Last Sunday Delaware beat Drexel 63-59 in the CAA women’s tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Dragons did not win a single game in December and lost their regular season finale at JMU but won 3 games in 3 days to make the NCAA tourney, where they will face #4 seed Maryland in College Park on Friday. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Delaware SR Jasmine Dickey about being a great scorer and winning the conference tourney.
You were born/raised in Baltimore: what made you choose Delaware? It is close to home and I got attached to the coaches and their family-oriented group.
You play for Coach Natasha Adair: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you ever learned from her? She is very loyal and works very hard. She taught me not to give up and keep working hard everyday because our time is coming.
You are majoring in sports health: why did you pick that subject, and what is the post-graduation plan? I got into it in high school and stuck with it in college. I have a minor in strength/conditioning and would like to get into personal training som.
Last year you were named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was pretty cool! I was working hard to get that.
You did not win a single game in December: how were you able to turn things around in January? Staying in the gym and fixing things that we had to work on (both offensively/defensively) to improve.
Last year you led the conference with 67 STL and were top-10 in the nation with 4.5 offensive RPG, and this year your 25.1 PPG is #2 in the nation: how do you balance all of the different aspects of your game? Just staying positive/humble and feeding off of the energy of my teammates. The biggest key is to put in the work because that is how I got to where I am at today.
Last month you scored a career-high 52 PTS/18-33 FG/13-14 FT in a win over Charleston: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yes: the basket seemed wide open and my teammates fed off of that.
Last Sunday in the CAA tourney title game you had 27 PTS/18 REB in a 4-PT win over Drexel: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what did it mean to you to win a title? I just had that winning mindset. Earlier this year we watched Kevin Garnett’s documentary “Anything Is Possible” and it taught me the mentality you need to be a champion.
Your men’s team won its own conference tourney last week: where does this rank among the greatest weeks in school history? It was a pretty cool week. The guys were having their watch party for the Selection Show: when we walked in with our own trophy they gave us a standing ovation!
How do you feel about being a #13 seed, and how many family/friends will you have cheering you on in person at Maryland on Friday? It feels good and is another opportunity for me and my teammates to keep playing. I am excited for everybody to be there and am ready to work hard: I hope we have a really good crowd.