Women's Basketball: Season-in-Review

UNIVERSITY PARK, IL — It was a tale of two seasons for the Governors State women's basketball team in 2020-21 as the Jaguars made their second consecutive postseason appearance and hosted the first playoff game in program history.

Governors State posted a 6-4 record in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, earning its highest finish ever by placing fourth out of 13 teams. Hosting a first round game in the CCAC Tournament, GSU fell to IU Northwest to finish the season at 8-13 overall.

A playoff berth seemed unlikely after GSU opened the season with eight consecutive losses. The start-and-stop scheduling during the pandemic resulted in five games being contested over a seven-week period; by the end of December, the team had played only two games at home.

As the calendar turned to 2021, the Jaguars fortunes changed. Head Coach Tonishea Mack guided her team to its first win on January 4 which was followed by five-straight victories. Highlighting the streak were wins against Olivet Nazarene (82-81) and 13th-ranked St. Francis (51-49). To put those triumphs in perspective, GSU had previously gone 0-19 against ONU and USF and had lost by an average margin of 36 points to ONU. GSU's offense kicked into another gear just as conference action commenced. At the same time GSU cracked down defensively, finishing with the second-best scoring defense (60.1) in the league. Mack credited team bonding and scoring depth as keys to the team's success.

"I think it took a while for our team to find its rhythm, for our players to gel due to the fact we couldn't get in the gym to practice because of COVID. It was just a matter of time before they began feeling comfortable and familiar with each other on the court. We recruited with the goal of spreading our scoring around, instead of relying on just one or two people. On any given night, any one of our players can have a great game and everyone on the team gets excited for that person."

The bulk of scoring came from senior guard Sharnita Breeze (13.4 ppg), sophomore forward Tabetha Jones (13.1 ppg) and veteran forward Amber Brooks (12.0 ppg). Breeze captured her second team scoring crown, producing 281 points over 21 games. She ranked in the Top 10 in five CCAC statistical categories and became the first GSU women's basketball player to earn All-CCAC First Team honors. Jones paced the team in scoring six times and set a single-season record for highest free throw percentage (.783). Known for her slashing style to the net, Jones scored 23 points against 20th-ranked Saint Xavier and was named All-CCAC Honorable Mention. Brooks finished her fourth season as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,567 points) and rebounder (1,124). A graduate student, Brooks collected her third All-CCAC certificate as a second team selection and concluded her career with 56 double-doubles.

"I'm very proud of what Amber accomplished, it's not an easy task what she did, finishing with over 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds," said Mack. "She set standards within our program that will be very hard for others to reach and she will be successful in whatever field she chooses to pursue."

Sophomore guard Angelique Cowan, who missed all but one game last year due to injury, showcased her shooting ability by leading the team with with 40 three-pointers (including six against Cardinal Stritch) and ranking second in CCAC three-point percentage (.383). Forward Gaetana Davis made 10 starts as a rookie while guards Cozy O'Neal, Jalyn Foland and Lotte Miller provided support off the bench.

The abbreviated season also capped the careers of seniors Kaitlin Adams and Kiya King. Adams finished second in assists (45) and scored a career-high 21 points against Holy Cross. King handled guard duties in 79 career games having joined the team in 2017-18. During her time at GSU, King saw the Jaguars improve in the league standings each year, moving up from 12th place to ninth to eighth and then fourth this season. Coach Mack expects the CCAC progression to continue.

"It's always been our goal to finish in the top-half of the conference. This was a transition year for us, we wanted to prove we could play with any team in our conference. Teams that walked into our gym knew it was going to be a battle, that we were ready to compete every game. We're keeping our standards high and want to contend for championships."