Brits in College 2020-21 – January

Image credit: FIU

The New Year is here and the Brits are still flying the flag overseas with more standout displays in NCAA action during January.

NCAA Division 1

Hannah Jump tasted defeat for the first time with Stanford (15-2) during January as the then number-1 ranked team slipped to successive losses. The sharpshooter hit 15 points all from downtown in the preceding encounter, and matched her season-high for a third time in the final game of a busy month with the team-high tally coming in a dominant win against Washington.

Kyla Nelson fired in a season-high of 25 points to start 2021 in style with Emerald Ekpiteta weighing in with 22 points to lead FIU (7-7) to victory. Nelson scored in double figures in all eight games during the month including a 21-point display at Marshall, while Ekpiteta recorded four double-doubles with a best of 19 points and 18 rebounds against Middle Tennessee.

Senior guard Khaleah Edwards scored nine points in back-to-back games before closing the month with a season’s best of 19 points to lead Wagner (5-2) to their fourth consecutive victory – with Edwards knocking down seven triples during the run.

Maya Hyacienth opened the New Year with a 17-point haul to continue her scoring touch, and went one better with 18 on a return to the starting lineup as Rider (5-14) beat Quinnipac 77-74 in overtime. A season-high of four triples were netted in each performance as Hyacienth has taken her scoring average from 2.9 points to 6.5 points per game in the space of a month.

Grace Heeps had a breakout game with 17 points – including 5-of-7 three-point shooting – for UAlbany (5-7) in a 63-50 success, in the middle of a three-game win streak. The sophomore guard also cut her turnovers down from 18 to just seven in the month of January in similar six-game stints.

Loren Christie remained a starter for Buffalo (9-5) – as part of a four-game stretch – and posted a season-high of nine points as well as nine rebounds and three blocks to start January with a win at Miami before contributing seven points and eight boards in her next outing.

Redshirt junior Gabby Nikitinaite made her debut for George Washington (4-11) in January and was soon inserted into the starting lineup. The former GB Under-20 guard/forward hit double figures for the first time with 10 points along with seven rebounds and three assists in a 20-point victory at George Mason.

Jenelle Grant started 2021 with seven points for Purdue (6-8) in a loss against #25 ranked Michigan State, while Milly Knowles had another run in the starting lineup early for Eastern Washington (6-9) and collected eight rebounds in a 21-point road win.

NCAA Division 2

Shawnisay Millar is averaging 9.1 points per game at Midwestern State (7-3) having posted a season-high of 18 points to help spark a five-game win streak having also netted 11 points twice during the month. Fellow Scot, Alix Henderson set season-highs of 15 points and four assists for Point Loma (4-1) having netted 12 points from the bench earlier in the month.

Jessica Eadsforth-Yates recorded eight points, five rebounds and six assists in her second start of the season to help Davis & Elkins (1-7) to their first win before hitting double figures for the first time with a best of 12 points later in the month.

Junior guard Charlotte Ellmore had a busy month with West Florida (4-5), logging heavy minutes in January with a scoring best of 14 points coming in a five-point road triumph. The former WEABL MVP is averaging 10.2 points along with 3.4 assist and 1.3 steals so far this season.

Sadie Russell closed out January with a spell of three consecutive games with at least 10 points with the senior forward putting up 13 points, six rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes of a five-point defeat for Flagler (3-5).

Junior Dami Adeyinka made the most of her first start of the season with Quincy (1-12); opening 2021 with season-highs of 10 points and eight rebounds, before handing out six assists in each of the next two games. Fellow junior, Megan Sheret collected a total of 15 rebounds – including a season-high of eight – during back-to-back wins for Fresno Pacific (2-2) over Dominican.

Hannah Dawson set her season’s best with nine points, all from downtown, for Texas A&M International (8-3) as their win streak came to an end. Meanwhile, Jade Mbam has been an immediate starter for Angelo State (1-6) and began her freshman season with a best of seven points along with six rebounds in a 10-point loss.

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