NORFOLK — The new faces around Echols Hall aren’t hard to spot. They fill out shooting lines, push the pace in transition and crack jokes in huddles that sound more like family gatherings than basketball practice.
Norfolk State’s women’s basketball team looks different this year, but it still feels the same.
A year removed from a 30-5 season and a third straight MEAC championship, the Spartans enter a new era under first-year head coach Jermaine Woods, who inherits both the weight of a dynasty and a locker room determined to keep it going.
“It took a while,” Woods admitted of the early transition. “When you come into a championship team, every person that came back has never not won a championship. I wasn’t there when they did it, so I had to get them to believe in a new way. But now we have buy-in. Our motto is, either you’re all in or you’re in the way.”
Woods, a Granby High graduate and NSU alum who returns home after leading Coppin State, has quickly put his imprint on a roster that looks both deeper and more versatile than before. The Spartans lost two of the MEAC’s top scorers in Diamond Johnson and Kierra Wheeler, but they reloaded with transfers Jasha Clinton (Hampton), Jazmine Spencer (North Florida) and Carmen Kweti (Virginia State).
More than anything, though, Woods says his team’s greatest strength is its balance.
“We’re probably going to play 10 people,” he said. “That’s exciting. Everybody’s interchangeable. We can go four guards, we can go big, and nobody’s complaining about who starts. They come in, they give us a spark, and they just roll.”
The Spartans’ backcourt — led by senior tri-captain AJ Richardson and guard Da’Brya Clark — is once again the heartbeat. Woods calls them “combo guards,” capable of filling any role, and says any one of his four main guards “could be the best player on another team.”
But what might separate this year’s group isn’t just talent — it’s connection.
Woods and Richardson both described a summer where returning players and newcomers blended seamlessly, bonding through workouts and shared goals.
“When we first got there in the summer, I feel like we all clicked,” Richardson said. “There wasn’t any secret animosity or anything like that. We all just vibed with each other.”
That chemistry has even carried into practice — sometimes too much for the coach’s liking.
“I don’t like it,” Woods joked. “Sometimes when AJ knocks somebody down, she’ll stop to pick them up instead of running the break. But I can’t complain. I’ve got a group that gets along, stays out of trouble, and plays for each other.”
That collective buy-in didn’t come without some growing pains. Woods said he initially struggled to unite returners — who knew nothing but success under former coach Larry Vickers — with eight newcomers who were learning the Spartan way for the first time.
“I kind of almost blew that,” he admitted. “At first, it was like two separate groups — the ones who won and the ones trying to fit in. But AJ called me one day and said, ‘Coach, we all love each other.’ That changed everything. Now, they hang out, they talk, they take care of each other. That’s what a championship team does.”
The championship standard, Woods emphasizes, hasn’t changed. The team’s slogan — #Going4It — is a direct nod to its pursuit of a fourth straight MEAC title.
“We’re not running from it,” Woods said. “If we’re not cutting the nets down in March, we haven’t had a successful season. Norfolk State is the standard.”
Richardson, who’s been part of two of those titles, doesn’t flinch at that expectation. If anything, it fuels her.
“People might think because we’ve got a new coach, we can’t do it again,” she said. “But as long as we buy in and put in the work, we can get it done.”
That’s been the theme of Woods’ first preseason — belief, buy-in, and balance. Ten deep and tighter than ever, the Spartans are embracing change without losing what’s made them champions.
And as Woods put it, “We’ve got good people, good students, and now the basketball will take care of itself.”
Norfolk State women at a glance
Jermaine Woods speaks at a press conference officially introducing him as the new head women’s basketball coach at Norfolk State University on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)
Last year: 30-5, 14-0 MEAC
Coach: Jermaine Woods (first season)
Season opener: Monday at Ole Miss, noon
MEAC predicted order of finish, as selected by coaches: 1. Howard, 2. Norfolk State, 3. Maryland Eastern Shore, 4. North Carolina Central, 5. Morgan State, 6. Coppin State, 7. Delaware State, 8. South Carolina State.
Schedule
November: 3: at Ole Miss, noon; 6: vs. University of the District of Columbia; 9: vs. Virginia State, 4:30 p.m.; 12: at Duke, 7 p.m.; 16: at Iowa State; 18: at Penn, 6 p.m.; 21: vs. Hampton, 5:30 p.m.; 25: at Appalachian State, noon.
December: 1: vs. Shaw, 6 p.m.; 6: at N.C. A&T, noon; 8: at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m.; 11: vs. Dillard, 11 a.m.; 15: at Campbell, 7 p.m.; 18: at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.; 21: at Elon, 1 p.m.
January: 3: at N.C. Central, 2 p.m.; 8: vs. UMES, 6 p.m.; 10: at Delaware State, 2 p.m.; 17: at S.C. State, 2 p.m.; 22: vs. Morgan State, 6 p.m.; 24: vs. Coppin State, 2 p.m.; 31: at Howard, 2 p.m.
February: 7: vs. N.C. Central, 2 p.m.; 12: at UMES, 6 p.m.; 14: vs. Delaware State, 2 p.m.; 21: vs. S.C. State, 2 p.m.; 26: at Morgan State, 6 p.m.; 28: at Coppin State, 2 p.m.
March: 5: vs. Howard, 5 p.m.
