Regardless of the scoreboard and the inevitability of elimination, they kept coming like an angry swarm of locusts.
Howard’s Ariella Henigan continued attacking Ohio State’s interior with relentless fury. Southern’s Jocelyn Tate knifed her slim frame in between South Carolina’s bigs to passionately snatch rebounds.
It wasn’t about the outcome. Instead, it was about something deeper—proof.
During last month’s NCAA tournament, Howard and Southern competed with tenacity, grit, and a heart that refused to be outworked, playing until the final buzzer sounded. The effort showed itself in the collisions of board-battling scrums, in the extra effort that turned 50-50 balls into something closer to certain, and in sprinting back on defense. These actions weren’t a surprise because this effort was the foundation of Howard and Southern’s successful seasons.
More importantly, that extra edge has helped elevate the respect level for HBCU women’s basketball programs. The best part is that everybody roots for each other because they know each triumph helps lift HBCU women’s basketball, a community not defined by wins and losses, but rooted in love, family, and a shared purpose.
It was something not lost on Howard’s Zennia Thomas as she prepared for Ohio State.
“It’s just kind of a trailblazing moment,” Thomas said to reporters the day before the Ohio State game. “I mean, we have Southern, who was a 16 seed, but they also made it to the tournament and won. Just being able to set the standard for HBCUs, especially on the women’s side, to show that we can compete at a high level. And it also gives us an opportunity to show, you know, future talents that are looking to play maybe at an HBCU or, not too sure where they want to go, that HBCUs can be an option if they want to compete.”
Both programs are building on standards set by Jackson State under Tomeika Reed and Norfolk State under Larry Vickers. Over the past three years, HBCU women’s basketball has gained national recognition for collective excellence.
In fact, an HBCU program has been seeded at least 14th or higher in the NCAA tournament throughout that span, a growing sign of how they are beginning to be perceived. Jackson State was a No. 14 seed in 2024 and lost to No. 3 UConn in the first round. Norfolk State was seeded No. 15 when it lost to Stanford in 2024. Last season, Norfolk State, as a No. 13 seed, enjoyed a halftime lead before falling to Maryland.
Howard earned a No. 14 seed this season in losing to Ohio State, the highest in program history.
In each of the last two years, Southern has won an NCAA First Four contest, earning a financial unit for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). While some on the outside have frowned upon these play-in games, Southern has used victories in each game to polish its reputation as a formidable program. Southern has won two NCAA tournament games; it’s as many as some Power Four programs over the last two years.
“I think what we’re doing here is bigger than Southern and bigger than the girls on this team,” Southern senior guard D’Shantae Edwards said following its opening round victory over Samford. “I think it shows other HBCUs what we’re capable of. Doesn’t matter where you are in the nation, but all that matters is the work you put in, the quality of work that you put in. I feel like if you put in good quality of work, you’re going to get here. Anybody has a possibly to be sitting here like us.”
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Even though Maryland-Eastern Shore didn’t make the NCAA tournament, it won a road WNIT game against Wake Forest—a significant victory not only for its program but also for the larger ecosystem of HBCU women’s basketball, as it shows the gap is narrowing. Meanwhile, Alcorn State and Norfolk State hosted WNIT home contests, and Alabama A&M represented the SWAC in the WBIT.
The Bulldogs enjoyed an 18-game winning streak and were the first SWAC program to earn an invitation to this prestigious tournament. Alabama A&M has also won at least 20 games in each of the last two years under second-year head coach Dawn Thornton.
Last year, Howard and Texas Southern won WNIT games, and two years ago, Grambling State did as well. In that same year, North Carolina A&T advanced to the WNIT’s Super 16.
The success hasn’t gone unnoticed, especially by South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, who began its run to its sixth straight Final Four with a 103-34 first-round win over Southern.
“I think women’s basketball has been in the position where it is getting better and better on all levels,” Staley said to reporters prior to South Carolina’s game against Southern. “HBCUs have been given sometimes a raw deal because they’re just HBCUs and they’re not power fours. Probably a little less than mid-majors as well, but as you’re seeing, they’re super well-coached. Southern is super well-coached. They really understand what they’re doing. They play a battle-tested schedule. … It is going to take games like that where you have to have eye-opening wins.”
Staley was well aware of Southern’s road wins over Arizona and Houston in December. She also offered a roadmap for HBCU women’s programs to take the next step toward future success.
“You need to play marquee games and win marquee games,” Staley said. “I think that must happen. I do think the more success HBCUs have in a tournament, the more they will no longer be looked at as playing games and 16 seeds, and when you start to see that happen on a more regular basis, then you know that they’re taken a little more seriously and know that they are coached extremely well. I think they are just circumstances have it to where they have to go out and play these money games, the guarantee games that are no longer guarantees, and they have to win them.”
Howard head coach Ty Grace has quietly constructed the Bison into a perennial force. Grace also coached against Staley in the 2022 NCAA tournament after Howard won a First Four game against Incarnate Word. That game marked the start of a cycle of success for Grace. Howard has competed in six straight MEAC tournament championship games and has won at least 20 games in each of the last two seasons.
While the Bison lose Thomas to the transfer portal, Grace is excited to welcome back a strong nucleus that includes Henigan, the MEAC Rookie of the Year, Zoe Stewart, Emma Nuquay, and April Edwards. They gained valuable experience against Ohio State. It was the first time on the NCAA tournament stage. Throughout the season, Howard earned victories over Providence, Cincinnati, and Fairfield, proving that the Bison are continuing to build something special in the nation’s capital.
Henigan, a MEAC All-Tournament selection, showed again why she is going to be a force to reckon with at Howard. The tough-minded, Chicago native recorded her first career double-double (12 points & 10 rebounds) while adding a block and a steal against Ohio State. She averaged 9.2 points per game this season, which was third on the Bison.
In the last three years, Grace has lost elite-level talent to the transfer portal, including the last two MEAC Rookies of the Year. Yet, the Bison keep reloading and not missing a beat.
“To come here to Howard and help put us on the map is something we can build on,” Henigan said postgame to reporters after the Ohio State game. “To be here and represent Howard University is significant, and it lets everyone know that this program is one to contend with in the future. I couldn’t ask for anything more to come to play in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. So, I’m very grateful for this opportunity and I’m just here, I’m here in the moment.”
Entering the NCAA tournament with a 14-game winning streak, Howard won a program record 26 games and ended the year ranked 22nd in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
“As soon as I stepped foot on campus in 2015, I wanted to set the standard,” Grace said to reporters prior to the Ohio State game. “I think we’ve done a great job. As far as HBCU basketball is concerned, you couldn’t ask for a more competitive place. These young ladies compete. Every day, they are stepping up, ready to compete against the best of the best. … We just know what we represent, and we’re proud to wear Howard on our chest. We go out to compete as young women, just like everybody else in this tournament. So I’m just proud to be a part of that. And I’m proud to be at an HBCU.”
Grace has also noticed that the investment in program resources has increased since she’s been in charge at Howard.
“If you pay attention to basketball, if you watch basketball, if you’re a fan of women’s basketball, then you know that each year, these teams, especially HBCUs, are trying to take things to another level,” Grace shared. “We are trying to do the things that every school is trying to do to get to the tournament, to win championships. I don’t think it’s a surprise. I think that it’s something that we know was going to happen … So I’m just trying to be a part of the collective, and hopefully we have set a standard and that we’re going to continue to do that moving forward.”
Southern loses five seniors from this season’s team. The Jaguars entered the SWAC tournament as the No. 4 seed after suffering several close defeats this season. They didn’t run from the sting of losing their final two regular-season road games to Alabama State and Alabama A&M. Instead, Southern used that pain like fertilizer, planting it deep and trusting it would show up when the games tightened in March.
Veteran Southern head coach Carlos Funchess pointed to the fact that Southern spent close to 11 days on the road at the end of the season. It played its last two games in Alabama before the SWAC tournament in Atlanta.
“It’s tremendous, not just for our program but for our conference,” Funchess said after Southern’s first-round win over Samford. “We have some really good basketball players in our conference and some really good coaches. Our league is tough. … We ended our conference season, and we went 12-6. So that just shows you the talent that’s in our league. If you’re not playing at your best each and every night, anybody is capable of beating you.”
Among some of the key returnees for Southern are Tate, DeMya Porter, and Mykayla Cunningham. They all enjoyed shining moments during the Jaguars’ postseason run. In the win over Samford, Porter had 15 points and 12 rebounds while Cunningham handed out eight assists. Tate, who made the game-winning basket against Alabama A&M in the SWAC semifinals, led the Jaguars with 10 points and eight rebounds against South Carolina.
Southern has qualified for the NCAA tournament three times in the last four years, which is challenging, especially with the rise of several excellent programs in the SWAC. With an unshakable resolve, HBCUs have long been renowned for their academic excellence, cultural richness, and role as a pathway to prosperity. There’s a special pride in representing an HBCU. Tate had a wide smile when she was asked what playing for Southern meant to her.
“I go out, and I show how much I love to play for Southern by how I play on the court,” Tate said. “I work hard. I play hard. It means everything to have Southern on my chest. I love this school. I love everything about it. My coaching staff to my teammates, that’s why I play so hard and work so hard. I do it for my school.”
The pillars of Howard and Southern are the same: graduating student-athletes, defense, rebounding, and resiliency. Even in this new era of college athletics, both programs have balanced the transfer portal with traditional high school recruiting to remain the standard in their conferences.
This season offered the nation a glimpse not only of how Southern and Howard continue to rise, but of how HBCU women’s basketball is growing stronger, deeper, and more competitive, mirroring the overall surge of the women’s game.
“The women’s game has really, really started to grow,” Funchess said postgame after the South Carolina game. “We always had a good product. We just started getting exposure, especially with the Caitlin Clark deal, with her playing and bringing in more fans to the game, and ESPN picked it up and started airing more games. They saw that there was an audience out there.
“Two years ago, the women’s championship game had more viewers than the men’s championship game. They saw that the product was there and that they could make some money on it. The more they put into it, the more this game will grow. These young ladies can play. They play an exciting brand of basketball, and the public wants to see it.”
UMES Freshmen Fueled Historic Season
Before Kaliya Perry helped lift Maryland-Eastern Shore into history, she learned how to build things that last. At home, she worked with her parents on cars, passing tools into grease-stained hands and seeing firsthand how small parts support something bigger.
That lesson did not stay in the garage. It followed the 6’3 freshman mechanical engineering major to Princess Anne. There, she became one of the quiet foundations beneath the Hawks’ breakthrough season under second-year head coach Malikah Willis.
“I work on a lot of stuff,” Perry said during a phone call with The IX Basketball in March. “I used to work on cars back home. My dad and my mom know a lot about cars, too. I like building things. I really consider myself a handy woman. When I get out of college, I want my sisters to never need anything when it comes to mechanical stuff and cars and to never have to go to somebody else or be in need for anything.”
If this was just the beginning, a freshman year filled with belief, breakthroughs, and bus rides home from history-making wins, then the foundation at UMES is in good hands. Whether she’s blocking shots, breaking down film, or popping the hood on a car, Perry is still doing what she’s always done: figuring out how to make things work, then pushing them a little further than anyone expected.
As one of three freshmen shaping a season UMES will cherish, Perry carved her own lane. Alongside Desi Taylor and Jailynn Clayton, the trio brought energy, toughness, and a maturity that steadied the Hawks and helped build something lasting.
The results followed.
UMES finished tied for second in the MEAC regular season, earned statement wins over Howard and Norfolk State, and set a program record with 20 victories. The Hawks also knocked off Wake Forest for their first win over a Power Four opponent, captured the program’s first postseason victory, and opened MEAC play with four straight wins.
Perry’s growth, in both confidence and joy, mirrored the team’s rise. And like any strong foundation, it suggests this is only the beginning of what they are building.
“I’ve exceeded everything I wanted to do and done more than I thought I could,” Perry said. “We were on that team where everything started to put UMES on the map, and I became a lot happier and more determined every day. Coach asked us, ‘Do we believe?’ and the way we played showed that we did.”
In rallying to beat Wake Forest on the road in the first round of the WNIT, Taylor scored 19 points with five three-pointers while adding a rebound and a steal, while Perry recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while adding four steals, three assists, and a block. The Hawks sprinted to the finish line by scoring the final 14 points of their 59-48 victory.
Taylor and Perry were both named to the All-MEAC Rookie Team. They combined to win four MEAC Rookie of the Week awards. Taylor was second in the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage (38.5%) and fourth in 3-pointers made per game (1.3). Perry was fourth in the conference in blocked shots (1.0) and 14th in rebounding (5.4). While Clayton wasn’t among the conference leaders, her contributions were impactful for the Hawks.
One impressive facet of the Hawks’ season has been the culture Willis and her staff have built. In an era that’s become more transactional, Willis earned her squad’s trust through the old-school resource of relationships. It explains why players squirted water postgame on Willis after beating Wake Forest in the locker room. It’s why players like Clayton, Perry, and Taylor have the confidence to take shots during close moments.
That relationship with Willis runs deep for many players. Perry remembers Willis being straightforward during the recruiting process. She immediately knew UMES was the place for her. Taylor first met Willis in high school. When Willis took over at UMES and offered, Taylor’s mind was already made up, showing the trust she had in Willis’s guidance. The coaching staff believed in them, wanted the best for them, and knew how to bring out their best.
“I’m very grateful to even have the opportunity to be in a position like this,” Taylor said to The IX Basketball. “You know, especially with the people around me, it feels good, and it makes me happy. I feel like my confidence level has boosted. I feel like when I first, when I first got here, I was shy, the quiet one, nervous and scared of things. Now I have a different confidence level, and I feel more confident in my choices and the things that I do on the court and off the court, and I have a better bond with my teammates and coaches, so that only makes it easier and better for me.”
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Taylor knew that if she could survive her brothers and father growing up, then everything else would ultimately become easier for her. In Georgia, where she grew up, it seemed almost inevitable she would pick up a basketball. With a coach for a father and three older brothers—two of whom went on to play in college—her world revolved around the game. She said it “only just made sense” to play too, so a childhood spent in gyms became the bedrock of her own collegiate career.
Like Taylor, Perry’s family influenced her basketball journey. They shared more than car knowledge as Perry’s father played baseball, football, and basketball in college. Her mom also spent countless hours working with Perry when she was younger. Perry played recreational ball in third grade and competitive AAU ball with the Black Widows by fifth grade. The rest is history.
“Even if she didn’t play basketball, she just influenced me to keep on going and to actually put my foot on the gas, to be like, ‘Okay, this is what I’m going to do,” Perry said. “Ever since then, I just kept my head on straight, realized that could be something, and just kept on going.”
The Hawks are better for it, establishing themselves as a future force, especially with their freshman trio. Also, sophomore Kalise Hill was one of the best floor generals in the MEAC, and she’s also returning. Hill, who had 11 assists in the Hawks’ win over Wake Forest, was 10th in the MEAC in assists per game (2.5).
UMES is poised to continue climbing, especially if its returnees continue to develop.
“It’s three of us, me, Desi, and Jailynn, and we all had our own paths when we got here,” Perry said. “We’ve all been through different things, but we’ve always talked about what we felt about our years and how we wanted them to be. I eventually started to grow closer to them, realizing that we are all kind of in the same boat. We’re all going through certain things. We can help each other because we’re the three freshmen on the team. It just kind of felt good to know, like, we’re here for a reason, and we’re going through all of this to be in a better position.”
And like the lessons she learned under the hood, Perry is still building, adjusting, and learning ways to make everything around her run a little smoother. Only now, instead of sliding across a garage floor or tightening lug nuts with steady hands, the work she’s building is happening where everyone can see and celebrate the results.
Head Coach Updates
Bethune-Cookman made a home run hire in Demetria Frank, a former Bethune-Cookman student-athlete from 2007–12. Frank, who most recently was the associate head coach at George Mason, etched her name among the program’s all-time greats. She graduated as the program’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,567 points and still holds career records for free throws made (854) and steals (422). …Meanwhile, Delaware State and North Carolina Central are still searching for head coaches.
