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Millersville

Jabria Ingram

Women's Basketball starts their season at Virginia Union

| By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Virginia Union:

  • Series: 0-2
  • Series Streak: Virginia Union, 2
  • First Meeting: L, 56–60 (2017)
  • Last Meeting: L, 43-87 (2022)

 

Shaw:

  • Series: 2-0
  • Series Streak: Millersville, 2
  • First Meeting: W, 68–55 (2021)
  • Last Meeting: W, 59-41 (2022)

 

ABOUT THE MATCH

  • Millersville women's basketball kicks off their season Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Virginia Union as part of the HBCU PSAC/CIAA Classic. Their second game of the season is also a part of the Classic, as they take on Shaw at 3 p.m. on Nov. 12. 
  • Kira Mowen will make her debut as Head Coach of the Marauders as well. She spent the last two seasons at Division III Knox College before being hired during the summer of 2023. The Prairie Fire went 34-19 overall under Mowen and made the NCAA Tournament last year as part of a season in which they won a school-record 22 games.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

  • Millersville is coming off of a season in which they managed an overall record of 18-12 and 12-10 in conference action. That mark was good for a berth in the PSAC Tournament. After beating East Stroudsburg in the first round, the Marauders' postseason run was ended by West Chester.
  • This season Millersville will need to replace the all-around output of Taylor Langan, who graduated in May. She led the team in minutes, points, rebounds, assists and steals per game last season.
  • They were picked to finish seventh of nine teams in the PSAC East according to the conference's Preseason Coaches Poll.
  • With all of the turnover, there are many players who could appear in the backcourt and wing rotation. Returning Second Team All PSAC-East member Marin Miller will look to build on a freshman season in which she shot 34.5% from three-point territory and led the team in made threes with 39. Junior Brenna Ortwein is coming off of a year in which she finished second on the team in rebounds per game despite standing at five-foot-seven.
  • Senior Knox College transfers Sophie Elstone and Juliana Vinlaun also figure to be in the rotation. Elstone led the Prairie Fire in minutes per game last season at 30.7 while Vinlaun was the player first off the bench for Mowen.
  • Graduate student Jabria Ingram will also most likely see time in the rotation. The guard showed promise as a distributor in her 18.1 minutes per game last season, finishing third on the team in assists per contest (2.2).
  • Makiah Shaw, La'Shyra Williams and Morgan Mahoney will all be factors in the frontcourt. Shaw used her six-foot frame to set career highs in scoring and rebounding last season while ranking second on the team in blocks with 17.  The six-foot-one Williams was effective in her time on the floor last season, pacing the squad in blocks despite playing just the sixth-most minutes. Fellow six-footer Morgan Mahoney didn't see much action as a freshman last year, totaling just 127 minutes all season. In spite of that, she finished fourth on the team in blocks (10) while shooting 44% from the field and 50% beyond the three-point line (7/14).

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

  • Head Coach Tierra Terry enters her fourth season at the helm in 2023-24. She guided the Panthers to a berth in the CIAA Playoff Tournament last season where they fell in the first round. Virginia Union was selected to finish fifth in the CIAA North and 10th in the conference overall in the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches Poll. 
  • Seniors Ny Langley and Taniah Johnson make up 40% of the team's starting five. Langley, a forward, was first on the Panthers in points per game last season with 16.1. That was nearly double the second-place scoring average of 8.8. She also paced the team in rebounds (9.2), assists (2.7) and steals per game (1.3). Johnson finished third in scoring last season in just over 20 minutes per game. 
  • Naeva Rene and Bruni Martinez will be the main rim protectors on this Virginia Union squad. They both averaged a block per game while Rene led the team in that category with 29 total. Martinez was a member of the CIAA All-Rookie team in 2022-23.

THE LAST TIME OUT

  • Millersville: Millersville ,  3 (Nov. 4, 2023) - After downing East Stroudsburg in the first round of the PSAC Playoff Tournament, the Marauders lost by 15 to West Chester in round two. Taylor Langan scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Millersville. Marin Miller picked up five assists as well. The Golden Rams held a 34 point lead in the third quarter but the Marauders were able to cut that in half with a strong fourth. 
  • Virginia Union:  Virginia Union 54, Johnson C. Smith 72 (Feb. 21, 2022) - Virginia Union fell to Johnson C. Smith in the first round of the CIAA Playoff Tournament last season. After being down 25-23 at halftime, a 12 point scoring differential in the third quarter sunk the Panther's hopes of moving on. Ny Langley put up 16 points and pulled down six rebounds while Hailey Blackwell finished second on the team in scoring with nine. 

SERIES HISTORY

  • This is the third matchup between these schools all time, with Virginia Union capturing the wins in both previous contests. They met last year in the same tournament with the Marauders falling 60-56. 
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