Women’s Basketball Preview: Lady Bulldogs to Use Marriage Approach in Quest for GCAC Title

NASHVILLE—Tradition dictates that the bride in a marriage must wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Fisk University Lady Bulldog head coach Victoria Crawford used that formula to construct her 2023-24 team. Something blue was the easy part because that is Fisk's primary color. The other three facets took a lot of work to accomplish.

"We have a pretty good mix of veterans and newcomers," said Crawford, starting her second year at the North Nashville school. "We came in last year and had to work through some things, but we were playing well at the right time. This year, we want to get off to a fast start and peak during the tournament. I like this team. We are excited to get going."

Last season, senior Maya Buckhanon finished the year as an NAIA All-American. The 6'3 post was a tough matchup all season. She averaged 19.2 points per game and 15.6 rebounds, which ranked her third in the country. Buckhanon and Anaya Davis were a formable duo under the basket. Crawford hopes to get Buckhanon back this season. Davis will be a medical redshirt.

Crawford has reached out to grab a few old players in De 'Lesia Scott, Mya Robinson, and Maurecia Mathis to take up the slack. Scott and Robinson were part of what was called the Notorious Nine recruiting class in 2021. Both players sat out last season. Scott is a 6'2 post with a soft touch from the outside. Robinson is a power forward who runs the court well and can knock down three-point shots. Mathis is a big that Crawford recruited when she was the head coach at Lincoln (IL) College.

The Lady Bulldogs return three-point sniper, Zipporah Davis, rebounding machine A'Niya Young, and Laila Eliotti, who has one of the country's highest basketball IQs. The three played a big part in helping the team finish the season with 19 wins and a third-place finish in the regular. They also won their first GCAC postseason game since 2014.

In the borrowed category, Crawford went to the transfer portal to grab Liz Gibbs from nearby Division 1 Austin Peay State University. The athletic senior is a combo guard who loves to play defense and a slasher who loves the transition game. Crawford has followed her since her high school days. Juco transfers Jayla Gibbs and Kierra Fulton look to eat up a lot of minutes from the wing positions. Gibbs is a tenacious defender who can shoot the three and bring a spark. Fulton is a gym rat that will also bring aggressiveness on the defensive end. Aminata McClow is a 5'11 walk-on junior post player who will look to spell Scott and play crucial minutes. 

Though the transfers are new, Crawford grabbed an exciting duo of first-year players in Jordyn Bailey and Janiesse Armstrong. Bailey can fill it up. She scored over 1,000 points in high school. Her coach describes Armstrong as cool, calm, and collected, with excellent shooting ability.

Communication and trust are essential to building a bond in any relationship, whether a marriage or a basketball team. Crawford hopes over time, her team will get to the point of enjoying some bliss.

"Once we get to the point that we can have confidence in each other, we will be fine. The players seem to get along well. We will see how we respond when adversity comes. We have a tough road to start the season. We hope that will bring us together."

The Lady Bulldogs will play seven non-conference games before welcoming the GCAC defending champs, the Rust College Lady Bearcats, to Nashville. Fisk split with the Rust last season, with their 63-61 win coming on a baseline buzzer-beater by Buckhanon. Of their eight games in November, five will be in Nashville, including a trip down Murfreesboro Road to take on Trevecca Nazarene.

Two of their games will be home tilts against HBCU foes. On November 11, Wilberforce will come to town for Homecoming, and Lane College will come to Nashville a week later. UT Southern will travel to Fisk on November 22.

The Lady Bulldogs will only have two home games in December when they take on Wiley University on the seventh and Philander Smith on the ninth. They will start the month traveling to Tougaloo College on the second. Their trip to Talladega in December will be sandwiched by two road games against NCAA Division I schools, the University of North Alabama on December 5 and Austin Peay State University on December 14.

UP NEXT:

The Lady Bulldogs start the season with three games in consecutive days. On Thursday and Friday, they will take on Bethel (TN) University and Campbellsville (KY) University in the Bethel Chamber of Commerce Classic. Then, they will travel crosstown to take on rival Trevecca Nazarene University on Saturday.