Skip To Main Content

Prairie State College

Prairie State College
Calendar
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 20 WINS

Women's Basketball Chris Kuchta

20 Wins Highlight Season of Positives for PSC Women’s Basketball

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. --- On the heels of a 2023-24 campaign which saw his program post a record of 16-16, Prairie State head women's basketball coach Tanner Kuehn knew the Pioneers were capable of bigger and better things.
 
He was right.
 
Fueled by a quartet of much-improved sophomores and quartet of freshmen, Kuehn's team reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2013, compiling an overall record of 20-9.
 
"Twenty wins in a season is a nice milestone to reach," Kuehn said.  "All of the credit goes to our players though.  It's nice to see their hard work result in some success."
 
Some of that success was seen during the pair of long winning streaks posted by the Pioneers.  PSC won six straight contests in the early portion of the season before posting an eight-game spurt during the Illinois Skyway Conference slate.
 
The Pioneers finished with a 9-3 mark in league play.
 
With an eight-player roster, things could have gone south quickly for PSC, but the Pioneers, despite not having the bench numbers of a traditional 20-win club, persevered regardless.
 
"With a smaller roster it can be difficult to win a lot of games," Kuehn said. "But, our players did a tremendous job all season of handling adversity and continuing to play the game the right way.  We hope this is the first of many more seasons like this one or better here at Prairie State."
 
The season was chocked full of stellar individual efforts as well.
 
Sophomore guard Jayonna Smith (Marshall H.S.) earned first team All-Skyway honors while freshman guard Re-Niya Ford (Lake Weir H.S.) made the second team.  Sophomore forward Rocio Perez (IES El Majuelo H.S., SPAIN) was tabbed to the honorable mention squad.
 
Ford was named the NJCAA National Player of the Week for the week of February 19 after putting together an incredible week which saw her 29 points per game and 13.5 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field for the week. 
Ford led the Pioneers in scoring with an 18.0 points per game average.  Her 504 tallies on the season were good for 23rd on the national chart and puts her on pace to become PSC's second 1,000 career-point scorer.
 
Perez finished her second campaign in Chicago Heights, ranked 62nd nationally in steals with 71.
 
Freshman forward Aleah Emers (Centennial H.S.) also produced an outstanding first season of collegiate hoops, averaging 10.8 points per game and coming through for Kuehn's team in several clutch moments.
 
Freshman point guard Alyssa Quinones (Whiting H.S.) ran the Pioneers' offense with proficiency while turning in a strong first season of college basketball. 
 
Sophomore forwards Sam Campbell (Villa Grove H.S.) along with former PSC softball standout Mariana Serratos (Crown Point H.S.) both aided the Pioneers' cause all season long with quality minutes off the bench in key situations. 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Sam Campbell

#23 Sam Campbell

F
5' 9"
Sophomore
Mariana Serratos

#20 Mariana Serratos

G
5' 6"
Sophomore
Aleah Emers

#10 Aleah Emers

F
Freshman
Jayonna Smith

#11 Jayonna Smith

G
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sam Campbell

#23 Sam Campbell

5' 9"
Sophomore
F
Mariana Serratos

#20 Mariana Serratos

5' 6"
Sophomore
G
Aleah Emers

#10 Aleah Emers

Freshman
F
Jayonna Smith

#11 Jayonna Smith

Sophomore
G

Scoreboard