GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will open its 2023-24 season by participating in the Nighthawk Classic at the University of North Georgia this weekend.
The Pioneers will face the host Nighthawks on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. and take on Clayton State on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center in Dahlonega, Georgia.
Tusculum finished 20-9 last season and 11-7 in the South Atlantic Conference, and new head coach Roger Hodge has assembled a roster that includes eight transfers and three freshmen along with six returnees from the 2022-23 squad. Hodge is beginning his 19th season as a collegiate coach with 294 career victories.
Fifth-year senior guard Faith Silva came to Tusculum along with Hodge from WVU Tech, where she was first-team All-River States Conference and the RSC Newcomer of the Year last season. The 5-6 guard from Alamogordo, New Mexico was sixth in the RSC in scoring at 18.2 points per game and led the NAIA in three-pointers with 115. Silva made at least one three-pointer in 28 of 29 games, and scored 20 or more points 14 times last season. Including her time at Arizona Western CC, Silva has scored 1,320 points in her collegiate career and made 275 three-pointers in 107 games.
Senior Jenna Kallenberg is in her third season at Tusculum, averaging 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 32 games for the Pioneers. The 5-10 native of Knoxville, Tennessee has made 19 three-pointers with the Pioneers. Sophomore guard Carleigh Wilson appeared in 11 games last season and went 4-for-9 from three-point range. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native averaged 1.3 points and 0.7 points per game.
Junior Lexi Patty returns to action after missing most of last season due to injury. A 5-8 guard from Maryville, Tennessee, Patty averaged 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds as a freshman for the Pioneers. Another player back from injury is 5-2 sophomore guard Delana DeBusk, as the Greeneville High School graduate played 17 games last season and averaged 1.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Natalia Crooke is expected to miss the season due to a preseason injury, after the 5-6 Condado, Puerto Rico native went 4-for-12 on three-pointers and averaged 2.0 points across seven games last season. Sophomore guard Alyssa Lindsey played 11 minutes across four games last season, with 1.3 points and 0.8 rebounds per game from the 5-5 native of Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Junior guard Aaliyah Vananda comes to Tusculum from ETSU, where the 5-9 native of Maryville, Tennessee averaged 3.4 points in 30 career games, including eight starts as a freshman. Also transferring from Division I to Tusculum is junior forward Simona Henshaw. The 5-10 native of London, England played 43 games in two seasons at Florida Atlantic, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Also joining the Pioneers as transfers are junior guard Storm Wilson (Hanover Park, Ill.), junior guard Faith Diggs (Phoenix, Ariz.), sophomore guard Angelina Jordan (Antelope, Calif.) and junior center Maddison Zugna (Melbourne, Australia).
Wilson was a third-team NJCAA All-American at Triton College last season and was the Region 4 Player of the Year after averaging 14.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.4 steals per game. Wilson scored in double figures 23 times and had two or more steals in a game 25 times in 29 games. The 5-7 guard averaged 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 76 games at Triton over three seasons.
Diggs played two seasons at Scottsdale CC, averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 assists per game last season. The 5-7 guard scored in double figures 13 times in 57 career games, averaging 7.2 points across 57 contests at Scottsdale.
Jordan averaged 14.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a freshman at Laney College, then missed nearly all of last season due to injury. The 5-8 guard reached double figures 15 times during the 2021-22 season, including a 44-point performance.
Zugna played last season at Arizona Western and averaged 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 30 games, with 20 games in double figures. The 6-2 center also played two seasons at San Diego Christian College, averaging 10.4 points per game.
Joining the Pioneer program as true freshmen are guard Artasia Cole (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), forward Ni'Kiah Chesterfield (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and forward Jordyn Roderick (Greeneville, Tenn.). Cole and Chesterfield were teammates at Oakland High School, with Chesterfield a three-time All-Region honoree and Cole two times. Roderick was District 1-2A MVP as a senior after averaging 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals for South Greene High School.
Also joining Tusculum with freshman eligibility is 5-10 forward Nae Marion (Johnson City, Tenn.). Marion was first-team All-Conference four times at Science Hill High School and scored 1,506 career points.
After the weekend trip to North Georgia, the Pioneers will play their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 21 against Young Harris at 7:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.
