The Dickinson Women’s Basketball team is a group of highly disciplined and competitive athletes hungry for a successful season. Head Coach Aby Diop leads the charge for the Red Devils, and the team set the tone for the season in their opener against Stevens Institute for Technology, winning 58-55.
The Red Devils came out strong with high intensity and took an 11 point lead into halftime. Stevens bounced back well in the second half and eventually took the lead with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter. The game’s relentless onslaught of hard-fought plays was put to bed when Clair Marion ’25 sunk a 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds.
Marion and the rest of her team know this is just the beginning, though. When asked for her thoughts on the upcoming season, Marion responded, “We work hard every day in practice to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. We are a very tight knit group and our chemistry on the court is what makes us so successful.”
Teammate Victoria Zerbe ’26 added, “I think we have a fantastic group of women that really care about each other and are willing to do whatever it takes to win. … It’s a great feeling knowing that you have 14 best friends that are all working towards a common goal.”
In a recent pre-season interview, Coach Diop corroborated this claim, saying that “the positivity and energy is brought by the players,” and noting that coming to practice is a highlight of her and her players’ day. Importantly, she expressed that finding a balance between sharing some laughs and being serious in their training has been crucial for the development of the program.
Coach Diop elaborated on their strategies and team dynamic coming into the 2024-2025 season after dynamo Lindsay Hollenshead ’24 graduated this past spring. Not only did Lindsay have high-quality stats, but she brought an unquantifiable energy and emotional support to the team. The team’s makeup has shifted, and the players are figuring out how to step up accordingly. Diop gave some insight on the team’s leaders, highlighting Marion and teammate Caitlin Blackman ’25 as having tremendous influence, who lead by example and are quickly learning to speak up more. She went on to note that the core group of six returning seniors all use their unique voices to keep the team on the same page; their experience with a competitive push into play-offs will play a vital role in fueling the team to top their previous performances, including the four person first-year class. Coach Diop remarks that these first years are finding their roles and already growing, as promising players who each bring a different skill set to the team position-wise.
On her outlook for the season, Coach Diop says, “I always want our schedule to be competitive … we look to push our team with NCAA Tournament caliber teams to help us grow.”
On brand with the team’s dynamic, the Red Devils have a fun, fiery and competitive schedule ahead. Next up on their docket are two home games: Marymount University from the Atlantic East Conference on Nov. 14, followed by a face-off against Elizabethtown College from the Landmark Conference on Nov. 16. Then, the team will head to Virginia to partake in the Randolph-Macon College Tip Off Classic to take on their host, the Yellowjackets, on Nov. 22 and Roanoke College on Nov. 23. When they return to Pennsylvania, the team will be matched up against Messiah University on Nov. 26. During these games, the team looks to hone in on the details of their game, hoping to consistently out-rebound their opponents, play fast and push the tempo of the game in transition.
From there, the Red Devils are looking to earn wins early and often, starting on Dec. 4 with their Centennial Conference opener, a home game against McDaniel College. The Devils, ranked third in the Coaches Preseason Poll, are also itching to come out on top against consistently challenging conference competitors, Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg, who stand at first and second respectively. This season, Dickinson will face both of these team on our home court, Gettysburg on Jan. 22 and Hopkins on Jan. 29, before seeing them again away. The Dickinson Red Devils have previously been neck-and-neck with these teams, and with the looks of the skill and energy in their lineup this season, they have everything they need to beat them.
The team’s plan to keep the wins coming will be put to the test, but there’s no doubt that they can hold their own. The competitive opponents they face and the obstacles of past seasons only fuel this group of female athletes to dig deeper, work harder and find the grit they need.
