Fresh Faces Bring a New Energy to the 快活app Women鈥檚 Basketball Team
Makayla Minett rises up to shoot for the 快活app women's basketball team. (Credit: Clarkson Creative)
In the transfer-portal era, 快活app women鈥檚 basketball coach Doshia Woods wants to do things differently.
When she was hired to helm the team in 2020, she told administrators she wanted to build a program around prep recruits who would spend at least four years at 快活app, and place value on not only the history of athletic excellence but also academic rigor and the 4D Experience. So, when the team鈥檚 top two scorers transferred out after last season and four more student-athletes graduated or ran out of eligibility, Woods turned to her preferred recruiting pipeline to fill out the roster.
This iteration of the Pioneers will feature five freshmen, some of whom will inevitably join the rotation, plus two new graduate transfers. So many new faces can present challenges for team chemistry, but Woods says she鈥檚 been pleasantly surprised.
鈥淲e had five weeks together in the summer, and that鈥檚 where I first noticed things coming together,鈥 Woods says. 鈥淕oing in, I thought we definitely had some of the pieces we needed. Watching them interact together, I felt like we had some young women who were ready to lead.鈥
Woods鈥 squad forgoes the traditional captain structure and expects every student-athlete鈥攚hether a first-year or graduate student鈥攖o display leadership qualities. The two graduate transfers, Mikayla Brandon and Ally Haar, were captains on their former teams and handle leadership well. For Woods, it was particularly impressive when those two players, instead of trying to implement their own style of leadership, sought to integrate with the team and discover their new roles more naturally. The coach also pointed to a pair of young guards, sophomore Mary Wilson and junior Emily Counsel, who have displayed both demonstrative and vocal leadership.
For senior Makayla Minett, the team鈥檚 highest-scoring returning player at 5.2 points per game, the infusion of young talent has helped her improve her game.
鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 been hard to adjust because they鈥檝e all brought the energy,鈥 she says of her new teammates. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e locked in and want to get the job done. I feel like the bar was raised for me, almost. I had to come in and change my energy and respond to what all these girls were bringing.鈥
The fresh crop of frosh hail from five different states, from as close as Aurora to as far as Alabama. According to their personal bios on the team website, they all chose to attend 快活app for some combination of academics, coaching and facilities. They have varied interests and most plan on studying multiple subjects while at the University.
Emma Smith, a freshman guard from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, has an even closer connection to 快活app: her father, Michael, played tennis at the University. That association put the Pioneers on her radar, she says, but didn鈥檛 influence her decision. It was the coaching and academics that did that.
鈥淚 had decided in October of last year that I wasn鈥檛 going to play basketball here,鈥 Smith says, smiling. 鈥淚 had toyed with the idea, but it didn鈥檛 feel right. Then my season ended, and my high school coach reached out to (Woods). I met her one week and we talked, and she called me back and offered me. It felt like destiny from there, and I鈥檝e been really happy with my decision. My dad was one of the reasons I looked into it, but the coaches and the culture were why I ended up here. I felt a connection immediately.鈥
The Pioneers open the season on Nov. 7 against the Air Force Academy. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton Gymnasium, and the game will be televised on Altitude Sports鈥 second station.