Without Jerica Coley, women’s basketball hopes to surprise doubters


By Joel Delgado ’12, MS ’17

The Jerica Coley Era is over.

When the FIU women’s basketball team takes the court for the first time this season on Nov. 14 against Tennessee Tech, her absence will be the first thing people notice.

Coley was arguably the greatest player in program history, finishing her career as the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer and fifth on the NCAA’s Division I women’s career scoring list with 3,107 career points.

This past spring, the Panthers made an improbable run to the Conference USA semifinals thanks to a string of strong performances by Coley.

“Teams would double-team or triple-team Jerica last year. That’s how good she was – you have to assign a whole committee to go after her,” Russo said. “You had a chance to win every game with her, even if the team was flat.”

With Coley now gone, Head Coach Cindy Russo and the Panthers will have to find new ways to find success on the court. One thing is certain: everything will be different this year.

Tynia McKinzie (left) and Marita Davydova (right) ready to lead Panthers . Photo courtesy of Richard Lewis.

Tynia McKinzie (left) and Marita Davydova (right) ready to lead Panthers . Photo courtesy of Richard Lewis.

A DIFFERENT TEAM

Russo admits last year was a difficult coaching year, especially dealing with the loss of forward/center Marita Davydova for the season and the difficulty of preparing for teams determined to slow down Coley at all costs.

Now with Davydova back for her senior season, paired with senior forward Tynia McKinzie, Russo says that this year’s team will be a much more physical squad with a dangerous post game.

“They’ve stepped up and they are going to be great leaders for our team,” Russo says of McKinzie and Davydova. “That physicality is what we lacked last year. Now we have that.”

No one player will be able to replace what Coley was able to do on the court for the Panthers, but Davydova and McKinzie are confident that the team has the pieces available to remain competitive.

“Everyone can step up and score,” Davydova said. “It’s not going to be about one player, but all of us stepping up every game.”

The Panthers are hoping the duo of Davydova and McKinzie, providing a physical boost around the basket on both sides of the ball, will help open up opportunities for a new wave of shooters to emerge for the Panthers.

Junior guard Taylor Shade, who averaged 9.5 points per game last season, is expected to be one of the main leaders in the backcourt while Russo is hoping for big contributions from some newer players such as sophomore forward Kiandre’a Pound.

“She has ice water running through her veins,” Russo says of Pound, who redshirted and did not play last year. “She is unproven, but she has no fear and has been a big surprise for us.”

LOOKING TO DEFY THE ODDS

In this year’s Preseason C-USA Women’s Basketball Poll, the Panthers are predicted to finish 11th in the 14-team conference. That has only fueled the team’s determination to prove the doubters wrong.

“A lot of teams are going to underestimate us,” McKinzie said. “We have a team beyond Jerica. We have talent and it’s going to be tough to defend us.”

One of the adjustments the team has had to make is to find different scorers. Whereas the offense lived or died with Coley, this year it will take a collective effort on offense to find success on the court.

“We need to trust each other. Trust that you can pass the ball and know that the person you are passing it to is going to score,” Davydova said. “It’s about building trust.”