove that point home when the Red Storm defeated the UConn Huskies 69–64 in a Big East Conference game, giving St. John’s its first 20-win season in six years and moving it one step closer to a return to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Another team making some serious noise is Iona University, which has dominated conference action in the MAAC. Senior post player Ketsia Athias has been a valuable contributor to the team’s 22–5 record, 17–1 in conference play. Averaging 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, Athias’s success is all the more impressive given that she played Division II before joining the Gaels.

“I feel that everyone on this team contributes; it’s not just one person doing all the work,” said Athias. “Everyone puts in the work and the effort. It’s what makes us successful.”

Athias said the game is faster and more intense in Division I. She accepts that at times, there are players better than her on the court, but she plays her game and focuses on the team effort. She also has consistently worked on her game, which has helped her be successful.

“Being a student-athlete is hard at times, but I’ve played college basketball for five years, so I know how to manage my time—balance the work, practice, and all the basketball stuff,” said Athias, a sociology major. Her plan is to pursue a nursing degree after her playing days are done, which she hopes won’t be too soon because she has her eye on a pro career.

A Brooklyn native, Athias said she has some edginess, but really just plays her game and doesn’t do a lot of trash-talking. She appreciates her teammates and the Iona coaching staff, noting that head coach Billi Chambers “pushes everyone to be a better person overall in terms of basketball and even outside of basketball.”

Iona has two more conference games left. Then the MAAC Tournament, for which the Gaels have locked in the No. 1 seed, begins on March 8.