The Howard women’s basketball 2022-23 season is swiftly approaching, and the team is anticipating an exciting season ahead.
The Lady Bison are returning from a historic season where they were crowned conference champions. After bringing home the conference championship, great excitement fell upon the program as the Jordan Brand partnership was announced. Feeding into the excitement as well was Bison Madness, where many of the Jordan collaboration pieces debuted, and most recently, the announcement of the team’s national broadcast schedule.
Five Howard women’s basketball non-conference away games will be streamed live nationally during the 2022-23 season. The TV schedule is set to showcase the Lady Bison on FloSports once and ESPN+ four times this season. These games will provide important exposure for the team and allow fans to be more involved in their journey this season.
However, it does not stop there. The Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2022 preseason women’s basketball honors. Senior Guard Iyanna Warren and Junior Guard Destiny Howell were recognized this preseason for their dedication and hard work. Along with this designation comes high expectations for the guards this season.
When asked by the Hilltop about how it felt to receive a preseason MEAC conference accolade, senior guard Iyanna Warren responded by saying, “It’s a blessing honestly and I am truly honored. I don’t take it lightly because being a point guard in my position is easily overlooked but it brings a sense of reassurance for myself from the conference that all the hard work and dedication that I put into myself, that I put into those around me is being seen and being recognized. I look forward to displaying that same hard work all throughout this season.”
Junior guard Destiny Howell was able to share some insights as well with the Hilltop on how it felt to receive her MEAC preseason accolade. Howell said, “Honestly preseason accolades don’t mean much to me, it’s about what you do during the season. I’m honored to have been selected but I’m just waiting for the season, aiming for something bigger.”
The motivation this preseason has not fallen off, as the Lady Bison look to ride the momentum built last season. The Lady Bison foresee this motivation extending into this season. “Thinking about the feeling after we won a championship is all the motivation we need. We want to make history again and we have a really good opportunity to do so,” said Destiny Howell.
Coach Ty has also been reminding the team about their execution during games this season which has contributed to the huge amount of motivation that the team has kept so far. According to Senior Guard Iyanna Warren, Coach Ty said, “We were the hunters at one point and now we’re the hunted…That is that constant reminder that we can’t take any days off, any plays off and we can’t afford to get comfortable,” Warren said.
The Lady Bison are set to play their first game at home in Burr Gymnasium on Monday Nov. 7 against the La Salle University Explorers. When asked about the difference in preparation for this game as opposed to any other game, junior guard Destiny Howell responded by saying, “We know what it takes to get there, so the preparation is different from the beginning of last season. We’re building off of what we’re already doing and trying to get our newer players acclimated to the way we play.”
Howard students are very excited to watch the Lady Bison make their way toward another historic season. Howard Sophomore Jenaya Daniel was able to share some insights on what she is looking forward to seeing from the Howard Women’s basketball team this season. She said, “I am looking forward to there being more student involvement this year as well as giving them the respect they deserve and shining a light on them.”
With it being her senior season this year, Iyanna Warren was able to express what she is looking forward to the most this season as well as the team’s mindset going into Monday in her closing statements.
Warren said, “I’m just looking forward to winning and being a leader on and off the court. For Monday we just know that we have to make a statement, set the standard, and send a message to our opponent that pretty much we are not satisfied with where we left off last year and that we are hungry for more going into this season.”
Copy edited by Nhandi Long-Shipman
