WASHINGTON -- Saint Louis has had quite the two seasons under Rebecca Tillett first winning an Atlantic 10 Championship and making it to the NCAA Tournament, and then last year winning the WNIT after making the conference semifinals.
“Really excited about this group, veterans,” Tillett opened. “So many people returning that know the system, know the culture, Peyton (Kennedy) leading the way with that along with Kennedy Calhoun and Bel Tillett. There are some newcomers, last year we did not have any freshmen, and we love that have them now and what they teach us. Signs early are really positive.”
Peyton Kennedy returning for a fifth season is crucial for Saint Louis. Kennedy recorded 16.9 points per game, top on the team a season ago to go along with 5.3 rebounds. The proclaimed “humble warrior” did not make an all-conference team at the end of the regular season but turned heads with her performances in the postseason and in doing so made the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team and was the WNIT’s Most Valuable Player.
Now Kennedy looks to close out her Billikens career in style.
“The word I would describe is grateful, just being able to be given this opportunity, she offered. “I was actually self-reflecting the other day about this entire process and honestly with everything I’ve been through, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s made me stronger as a person, a stronger friend, teammate and I wouldn’t change it for anything, especially the people I have been privileged to meet, be coached by, it all has impacted me and made me the person who I am.”
Here’s a look at how the Billikens stack up this season:
Coach- Rebecca Tillett, 3rd season
Last Year- 22-18/8-9 A-10. A year after winning its first ever Atlantic 10 Championship, Saint Louis had another run in it. It started by winning the final three regular season games. Then as the seventh seed in the A-10 championship, besting #10 George Washington and #2 VCU to advance to the semifinals, where it fell to Rhode Island. After earning a spot in the WNIT, SLU kept going besting Central Arkansas, Northern Iowa, Purdue Fort Wayne, Wisconsin, Vermont and lastly Minnesota to win the title.
Coming off that season, Tillett appreciates the excellence and now challenges the team to do the same, but earlier in the campaign.
“For our program and our team, trying to reach those levels of excellence together and really excited about what we were able to accomplish,” she determined. “We have big goals beyond those accomplishments as well. We want to make deep runs in the tournaments and also frankly want to be better earlier. We have a reputation for figuring it out late down the stretch and you certainly want to be your best as a group then, but we’re looking for sustained excellence and we think that’s going to come when we learn how to defend earlier in the season. As a staff, we spent a lot of time thinking and prepping for that.”
They’ll Miss- Kyla McMakin (16.7 ppg/40 stls), Julia Martinez (7.4 ppg/6.3 rebs/42.9% FG/220 assts/101 stls)
Impact returners- Peyton Kennedy (16.9 ppg/5.3 rebs/49.3% FG/77 3’s, 59 stls), Brooklyn Gray (10.7 ppg/41.7% FG/81.9% FT/40 stls), Kennedy Calhoun (5.7 ppg/46.3% FG/123 assts/86 stls)
Newcomers of note- Mya Glanton (7 ppg/5.5 rebs at Indiana State), Hannah Wallace (freshman), Shun-teria Anumele (freshman)
Reason to be optimistic-
In addition to Kennedy and Gray, Kennedy Calhoun is back for her senior season and once again landed on the A-10’s All-Defensive Team list, this time holding down preseason honors.
Also returning for Saint Louis are Tierra Simon and Marcavia Shavers.
Mya Glanton stands out among the newcomers, coming from Indiana State where she was its leading scorer and rebounder a season ago. Tillett believes she is finding her way within the team’s style, but is pleased with what she can bring, especially from a rebounding standpoint.
All told, it makes for a competitive gym and Kennedy would not have it any other way.
“Our practices are constantly competitive consistently,” stated Kennedy. “I know nothing different. We go out there and play as hard as we can, do what we need to do to make each other better every day. I think that shows throughout the previous seasons throughout our run how competitive we are and how much we believe in that. Once we believe in ourselves and compete consistently, it’s where we see excellence. I love competing, it’s my favorite thing. If there’s not a competition, you know, eh. My teammates make sure it’s always there.”
X-Factor- Brooklyn Gray was someone who only improved as the season continued. Gray made the jump from Wabash Valley College and started 23 of the 37 games she played in.
“I think Brooklyn has the capability of being a big-time game player,” Tillett explained. “She can change the way opponents guard us, we can change things, she can actually guard 2-through-5 positions, so she gives us a lot of flexibility in that sense. When Brooklyn is focused and joyful, she is a really dangerous woman on the floor. One of the best things about Brooklyn is how much she celebrates other people. If you watch our games, even the WNIT championship, she’s more excited for a teammate making a play than she ever is for herself. That’s one of many qualities that makes her special.”
Circle the dates- This may be the most challenging non-conference slate that SLU has put together. The entire month of November features contests against postseason teams and a rivalry game against Missouri (Nov. 20). In order, the rest lays out as follows, South Dakota State (Nov. 4, WNIT Super 16), Drake (Nov. 7, NCAA Tournament), Illinois State (Nov. 12, WNIT), Southern Indiana (Nov. 17, WNIT), Missouri State (Nov. 23, WBI), Cal Baptist (Nov. 26, NCAA Tournament) and it wraps up against USC and JuJu Watkins on Nov. 29. The Trojans won 29 games a season ago, falling to UConn in the Elite Eight. Additionally, a Dec. 3 tilt against Murray State is against another WNIT team and the next game against Norfolk State Dec. 7 features a fourth NCAA Tournament team.
Bottom line- Tillett believes this is the deepest team that she has in a while and there is a clear excitement present. A challenging non-conference slate also shows the confidence she has in her squad. This program clearly understands what it takes to win in March and absolutely has the pieces in place to do it again.