University of Delaware Athletics
2022-23 Women’s Basketball Season Preview
10/31/2022 2:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware women's basketball program will enter the 2022-23 campaign with six returning members who helped lead the Blue Hens to a memorable season a year ago. In 2021-22, Delaware hoisted its third Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference championship after dethroning Drexel on Mar. 13, 2022. The Blue Hens earned the right to go dancing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 and the fifth time in program history. UD posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2013-14 season with a 24-8 record including a 15-3 mark in league play.
First-year head coach Sarah Jenkins welcomes a recruiting class of seven to form a roster of 13 to lead the program. Jenkins' peers selected the Blue Hens to finish sixth in the conference with 92 points as part of the 2022-23 CAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
"We are just one week away from the start of the 2022-23 season and we couldn't be more excited for it," said Jenkins. "Everyone, the players, coaches and support staff, has put in the hard work and has dedicated themselves to continue building on the rich tradition this program has. Our non-conference schedule was uniquely created for us to play against different styles and high-level competition which will help prepare us for the newly structured and rigorous play the CAA has to offer. We can't wait until the opening tip! Let's Go Hens!!!"
Lean On Four
Jenkins announced Tara Cousins, Kharis Idom, Klarke Sconiers and Jewel Smalls will lead Delaware as team captains.
Cousins and Smalls return as top veterans for the Blue Hens coming from the recent CAA championship team. After being sidelined with an injury her freshman year, Cousins made her collegiate debut in the Blue & Gold in the season opener against Chestnut Hill (Nov. 9) and poured in 15 points off the bench. The Washington, D.C. native appeared in 27 games and made her first career start against Northwestern on Dec. 11, 2021. Cousins scored a career-high 19 points, shooting 7-11 from the field and 5-7 from deep at Northeastern on Feb. 11, 2022 and will enter the campaign averaging 3.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.
Smalls, a product of Roswell, Ga., appeared in 23 games including making her first start in a Delaware uniform at Northwestern a season ago. Against the Wildcats, Smalls finished with 15 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc and scored 14 points at Elon on Jan. 30, 2022 on 4-7 shooting from three-point territory. Smalls finished the year averaging 2.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
Idom comes to Delaware after finishing her four-year career at UMass-Lowell. A 1,022-career point scorer, Idom will look to add veteran leadership to the Blue Hens' backcourt. The Orlando, Fla. native made 76 starts in her 106 appearances for the River Hawks. Pouring a career-best 25 points against UMBC on Mar. 4, 2020 while pulling down 11 boards against the Retrievers on Jan. 5, 2020, Idom will enter the season averaging 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.
Sconiers arrives to Newark after spending three seasons at the University of Minnesota where she appeared in 49 games and made 16 starts for the Gophers. The Queens, N.Y. native scored a career-high 14 points against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 2, 2020 and again against Nebraska on Feb. 24, 2021. Sconiers pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds against Iowa on Jan. 31, 2021 and will head into the season averaging 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
The Blue & Gold Backcourt
Five guards will be joining Cousins, Idom and Smalls in the backcourt.
Juniors Jadaia Reid and Mar Tejedor and sophomore Mia Yanogacio will be vying for time on the hardwood after appearing in 14, 18 and four games, respectively.
Freshman Nakiyah Mays-Prince and Bri Bowen will be looking to make their collegiate debut after playing at Example Academy and Archbishop Wood Prep, respectively. Mays-Prince helped Example Academy claim the 2022 National Independent championship while Bowen served as a two-time team captain for the Vikings, was selected as All-Catholic First Team and All-State honoree and was part of the PIAA State Championship squad during her senior year.
The Blue & Gold Frontcourt
Looking to be a big presence alongside Sconiers are fifth-year senior Makayla Pippin, graduate student Demi Burdick, junior Rebecca Demeke and sophomore Michelle Ojo.
Pippin will suit up in the Blue & Gold for a second season after making five starts in her 29 appearances for the Blue Hens. The Indianapolis., Ind. guard/forward scored a career-high 11 points at Elon (Jan. 30) and pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds against Charlotte on Nov. 21, 2021. Pippin will enter the campaign averaging 3.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Arriving to Newark from East Tennessee State, forward Burdick will look to provide depth in the frontcourt as she started in 12 of her 25 appearances for the Buccaneers to average 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. The Marshall, Ill. native scored a career-high 17 points against UNC Greensboro on Jan. 20, 2022 and previously played four seasons at UT Martin.
Jenkins welcomes guard/forward Demeke, who transferred to Delaware after spending a season at Rhode Island and a year at NC State prior to that, and forward Ojo, who comes to Newark after spending last year at George Washington. Both will be looking to make an impact on the Blue Hen frontcourt.
The Business Trips
Delaware will open the season on the road in Farmville, Va. to play against Longwood for the first time in program history next Monday, Nov. 7. The Blue Hens have a competitive schedule as they will face seven teams that made NCAA or WNIT appearances, including top-25 opponent Princeton, which they will travel to on Dec. 11. Delaware will wrap up its non-conference road slate at Lehigh in its 29th meeting on Sunday, Dec. 18.
Home Sweet Home
Delaware will play 14 of its 29-game schedule in the friendly confines of the Bob Carpenter Center. UD will open the home slate on Nov. 10 by welcoming Columbia for its fourth meeting. The Blue & Gold will wrap up its non-conference schedule at home against American, a program that won its third Patriot League title, on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The Blue Hens and the Eagles will meet for the 19th time, with Delaware holding the 13-5 all-time record including being 8-2 in the last 10 matchups.
Road to the 'ship, again
Delaware will tip off CAA play at home on Friday, Dec. 30 when they welcome Hofstra. The Blue Hens will then host conference newcomer Monmouth for a New Year's Day showdown (Jan. 1). Delaware have two dates circled: Friday, Jan. 6, when they first meet the CAA tournament finalist Drexel and then play host to the Dragons on Sunday, Feb. 19. The Blue Hens will look to defend their title at the 2023 CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Primis on Mar. 8-12 at SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Md.
The 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball tournament begins with Selection Sunday on Mar. 12 and first- and second-round games being played on Mar. 17-Mar. 20 at top-16 seeds.
First-year head coach Sarah Jenkins welcomes a recruiting class of seven to form a roster of 13 to lead the program. Jenkins' peers selected the Blue Hens to finish sixth in the conference with 92 points as part of the 2022-23 CAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
"We are just one week away from the start of the 2022-23 season and we couldn't be more excited for it," said Jenkins. "Everyone, the players, coaches and support staff, has put in the hard work and has dedicated themselves to continue building on the rich tradition this program has. Our non-conference schedule was uniquely created for us to play against different styles and high-level competition which will help prepare us for the newly structured and rigorous play the CAA has to offer. We can't wait until the opening tip! Let's Go Hens!!!"
Lean On Four
Jenkins announced Tara Cousins, Kharis Idom, Klarke Sconiers and Jewel Smalls will lead Delaware as team captains.
Cousins and Smalls return as top veterans for the Blue Hens coming from the recent CAA championship team. After being sidelined with an injury her freshman year, Cousins made her collegiate debut in the Blue & Gold in the season opener against Chestnut Hill (Nov. 9) and poured in 15 points off the bench. The Washington, D.C. native appeared in 27 games and made her first career start against Northwestern on Dec. 11, 2021. Cousins scored a career-high 19 points, shooting 7-11 from the field and 5-7 from deep at Northeastern on Feb. 11, 2022 and will enter the campaign averaging 3.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.
Smalls, a product of Roswell, Ga., appeared in 23 games including making her first start in a Delaware uniform at Northwestern a season ago. Against the Wildcats, Smalls finished with 15 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc and scored 14 points at Elon on Jan. 30, 2022 on 4-7 shooting from three-point territory. Smalls finished the year averaging 2.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
Idom comes to Delaware after finishing her four-year career at UMass-Lowell. A 1,022-career point scorer, Idom will look to add veteran leadership to the Blue Hens' backcourt. The Orlando, Fla. native made 76 starts in her 106 appearances for the River Hawks. Pouring a career-best 25 points against UMBC on Mar. 4, 2020 while pulling down 11 boards against the Retrievers on Jan. 5, 2020, Idom will enter the season averaging 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.
Sconiers arrives to Newark after spending three seasons at the University of Minnesota where she appeared in 49 games and made 16 starts for the Gophers. The Queens, N.Y. native scored a career-high 14 points against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 2, 2020 and again against Nebraska on Feb. 24, 2021. Sconiers pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds against Iowa on Jan. 31, 2021 and will head into the season averaging 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
The Blue & Gold Backcourt
Five guards will be joining Cousins, Idom and Smalls in the backcourt.
Juniors Jadaia Reid and Mar Tejedor and sophomore Mia Yanogacio will be vying for time on the hardwood after appearing in 14, 18 and four games, respectively.
Freshman Nakiyah Mays-Prince and Bri Bowen will be looking to make their collegiate debut after playing at Example Academy and Archbishop Wood Prep, respectively. Mays-Prince helped Example Academy claim the 2022 National Independent championship while Bowen served as a two-time team captain for the Vikings, was selected as All-Catholic First Team and All-State honoree and was part of the PIAA State Championship squad during her senior year.
The Blue & Gold Frontcourt
Looking to be a big presence alongside Sconiers are fifth-year senior Makayla Pippin, graduate student Demi Burdick, junior Rebecca Demeke and sophomore Michelle Ojo.
Pippin will suit up in the Blue & Gold for a second season after making five starts in her 29 appearances for the Blue Hens. The Indianapolis., Ind. guard/forward scored a career-high 11 points at Elon (Jan. 30) and pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds against Charlotte on Nov. 21, 2021. Pippin will enter the campaign averaging 3.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Arriving to Newark from East Tennessee State, forward Burdick will look to provide depth in the frontcourt as she started in 12 of her 25 appearances for the Buccaneers to average 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. The Marshall, Ill. native scored a career-high 17 points against UNC Greensboro on Jan. 20, 2022 and previously played four seasons at UT Martin.
Jenkins welcomes guard/forward Demeke, who transferred to Delaware after spending a season at Rhode Island and a year at NC State prior to that, and forward Ojo, who comes to Newark after spending last year at George Washington. Both will be looking to make an impact on the Blue Hen frontcourt.
The Business Trips
Delaware will open the season on the road in Farmville, Va. to play against Longwood for the first time in program history next Monday, Nov. 7. The Blue Hens have a competitive schedule as they will face seven teams that made NCAA or WNIT appearances, including top-25 opponent Princeton, which they will travel to on Dec. 11. Delaware will wrap up its non-conference road slate at Lehigh in its 29th meeting on Sunday, Dec. 18.
Home Sweet Home
Delaware will play 14 of its 29-game schedule in the friendly confines of the Bob Carpenter Center. UD will open the home slate on Nov. 10 by welcoming Columbia for its fourth meeting. The Blue & Gold will wrap up its non-conference schedule at home against American, a program that won its third Patriot League title, on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The Blue Hens and the Eagles will meet for the 19th time, with Delaware holding the 13-5 all-time record including being 8-2 in the last 10 matchups.
Road to the 'ship, again
Delaware will tip off CAA play at home on Friday, Dec. 30 when they welcome Hofstra. The Blue Hens will then host conference newcomer Monmouth for a New Year's Day showdown (Jan. 1). Delaware have two dates circled: Friday, Jan. 6, when they first meet the CAA tournament finalist Drexel and then play host to the Dragons on Sunday, Feb. 19. The Blue Hens will look to defend their title at the 2023 CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Primis on Mar. 8-12 at SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Md.
The 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball tournament begins with Selection Sunday on Mar. 12 and first- and second-round games being played on Mar. 17-Mar. 20 at top-16 seeds.
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