Alcorn Faces Tulsa to Begin Season

TULSA, Okla. – The 2022-23 campaign opens on November 7 for Alcorn Women's Basketball with a road contest at American Athletic Conference (AAC) foe Tulsa. The Braves and Golden Hurricane are both kicking off the year in the Donald W. Reynolds Center with Monday's 6:30 p.m. matchup. Despite their 500-mile regional proximity, these programs are meeting for the first time in history. Monday's contest will mark the first of a two-game swing through the central Midwest for the Braves, who are also scheduled to travel to Wichita State on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

THE GAME: Alcorn Braves (0-0) at Tulsa Golden Hurricane (0-0)
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. CT
WHERE: Donald W. Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Okla.)
LIVE STATS: Tulsa
WATCH LIVE VIDEO: Broadcast on ESPN+ ($6.99/month or $69.99/year)

 
IN THE RANKINGS
Alcorn is not ranked in the preseason Associated Press or USA TODAY Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll Top 25 poll. Tulsa is not ranked in the preseason Associated Press or USA TODAY Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll Top 25 poll. Neither team received any votes in these preseason polls. Alcorn was selected to finish 11th in the Preseason SWAC Predicted Order of Finish. Tulsa was slotted at No. 4 among 11 AAC teams in the AAC Preseason Poll.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Women's Basketball this year by following the Braves social media platforms. You can follow @AlcornSports on Instagram and @BravesSports on Twitter.
 
SERIES VS. TULSA
This is the first meeting between these programs. Alcorn has had intermittent teams since the 1920s, but has sponsored annual teams since the 1978-79 season, while Tulsa's inaugural season was 1976-77.
 
LAST SEASON FOR THESE TEAMS
Alcorn completed the 2021-22 season with a 3-22 record, including two victories over SWAC opposition. Meanwhile, Tulsa collected a 17-11 record and ended the season in the second round of the Women's NIT in Laramie, Wyo. Alcorn Head Coach Nate Kilbert is in his third season and has a record of 10-35 with the Braves (189-381 career). Tulsa Head Coach Angie Nelp is in her second season and has a record of 17-11 with the Golden Hurricane (17-11 career).
 
THE BRAVES IN THE 2022-23 SEASON
Reinventing the Roster
The Alcorn Braves' roster for the new season welcomed seven new players to Lorman, including five junior college transfers, one graduate transfer from a Division I program and an international high school recruit.
 
Among the junior college players, the Braves have brought an in-state trio from up at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale; guard/forward Nakia Cheatham, guard Ashanti Backus and guard Jeanee Anderson. Coahoma CC went 21-7 and reached the NJCAA Region 23 semifinal before bowing out. Proving a leader last season for the CCC Tigers, Cheatham was second on the team in scoring at a 12.0 ppg average, topping the squad and ranking second in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) with 11.5 rebounds per outing, as well as team bests of 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. For her efforts, Cheatham joined Backus on the NJCAA All-Region 23 Team. Backus paced CCC with 110 assists (3.9 apg) and 50 three-pointers, while also logging 32 steals to complement averages of 10.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg. Anderson tied for second among CCC long-range shooters with 33 threes on a team-high 36.7 shooting percentage, scoring 6.4 ppg with 2.8 rpg. Hailing from Kansas' Colby Community College, Kiarra Henderson led the Trojans with 11.0 ppg on 47.6 percent shooting, averaging 9.1 boards, 1.7 steals and 1.5 assists per game to collect Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) Honorable Mention. As a rookie at Southern Nevada, center Destiny Brown knocked down buckets for the Lady Coyotes, taking center stage with a team-leading 16.6 ppg on a 57 percent shooting average, while also a grabbing a team-best 12.9 rpg. Capitalizing on her 6-3 frame, Brown swatted away an average of 4.4 blocks per game – the third most in NJCAA Division I. Her powerful numbers in the post garnered an NJCAA All-America Second Team nod after earning a spot on the All-Region 18 First Team. Brown has already earned internal recognition for her difference-making talent as a shooter and rebounder.
 
Transferring from Bethune-Cookman as a graduate student, 6-foot-1 forward De'Asia Reid averaged 5.1 points and was second on the team with 4.9 rebounds through 26 games last year for the Wildcats. Reid was a two-time All-State selection in Ohio and ranked 55th nationally among forwards on the ESPN's Top 100 high school players coming out of high school.
 
Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta and Harry Ainlay High School, freshman forward Arene Iyekekpolor was a member of Team Alberta's 2019 15U Girl's National Championships team which placed fifth. She was selected as one of the top 50 high school players by Canletes and was named an all-star in their She Got Now All-Canadian game.
 
Returning Leadership
Of the nine Braves returning from 2021-22, none enter the new season with higher expectations than sophomore guard Zy'Nyia White. In her first season out of Hazlehurst High School, White was named the SWAC Freshman of the Year after leading the Braves with 9.7 ppg, while shooting 39.3 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from long range and collecting 3.25 rpg.
 
Redshirt sophomore guard Kailyn Watkins is also back for her second campaign after scoring 6.5 ppg with 23 assists and 20 steals a year ago. Senior forward Tyginae Wright leads a trio of Braves who have been with the program prior to the last coaching transition. Wright can put in the typical work as a post player but can shoot the three as well, averaging 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds last season; knocking down a team second-most 25 shots from the perimeter. Guard Maya Claytor also fueled the Braves beyond the arc, topping the squad with 32 makes on the year and averaging 4.5 ppg. Cayla Obillo paced Alcorn in assists with 2.1 per game and added 1.2 steals per game, scoring an average of 5.0 points with 2.7 rebounds.
 
Last season, the Braves averaged 51.9 points, 31.2 rebounds, 6.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. Alcorn opponents scored 71.4 points with 42.8 rebounds.
 
ALCORN HEAD COACH NATE KILBERT ON OPENING THE SEASON
"I want our old heads to know that we're really depending on them to play to their capabilities. Our new kids are still getting familiar in the system, and they're play will help coach our new kids. Our old heads know our system and it's just a matter of executing. We're depending on them to make our offense go, make our defense go and our experienced people coming back need to set the tone for us."
 
ABOUT THE TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tulsa is coming off an outstanding inaugural season for second-year coach Angie Nelp, registering a 17-11 record a year ago for the most wins in eight seasons, closing out with a trip to the second round of the WNIT. Three Golden Hurricane players were named to the Preseason All-American Athletic Conference Teams – Temira Poindexter, Maddie Bittle and Maya Mayberry. A 6-1 sophomore forward, Poindexter was a first-team All-ACC selection and second in UT scoring last year at 12.3 ppg, while also averaging 1.9 blocks and 4.6 rebounds per contest. Super-senior guard Mayberry put up 12.2 ppg with 2.3 rpg. The other super-senior, guard Maddie Bittle recorded averages of 10.9 points 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season. The three accounted for 35.4 points and 11.4 rebounds on average to fuel the Golden Hurricane in 2021-22.
 
Overall, the 2021-22 Golden Hurricane averaged 69.5 points on 41.9 percent shooting, 33.9 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 8.5 steals. Opponents generated 64.8 points with 39.1 rebounds.
 
ALCORN HEAD COACH NATE KILBERT ON TULSA
"We're tired of beating up on each other and it's going to be exciting to see someone else over there with a different-colored jersey. I will just say Tulsa is good. They had a winning record last year, did well in their conference and watching last year, they've got some good players coming back. They're very organized and you can see they're well coached, so it's going to be a tough ballgame, there's no question about that."
 
CATCH THE BRAVES LIVE AT THE WHITNEY IN 2022-23
Season Tickets for the 2022-23 Alcorn men's and women's basketball teams at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex are now available for purchase at https://alcornsports.myimpacttickets.com/basketball. Season tickets for the home SWAC competitions are $76.25, while single-game admission is $12.65 in advance.
 
UP NEXT
Alcorn will extend its road swing with a Wednesday, Nov. 9 trip to face another AAC foe in Wichita State at the Charles Koch Arena. Tipoff will be at 6 p.m. and aired on ESPN+. Next will be a road contest at Illinois, Sunday, Nov. 13, in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. The first home tilt for the Braves is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 16, against Arkansas Baptist at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex.
 
Follow Alcorn State Women's Basketball on Twitter (@AlcornWBB) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Alcorn State Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BravesSports), Instagram (@AlcornSports) and YouTube (Alcorn State Sports).