Lady Bulldogs Travels Cross-town to Take on Trevecca

NASHVILLE— The new season is here, and the Fisk University Lady Bulldogs are primed and ready for it. On Saturday, they will get a chance to see some familiar faces when they take on the Trevecca Nazarene University Lady Trojans.

Trevecca will be celebrating its Homecoming. Fisk's head coach, Victoria Crawford, will match wits against a couple of coaches who know their way around Fisk's campus. Lady Trojan head coach Karen Booker's brother Cyrus was an assistant coach under Fisk men's coach Kenny Anderson during the 2021-22 season. This will be his second year at Trevecca. Booker added former Fisk player and head coach Shavicka Newsom to her staff this season.

"It is always good to play teams that aren't that far away," said Crawford. "We played them last season and had a nice contingent from Fisk to come see us. Hopefully, we will get some Bulldog fans there to check us out, and we play well."

Last season, Trevecca was undefeated at home in 14 games. After traveling for most of the contest, the Lady Bulldogs were able to chip away and cut the lead to one at the 3:47 mark of the fourth quarter on a three-point basket from Zipporah Davis. Fisk was held scoreless the rest of the way, falling 68-57.

The Lady Bulldogs lost their first two games of the season in the Chamber of Conference Classic in McKenzie, Tennessee. Newcomer Maurecia Mathis scored 18 in the loss to Bethel University on Thursday. Fisk fell to the NAIA's top-ranked team, the University of Campbellsville, on Friday. Zipporah Davis went six-for-six from the free throw line in route to leading the team with 13 points. Mathis and Jayla Bibbs has ten points apiece.

Game 3: Fisk University (0-2) at Trevecca Nazarene (TN) University (0-0)

Date/Time: Thursday, November 4 | 2: 00 p.m. (CST)
Watch: Trevecca Nazarene University (greatmidwestdigitalnetwork.com)

Live Stats: https://tnutrojans.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2022-23/fisk/boxscore/5817

Location: Moore Gymnasium, Nashville

Quick Hits:

Crawford Charisma

Head coach Victoria Crawford has gained a lot of ground in the community after only being in Nashville for a little over a year. She put on a fundraising golf tournament this summer that was well attended. Crawford has made crossroads with some of the Who's Who of the Nashville scene, including Johari Matthews of the Tennessee Titans, politicians like Deputy Mayor Brenda Haywood, State Representative Dr. Harold Love, and Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry. When she arrived to play at the University of Memphis, she followed Nashville Judge Rachel Bell there.

Eliotti Excels

Junior Laila Eliotti has represented Fisk well on and off the court. The Criminal Justice major spent part of her last two summers in Seattle, Washington, interning with the Meta University Software Engineering Academy and Zillow.

Zip, Fast and in a Hurry

Senior Zipporah Davis is the lone returner named to the GCAC all-preseason team. She is the top returner scorer on the team at 9.3 ppg. Her quickness on the defensive end will also be depended upon for the Lady Bulldog's success this season.

Old Faces, Same Spaces

Some old faces are back on the court for Fisk. After taking a year off, junior post player De'Lesia Scott and classmate power forward Mya Robinson are back in uniform. They both, along with A'NIya Young and Eliotti, were part of the Notorious Nine recruiting class in 2021.

Portal Players

With Crawford returning four players this season, she hit the recruiting trail searching for players with college experience. She was able to get Division I transfer Liz Gibbs and two Juco transfers, Jayla Bibbs and Jordyn Bailey. Crawford was also able to coax her former recruit at Lincoln College, Maurecia Mathis, and walk-on Aminata McClow, whom she met on campus, to join the team.

SCOUTING TREVECCA

• Head Coach Karen Booker won the 2023 TSWA Pat Summitt Women's Basketball Coach of the Year and 2023 Great Midwest Coach of the Year. She directed her team to a 21-win season in her first year with the program.
• Trevecca is picked to finish third in their first year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
• The Trojans return six from last year's roster, including three seniors, two juniors, and two sophomores.
• Seven freshmen made the Lady Trojan roster.

NEXT UP:

The Lady Bulldogs will take on Wilberforce for Homecoming on November 11.