Catch up on the CAA Women's Basketball weekly news, notes and awards.

WEEKLY AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK 

Kylie Kornegay-Lucas, Towson

Redshirt Junior | Guard | Camden, Delaware / New Hope Academy 

Kornegay-Lucas had an impressive all-around performance in Towson’s 83-72 season-opening victory over Longwood, nearly recording a triple-double with 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. 

The redshirt junior added a career-high five blocks and three steals defensively, while making a career-high 11 field goals on 16 shot attempts (68.8%). 

It marks the first 25/5/5 performance in her career and is the most points scored in a season opener for the Tigers since the 2016-2017 season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK 

Kylie Lavelle, Drexel

Freshman | Forward | Moosic, Pennsylvania / Riverside

Lavelle scored 20 points in her collegiate debut, helping Drexel to an 84-58 victory in its season opener against Rider. 

Her 20 points came on 8-for-12 (66.7%) shooting from the floor, while she added six rebounds and three steals in the effort. 

It is the most points for a player in her Drexel debut since the school joined the CAA for the 2001-2002 season.

Now let's announce the women's #CAAHoops weekly award winners, presented by @PrimisBank @Towson_WBB's Kylie Kornegay-Lucas@DrexelWBB's Kylie Lavelle

📰 https://t.co/lFuQzO3HQQ pic.twitter.com/A8Som0BLxV

— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) November 14, 2022

CONFERENCE NOTES

OPENING WEEK IN THE REVIEW MIRROR: The opening week of the 2022-2023 CAA Women's Basketball season is in the books, and conference teams combined to post a 14-12 record overall. 

Eleven of 13 teams collected their first wins this season during the opening week of competition, while four teams went unscathed last week. 

Hampton and William & Mary began the year 2-0, while Drexel and Towson won their season openers to start the year 1-0. 

HOME SWEET HOME: Home-court advantage proved to be a factor in the CAA early this season, as league teams went 10-3 in their home gyms during the first week. 

Eight teams went unbeaten at home last week, and nine teams collected victories in their home openers.

DREXEL TABBED AS PRESEASON FAVORITE: Drexel, which has advanced to five of the past six CAA Championship title games, including four in a row, was picked to capture the 2022-2023 CAA Women's Basketball title, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. 

The Dragons received 10 first-place votes and 142 points to lead the way. Charleston collected one first-place vote and 125 points. Second is the Cougars' highest preseason ranking since joining the CAA, while newcomer Stony Brook was selected third with 108 points ahead of its first CAA season. 

Elon was fourth, followed by Towson, which received the final two first-place votes. Defending conference champion Delaware was in sixth, William & Mary was seventh and Northeastern was eighth, followed by three newcomers - North Carolina A&T, Hampton and Monmouth, while UNCW and Hofstra rounded out the poll.  

DREXEL'S WASHINGTON HEADLINES PRESEASON ALL-CAA TEAM: Drexel guard Keishana Washington was selected as the 2022-2023 CAA Preseason Player of the Year. 

Washington was a first-team All-CAA selection last year and is the league's top returning scorer. She averaged 19.2 points per game last season. 

She is joined on the Preseason All-CAA first team by Charleston guard Jenna Annecchiarico, Towson guard/forward Anissa Rivera and a pair of William & Mary guards Riley Casey and Sydney Wagner. 

Making the Preseason All-CAA second team were North Carolina A&T center Jazmin Harris, Towson guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas, Elon center Evonna McGill, Hampton Forward Nylah Young and Stony Brook guard Annie Warren. 

CAA IN THE COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25: Five CAA teams were recognized in the initial reveal of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The preseason favorite, Drexel, ranked seventh, while Charleston, Delaware, Stony Brook and Towson received votes in the preseason edition of the poll. 

ANNECCHIARICO NAMED TO NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD WATCH LIST: Charleston guard Jenna Annecchiarico was named one of 20 players to watch for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award, announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. 

Now in its 24th year, the award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.

DELAWARE, DREXEL, STONY BROOK LOOK TO EXTEND POSTSEASON STREAKS: Drexel has reached postseason play in either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT in 12 of the past 13 seasons, including eight straight. 

Meanwhile, Delaware and Stony Brook have been to postseason play in the NCAA Tournament or WNIT in back-to-back seasons. 

Last season, four CAA teams went onto the postseason in either the NCAA Tournament, WNIT or WBI, marking the most for the conference since the 2018-2019 season. 

LUCKY NUMBER 13: For the first time in conference history, CAA Women's Basketball will feature 13 teams, adding Hampton, North Carolina A&T, Monmouth and Stony Brook prior to the 2022-2023 season. 

The Lady Pirates and Aggies join the league from the Big South, while the Hawks enter from the MAAC and the Seawolves arrive from the America East. 

It is the highest number of teams in CAA Women's Basketball history. The previous mark was 12 during the 2011-2012 campaign. 

CHANGE IN SCHEDULING FORMAT: It will be the first time since the 2012-2013 season that the league has not played a full double round-robin schedule. Teams will play an 18-game conference slate against all 12 league foes that features six repeat opponents, three home-only opponents and three away-only opponents. 

In total, each team will play nine home games and nine road games.

NEW HEAD HONCHOS: Four teams will have new head coaches on the sideline for the upcoming season. 

Sarah Jenkins takes over the reins at Delaware, but she is no stranger to Newark. She previously was the associate head coach of the Blue Hens in the 2020-2021 season, before one year at Penn State. 

Tina Martin will guide UNCW as its interim head coach, after serving on the Seahawks staff for the past five seasons. Martin is one of the all-time winningest coaches in CAA history, serving as Delaware's head coach from 1996-2017. 

Laura Harper was handed the keys to the car at Towson and didn't even have to move houses after a successful two-year stint at Coppin State. 

Finally, Erin Dickerson Davis was named head coach of William & Mary, accepting her first head coaching position after most recently serving as the associate head coach at Wake Forest.   

TEAM NOTES

Charleston 

• Charleston went 1-1 last week, winning its season opener over Meredith (89-30), before a setback against Norfolk State (77-47). The Cougars were slated to play a third game against North Florida, but it was postponed due to weather concerns. 

• Jada Logan paced Charleston, averaging 20.0 points per game and adding 6.0 rebounds per contest. Logan recorded 15 points and six rebounds in her Charleston debut, before leading the team with 25 points, adding six boards against Norfolk State. 

• Jenna Annecchiarico led the Cougars to victory in the season opener, dropping 25 points versus Meredith. She added six steals, four assists and three rebounds in the effort. 

• Alexis Andrews reached double figures in her collegiate debut, scoring 11 points against Meredith. Additionally, Andrews matched a team-high with six steals while adding four rebounds and two assists. 

Delaware

• After a victory over Longwood (82-62) in its season opener, Delaware fell to Columbia (64-56) in its home opener, posting a 1-1 opening week. 

The win on Monday gave head coach Sarah Jenkins the first in her career and marked the third straight season-opening win for Delaware. 

• Jewel Smalls scored in double figures in both contests. She tallied a team-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor against Longwood. 

Smalls went 6-for-9 from three-point range and added five rebounds with three steals in the effort. Additionally, she contributed 11 points and five rebounds in the setback. 

• Against Longwood, Klarke Sconiers set career highs with 16 points and four blocks in her Blue Hens debut. Sconiers shot 6-for-8 from the field and added six rebounds. 

• Nakiyah Mays-Prince made an impact in her collegiate debut, leading the team with five steals and five assists.

In addition, Mays-Prince reached double figures with 13 points and recorded four rebounds in the victory. 

Drexel

• Drexel opened the season with an 84-58 victory over Rider. The 84 points are the most in a season opener for the Dragons since the 2011-2012 season. Drexel shot 55.7 percent (34-for-61) for the game and committed just seven turnovers.

• Keishana Washington had the first 30-point performance in CAA Basketball this season, scoring 34 points on 14-of-22 shooting (63.6%). She went 3-for-5 from three-point range and added three steals, two assists and one rebound in the effort.  

• Kylie Lavelle made her collegiate debut and scored 20 points in the contests, adding six rebounds and three steals. Lavelle shot 75 percent (8-of-12) from the floor, while the 20 points are the most by a player in her Drexel debut since the team joined the CAA for the 2001-2002 season.

• Grace O'Neill added nine points in her collegiate debut, while Maura Hendrixson had six points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, with no turnovers, in the win. 

Elon

• Elon went 1-2 over the opening week, falling to a pair of ACC schools - Wake Forest (76-56) and NC State (89-55) - in back-to-back games, before defeating High Point 60-57 in its home opener. 

• Evonna McGill averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game to lead Elon. She reached double figures in each contest and shot 70.8% (17-24) from the floor in the first three games. McGill has recorded at least 10 points and five rebounds in five straight games dating back to last season. 

• Ajia James scored a season-high 12 points, including the game-tying and game-winning 3-point field goals in Elon's victory over High Point. James went 4-for-7 from long range in the contest, marking her most in a game since joining the Phoenix. 

• Lenaejha Evans tallied a season-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the Phoenix victory. The 19 points are the most scored by an Elon player in a game this season. For the week, she averaged 8.3 points per game.

Hampton

• Hampton started the year 2-0 with victories over Mid-Atlantic Christian (110-26) and Delaware State (67-48). 

The season-opening win is the first for the Lady Pirates since 2019-2020, and the 110 points against Mid-Atlantic Christian are a league-high. 

• On Monday, Nylah Young led Hampton with 24 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double, grabbing nine in the contest. Young has reached double figures in three straight games dating back to last season, including two 20-point performances. 

• Victoria Mason had a career day in the season opener with 21 points and eight steals in the victory. The sophomore reached double figures four times last season, with her previous career-high 14 points coming on Dec. 30. 

• Jermany Mapp and Camryn Hill also reached double figures against Mid-Atlantic Christian. Mapp tallied 14 points and nine rebounds, while Hill recorded 10 points and eight boards. 

Hofstra

• Hofstra fell to 0-2 after a 62-48 setback against Cleveland State on Saturday. The Pride dropped a tightly contested season opener to Big Ten foe Rutgers 73-68 on Monday. 

• Brandy Thomas recorded her first double this season, with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener. Thomas also paced Hofstra with nine points against Cleveland State and added five rebounds.  

• Rosi Nicholson had 16 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists versus Rutgers. She added eight points and three steals Saturday. Nicholson has at least one steal in five straight games dating back to last season and multiple steals in four of those five contests. 

• Against Rutgers, Zyheima Swint was one rebound away from a double-double, recording a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds in the effort. 

Monmouth

• Monmouth went 2-1 last week, defeating New Jersey City (79-70) and Sacred Heart (77-62) after falling in its season opener against St. John's (78-39). 

• Lucy Thomas averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game over the week. She scored a career-high 23 points and matched her career-best with 13 rebounds for her first double-double this season against New Jersey City. 

Thomas also scored in double figures against Sacred Heart, adding 19 points with six rebounds. 

• Brianna Tinsley was solid in her first week with Monmouth, averaging 15.7 points and 3.3 assists per game. 

Tinsley tallied a career-high 25 points in the victory over Sacred Heart, adding four assists, three rebounds and one steal in the effort. 

• Kaci Donovan averaged 9.7 points per contest, scoring in double figures in two of the three games. She led Monmouth with 11 points in the season opener and contributed 10 against New Jersey City. 

North Carolina A&T

• North Carolina A&T won its home opener against St. Andrews 102-29 after a setback against ACC foe Duke (77-57) to begin the season. The margin of victory against St. Andrews matches a program record for the Aggies. 

• Jazmin Harris scored in double figures in both efforts, pacing the Aggies with 18 points and nine rebounds while adding two blocks against Duke. On Friday, Harris recorded her first double-double this season with 16 points and 15 rebounds, adding seven blocks to match a career-high. 

• After 11 points in her Aggie debut, Maleia Bracone paced North Carolina A&T with 20 points in the victory. She added seven rebounds, six assists and four steals Friday night after five rebounds, three assists and three steals on Monday. 

• All five starters reached double figures in the win as D'Mya Tucker (14), Talia Davis (12) and Jordan Dorsey (12) surpassed 10 points for the first time this season. 

UNCW

• UNCW began the year 0-2, falling to Lenoir-Rhyne (57-46) in its season opener and suffered a setback against in-state rival East Carolina (76-49) on Sunday. 

• Jayde Gamble led UNCW against East Carolina, dropping a career-high 20 points on a perfect 8-of-8 night shooting from the floor. She also set a career-high with four steals in the effort, while adding four rebounds and two assists. 

For the week, Gamble averaged 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.  

• In the season opener, Carrie Gross poured in a career-high 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.

• Kendal Moore was solid in her first two games wearing a Seahawks uniform, averaging 8.5 points per game. She eclipsed double figures with 10 points Sunday after seven points in her UNCW debut. 

Northeastern

• Northeastern started 1-1, winning its season opener for the second straight season, with a 66-65 win over Boston University. The Huskies fell to No. 6 UConn on the road (98-39) in their second game of the season. 

• Gemima Motema eclipsed double figures scoring in both contests. 

She recorded 16 points, a career-high three blocks, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the victory before leading the team with 11 points against UConn. It marks her fifth straight contest in double figures dating back to last season.

• Derin Erdogan scored a career-high 24 points in her Northeastern debut against Boston University. The Arizona transfer also added four rebounds, three steals and three assists in the effort.  

• JaMiya Braxton, Halle Idowu, Oralye Kiefer and Marian Turnbull also scored in their Northeastern debuts against Boston. Braxton led the group with nine points, while Kiefer added seven points and a team-high eight rebounds. 

Stony Brook

• Stony Brook won its home opener over Manhattan 69-51 after falling to ACC adversary Syracuse in its season opener 79-56. It marks back-to-back seasons the Seawolves have won their home opener. 

• Annie Warren led Stony Brook in the victory, scoring 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-7 behind the three-point line. Warren added four rebounds, one assist and one steal in the effort. 

• Sherese Pittman has narrowly missed a pair of double-doubles. In the season opener, she tallied a career-high 13 points and nine rebounds in her Seawolves debut. Pittman followed the performance with a career-high 16 rebounds and nine points on Thursday. 

• Gigi Gonzalez added 19 points in the Stony Brook victory, along with a team-high six assists, five rebounds, two steals and one block. 

Gonzalez was two points shy of her career-high with the performance. 

Towson

• Towson won its season opener for the third straight season with an 83-72 victory over Longwood, as head coach Laura Harper picked up her first win as coach of the Tigers.

• Kylie Kornegay-Lucas did a little of everything on Saturday to lead Towson, recording a game-high 29 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, a career-high five blocks and three steals. 

Kornegay-Lucas went 11-of-16 from the floor, marking a new career-high for made field goals. 

• Anissa Rivera recorded a double-double in the season opener, as she scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. She added three assists and one steal in the effort. 

• Quinzia Fulmore posted career highs in points and rebounds en route to her first career double-double. Fulmore tallied 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds in a career-high 25 minutes of action. 

William & Mary

• William & Mary started 2-0 following a 79-64 win over Navy on Monday and a 66-61 overtime victory over VCU on Friday. 

First-year head coach Erin Dickerson Davis picked up her first career win in the Tribe's season opener. 

• Riley Casey paced the Tribe with 25 points in the OT victory after leading William & Mary with 20 points on Monday. 

Casey has gone 7-of-13 from three (53.8%) in the first two games, knocking home at least three in each. She has reached double figures in six straight games dating back to last season. 

• Sydney Wagner was also in double figures in both games, recording 16 points against VCU after 13 in the season opener. 

Additionally, Wagner had at least two steals in both efforts, with four versus Navy and two on Friday. 

• Madison McGee scored a career-high 11 points off the bench in Friday night's victory. Playing a career-high 28 minutes, she went 3-for-5 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line.