Georgia Southern women's basketball enters a new era in 2024-25 with head coach Hana Haden taking over as the program's ninth head coach. Coach Haden knows that outside expectations will not be that high in her first season in Statesboro, but is confident her team can outperform those expectations in what should be an exciting year for the Eagles.
First and foremost, Haden and the Eagles will have a brand new facility to play in, starting with the December 5 game against Jacksonville. The Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will be the new home for Georgia Southern men's and women's basketball. The first two home games of the year will be in Hanner Fieldhouse, giving fans the opportunity to give the 50+ year home of the Eagles a proper sendoff before moving to the new gym.
With only one returner - sophomore Liv Fuller - back from last season's squad that went 15-18 overall and 4-14 in the Sun Belt Conference, Coach Haden has brought in an extremely experienced group of newcomers who will suit up for the Eagles in 2024-25.
"We have a lot of individual experience," Coach Haden says about her upper class transfers, of which there are eight - three juniors, four seniors and one fifth-year senior. "We have players that have not only logged a lot of minutes but have played major roles on teams. They've experienced different levels of success. Our seniors are coming here with the mentality, 'Hey, it's our last ride.' They want to make it a great year. That group has led us in their work ethic and in setting the tone for everyone else this preseason."
Coach Haden is only a year removed from this exact same task - taking over a program in Georgia Southwestern State and within one year, leading the Hurricanes to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with an impressive 29-4 record. For her efforts, she was named the WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year. So what does a Hana Haden-coached team look like?
"We're a team that takes pride on the defensive end," Coach Haden said. "We'll mix up our defenses in order to keep other teams out of their rhythm. We want to make it tough on the other teams, and we always want to make it a 5-on-5 game, by emphasizing transition defense. We want to do a good job of forcing tough, contested shots. We want to dominate the glass, and that's something that also goes into our offensive philosophy as well. We say we want to play fast, to take advantage of any early and easy opportunities, but you'll also see us be efficient in the halfcourt. That's something we're continuing to work on, efficiency and shot selection. Just making sure that we don't get any empty possessions. In a nutshell, I hope fans see that we are a balanced team that prides itself on defense and shares the ball on offense."
The Eagles have a trio of players who will be in the point guard rotation for Coach Haden early on - Delaware transfer Nakiyah Mays-Prince (5-5, Jr., Chicago, Ill.), High Point transfer Bukky Akinsola (5-6, Sr., Hillside, N.J.) and Auburn transfer McKenna Eddings (6-0, Sr., Williamsburg, Va.).
"Our point guards have to set the tone for us defensively," Coach Haden said. "They're playing towards the top of the press, getting out and guarding the other team's ball handlers, being aggressive defensively and always trying to make things happen to lead the break. When it comes a 5 on 5 situation, it's their job to initiate the offense. They can't always control whether shots are made, but they'd better get us good shots in the halfcourt."
Eddings will also see time at the two guard spot, along with Grambling State transfer Jazmyne Jackson (5-7, Jr., Dallas, Texas) and Queens (NC) transfer Nicole Gwynn (5-7, Sr., Hartford, Conn.). The three guard spot is almost interchangeable with the two guards in Coach Haden's offense, meaning Eddings and Gwynn will also see a lot of minutes there as well.
"Our two guards need to be three-level scorers," Coach Haden said. "They're the ones shooting the transition threes, and making good reads in the halfcourt. They need to be efficient in knocking down shots. Our threes are typically more of the slashing type, getting it into the paint and putting it on the floor, and we like a little more size guarding the other team's threes."
The Eagles have a trio of incoming freshman who will also be looking work towards getting minutes at the guard positions - twin 5'9 sisters Jamiria and Tamiria Jones, who each earned All-State honors at Huffman HS in Birmingham, Ala, as well as local product Ashantay Noble (5-10, Fr., Statesboro, Ga.).
The four forward spot will be manned by Missouri State transfer Indya Green (5-11, Sr., Springfield, Mo.), Northwest Florida State transfer Deannasty Smith (6-1, Jr., San Antonio, Texas) and returner Liv Fuller (5-10, Soph., Clearwater, Fla.).
"The primary things for our fours are exposing mismatches," Coach Haden said. "When you look into the Sun Belt a little bit, there are a lot of guards playing at the four spot, so we look to that being a little bit of an advantage for us. All of our fours are our best rebounders who do a good job on the glass. And they're offensive mentality is that we shoot it until we make it. We want them to be active on the glass, and they've really bought into it."
The center spot features a duo of players who each bring a different style, meaning that Coach Haden will also be trying to find ways to get both on the court at the same time as well. Georgia Southwestern State transfer Leah Johnson (6-3, 5th, Ewing, N.J.) was the Peach Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year a year ago, while Paris Gaines (6-3, Soph., Orlando, Fla.) joins the Eagles from playing her freshman season at Kansas.
"Paris is arguably the best passer on our team," Coach Haden said. "She has the vision because she's so tall. Leah is a more physical presence who wants to play from a deeper position, compared to Paris, who is more finesse. She has a face up game compared to Leah's strictly back-to-the-basket game."
The season opens up with the Eagles taking part in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge on November 4 at Ohio. The home dates on November 12 against Bethune-Cookman and November 16 against Longwood are the final games in Hanner, with the Jacksonville contest on December 5 joined by the annual Kids Field Trip Day game on December 13 against Coastal Georgia representing the non-conference games in The Hill. Georgia Southern will take part in a pair of tournaments on the road, playing in the Battle on the Banks hosted by Rutgers over Thanksgiving and also playing in Grand Canyon's Christmas event from December 18-21. Single road dates at George Washington and North Florida round out the non-conference slate. The 2024-25 Sun Belt schedule begins on December 29 as the Eagles host Louisiana. The Eagles will play six of its first nine league games away from home, but that also means Georgia Southern will host six of its last nine games of the regular season at The Hill.
In a preseason poll of the league's coaches, Georgia Southern was picked to finish 12th out of the 14-team league. So what will it take for the Eagles to outperform those expectations?
"We've worked hard in preparing for this season by establishing our culture, our principles and our standards," Coach Haden said. "And trying to find a level of consistency that we can carry through the year. I think you're going to see a different team at the end of the year than you will on Monday at Ohio. You'll see a different team in early January than you will see in November. I have confidence that we'll be exceeding everyone else's expectations while meeting our own, which will make it a successful year for the Eagles."