There are a lot of exciting things happening on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University, particularly in the athletic department.
One of the most exciting aspects has been the sudden emergence of the women’s basketball program, which has been rolling along under the guidance of first-year coach Hana Haden.
At 24, Haden is only two years removed from college, where she was a standout at Western Carolina. After a stop at UMSL as an assistant coach last season, Haden made the jump to becoming a head coach. She took over the Harris-Stowe program and already has the Hornets in strong contention in the American Midwest Conference.
The Hornets entered the week with a 17-11 record and a 15-7 mark in AMC play, which is good for third place. Haden brought in 11 new players to the program and they are starting to jell at the right time. Harris-Stowe is currently riding a seven-game winning streak.
“There have been a lot of factors in our success, but I would attribute a lot of it to the changed culture on campus. It has attracted a lot of good basketball players and a lot of good people,” Haden said.
“We brought in 11 newcomers who were good players and all-around good kids. We have a really good group that has bought in to what we want to do. They want to win, and they want to play for themselves and play for their school.”
Harris-Stowe employs a fast-break, pressing style of basketball that keeps the tempo fast at all times. The Hornets are 11th in the nation in steals among National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics schools and eighth in 3-point percentage defense. They have two players who are among the top 20 nationally in steals.
“We are a pressing team, and we like to hang our hat on our defense,” Haden said. “We want to get up and pressure people and take them out of their game for 40 minutes. We want to generate easy points whenever we can.”
The Hornets have eight players who average at least 18 minutes per game. They are led by junior guard Angela Randall (North Tech), who averages 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds while handing out a team-high 76 assists. Freshman guard Cierra Stanciel averages 11.4 points while hitting 37 3-pointers and registering a team-high 63 steals.
Sophomore guard Atlantis Sutton (Parkway North) averages 9.8 points a game while hitting a team-high 51 3-pointers on the season. Senior Monae Riley of a 5’11” post who averages seven points and a team-high seven rebounds a game. Junior guard Maronda Evans averages 8.5 points a game.
The Hornets also get contributions from sophomore guard Dynesha Powell (East St. Louis), who averages 4.7 points; 6’0” junior Shaakera Jones (5.9 points) and 5’11” junior Khalilah Morrow (5.9 points, 5.2 rebounds).
Harris-Stowe may be one of the surprise teams in the AMC this season, but Haden came in with lofty goals and aspirations for the season.
“When we met before the season, we set a goal to win 20 games,” she said. “We wanted to defend our home court and win the conference tournament. We set our goals pretty high, but we are on pace to reach them.”
Harris-Stowe closes out its regular season with two home games this week. They will face Central Baptist tonight at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Hornets will host Lyon College, the No. 8 team in the nation, at 2 p.m.
