By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. | For The Birmingham Times
For the third time in as many seasons, the Miles College women’s basketball team won its conference championship and a berth in the Division II NCAA Basketball Tournament.
And this time, coach Pete Asmond thinks his Golden Bears may stick around a while, especially as they begin the postseason just over an hour and a half up the road. No. 24 Miles will face No. 17 Nova Southeastern at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the South Region Tournament in Spragins Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Tickets are $15.
This Miles squad already has more wins than any other in the school’s history with a 25-5 record. That betters the 23-7 mark of the 2023-24 team and the 22-7 record of the 2024-25 squad.
And they’re eager to build on that string of success.
“We’re definitely not content,” said Asmond, whose team knocked off Lane College 59-52 Saturday for their third straight Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference crown. “I think this team is kind of ready now. The first year we got there, it was kind of like we were deer in headlights. They’d never really been on that stage before. Last year, having a veteran team, I think we just kind of ran into a team (then No. 1 Union of Tennessee) that was really hot and playing really good basketball. They actually got to the Final Four last year.
“This year, I think we have a really good chance with some veteran leadership that came back with some talent that we had,” the coach said. “I think we’ve really got a chance to go out and make some noise in this national tournament.”
Asmond’s team is a blend of senior leaders (five) and talented newcomers (four). Guard Samarian Franklin paces the squad with 12.2 points per game and 5.26 assists per contest.
“She’s our conductor,” the coach said of his floor general. “She makes everything go. She can make plays for herself. She’ll make the right plays for the team. And she’s never rattled. You’re never gonna see her get frustrated or rattled in each and every moment, and she’s up for every challenge.
“If you challenge her, that just makes her go harder,” Asmond continued. “Most teams, I would advise them not to challenge her as much because she lives for those types of moments.”
Miles President Bobbie Knight had praise for the women’s basketball team as well as the Miles cheer squad, which earned first place in the college Coed Gametime Division and captured the title of collegiate grand champion at the Christian Cheerleaders of America National Championship in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“What better way to begin Women’s History Month than when our women’s basketball team made history?” Knight began. “Today, we celebrate the accomplishments of two outstanding programs whose discipline, preparation and commitment have brought tremendous pride to Miles College.”
The president said Miles College is an institution of champions, a distinction she said she doesn’t say lightly.
“I have seven rings — soon to be 10 — championship rings since I’ve been at Miles College,” Knight said. “They told me at the beginning of the fall semester that they were going to win me a third ring so, hey, I got it.”
Cheer coach Le’Andrea Anderson-Tolbert could scarcely speak when she was invited to the podium for a press conference on Tuesday.
“I was yelling,” she said in a near whisper. “I was cheering right along with them. They need to get hyped so I’m gonna be there just to encourage them on the stage as much as possible, keep that energy going.”
Anderson-Tolbert and her team will continue cheering with the women’s hoops squad extending its season.
“As long as they’re going around, we’ll be traveling with them as much as we can,” she said. “We will be there on Friday and to support them in Huntsville. As long as they’re winning, we’re gonna try to make it as much as possible.”
While the Golden Bears will be away from the friendly confines of Fairfield, Asmond expects there will be plenty of purple and gold in the stands in the Rocket City.
“I feel like being in Huntsville, I think we are home,” said the coach. “I look at it as being a home game, not an away game, just to be that close. We have a really good support system here at Miles, the families of the players. I think everybody’s going to be ready to drive up and support this team.”
Learn more about the Miles College sports and athletic department at milesgoldenbears.com.
