Women's Basketball continues road-swing at SUNO, Dillard

MARSHALL, Texas — The Wiley University women's basketball team looks to regain its early-season momentum and climb the division standings as it heads to Louisiana for a pivotal two-game road trip against Southern University at New Orleans and Dillard University.

The Lady Wildcats (10-4, 5-2 HBCUAC) will face SUNO at 5:30 p.m. Thursday before traveling to Dillard for a 1 p.m. Saturday tip-off. Both games will be streamed on the Urban Edge Network, with live statistics available via links on the wileyathletics.com schedule page.

Quest for the Top Seed

Wiley enters the week trailing Paul Quinn College by 1.5 games for the top spot in the HBCUAC West Division. The Lady Wildcats have been idle since Jan. 17, following the postponement of last week's games against Paul Quinn and Huston-Tillotson to February.

The break comes at a critical time for Wiley, which has lost two of its last three games. Offensive consistency has been the primary hurdle; the Lady Wildcats shot just 27.6 percent in a 63-58 loss at Tougaloo College on Jan. 17, marking the second time in three outings they failed to reach the 30-percent threshold.

Players to Watch

The Lady Wildcats continue to lean on a strong interior presence:

• Kelechi Dike: Leads the team in both scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). She is coming off her fourth double-digit rebounding performance of the season.

• Jessica Nerestant: Recently recorded her third double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Tougaloo.

• Brandy Jones: Contributed 10 points in the previous outing and remains a key scoring threat in the backcourt.

Thursday: SUNO (6-10, 1-8 HBCUAC)

The Lady Knights are desperate to snap a nine-game losing streak that dates back to Nov. 20. Despite the slump, SUNO features a trio of reliable scorers. Kaylan Jack leads the way with 14.3 points per game, followed by Jordan Harris at 13.3. Tierra Slyvas provides a dual threat, averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds.

Wiley narrowly defeated SUNO 80-76 on Dec. 4 and is seeking its third season sweep of the Lady Knights in four years. Dike scored 19 points. Jessica Nerestant (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Moriah Burley (16 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.

Saturday: Dillard (9-10, 5-4 HBCUAC)

The Lady Bleu Devils enter the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the conference, carrying a four-game winning streak. Remarkably, Dillard has won those games by double digits while playing with a shortened rotation of only five or six players.

Dillard is led by a formidable frontcourt:

• D'Mya Ferguson: Averaging 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds, she has scored 20-plus points in three of her last four games.

• Kayla Terry: Has recorded four consecutive double-doubles and averages 12.6 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Wiley defeated Dillard 84-80 on Dec. 6. Jones hit three 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. Burley also hit three triples and tallied 13 points. A victory on Saturday would secure Wiley's first regular-season sweep of the Bleu Devils since joining the conference in 2022 and mark their first win on Dillard's home court since Dec. 1, 2023.