The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team enters the 2024-25 season with a new head coach and sense of energy. Here, Ashley Starks (33) drives along the baseline while being defended by a Kentucky Christian player during a game last season at Harris Court in Laurinburg. They will start their season in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Monday.
File Photo
LAURINBURG —The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team is coming off of a 6-17 (5-17 in conference games) 2023-24 season and came in 14th out of 15 teams in the recent coaches’ preseason poll for the upcoming 2024-25 season. They now have a new head coach coming in this season looking to build the program into a successful one with Denise Hannah taking charge of the team, having been named the team’s new head coach in May.
Hannah has a strong basketball background, having played for four years at Oklahoma City University and helping lead the team to an NAIA National Championship in 1988. She also finished in the top five of all-time scorers in school history (1,755 points) and holds the school record in rebounding with 1,255. The Miami, Florida native admitted that experience is always a positive but that every program is a bit different and requires some adjusting, with St. Andrews being no exception.
“Experience is always a plus when transitioning from one program to another, the more experience you have, the smoother the transition,” Hannah said. “I’ve had to make some changes, additions and adjustments coming into a different conference but the standards and expectations for the program remains the same.”
As for what those expectations are, Hannah kept that simple: win and make the conference tournament at the end of the regular season, which requires finishing in the top 10 of the conference standings. How that will get done according to Hannah is setting a good foundation right off the bat and by doing things the right way, even if they are underdogs.
“That starts with dedication, hard work and commitment to the culture, standards and expectations of the program,” Hannah said. “We’ve set the bar high, and it gives us something to prove and play for in the conference.”
As for the actual makeup of the team, it is one with a lot of veteran leadership as they have seven seniors on a 15-player roster compared to just three freshmen. Hannah has said that having that experience is valuable in an effort to help mentor some of the younger players on the team, even if the incoming class is on the smaller side.
“With the number of seniors on the team, we value their veteran experience and leadership with guiding and molding the younger players on and off the court,” Hannah said. “We have many players who have so many different talents that they bring to our program in every position, we have a talented group of ladies and we’re working hard everyday to bring out the best in each of our players.”
In particular, Hannah has pointed out seniors Ashley Starks and Londaisha Smith as ones who have “made great strides within the program,” and also gave some praise to freshman Jada Richardson, stating that she “has settled in well and is making an impact on the team.” Richardson in particular with her size (5’11”) fits perfectly with how Hannah feels the team has an advantage heading into the new campaign: on the glass. That has been a major point of emphasis for the Knights entering the 2024-25 season.
“Our size, athletic ability and rebounding of the offensive and defensive ends of the floor have been our focus for the season,” Hannah said. “We want to cause havoc on defense and give ourselves every opportunity to be successful on the floor. We focus on being uncomfortable to get comfortable.”
The Knights do have five players on the roster listed at 5’10” or above. They also have two women listed at 6’0”: Alexandria Barrino and Katie Moore.
Hannah ultimately is looking forward to the first step in a long journey of building a program the way she sees fit. Her first year is about establishing a positive environment and foundation for them to build on as the season goes. Teaching her players how “to be champions on the court, in the classroom and in the community,” is one of her main goals for the season.
Hannah is confident in her team’s abilities entering her first year on the job, noting she knows “they will play hard and let the chips fall where they may.” The Knights will get their first opportunity to showcase their talents on Monday night when they take a trip to Spartanburg, South Carolina for a matchup with Spartanburg Methodist at 5:30 p.m. The team’s full season schedule can be found on the St. Andrews Athletics website here: 2024-25 Women’s Basketball Schedule – St. Andrews University.