Today: Mar 28, 2024

Danielle Powell continues her final chapter

Phil Zoppi – Sports Writer

Southern’s women’s basketball team is off to a 14-8 start and a big reason why is due to the play of the leading scorer, Danielle Powell.

The senior forward is averaging 13 points per game which ranks thirteenth in the Northeast-10 Conference.

In Powell’s junior season she only averaged 7.9 points per game. Powell attributed her increased score to a variety of different reasons.

“During the offseason I definitely worked on my shot and getting stronger driving to the basket,” said Powell. “With the new head coach, Kate Lynch, she has talked to me about scoring more and looking to score and that’s what I’ve been doing this year.”

Lynch did not know of Powell before she came to Southern but was very pleased when she found out what kind of a leader she can be.

“I think she’s grown as a player and a person over the course of this season,” said Lynch. “She’s huge for us on and off the court. She’s just done a great job with the balance of helping out the younger players and helping the other seniors and leading them as well.”

Powell averages the most minutes per game with 31.7 minutes. That’s almost four minutes more than the player with the second most minutes per game on the team. Lynch has said that she wishes she could keep Powell out there the entire game but understands she needs a blow every now and then.

Powell’s scoring is not the only reason she is so essential to the team’s success. In Powell’s junior year she led the team in blocks with 57 and has already tallied up 21 this year.

Powell does not get her blocks from being taller than everyone else, standing at just at  5 feet 10 inches. Lynch has many different reasons as to why she thinks Powell is such a good defender.

“She has some of those intangibles. She’s always in the right place at the right time,” said Lynch. “She’s very good at reading the offensive player’s body movements. I think she just has a nose for the basketball.”

Powell is coming off of one of her best games of the season last week vs. Franklin Pierce. The Owls fell to Franklin Pierce by a score of 72-58 but Powell scored a career-high in points with 25. Even though it came in a losing effort, Powell reflected on why she was so successful that night.

“I was just looking to score and be more aggressive on the offensive end during that game,” said Powell. “I was reading the defensive well so when I saw that they were leaving me space, I took the opportunity to shoot and when they pushing up I took the opportunity to drive.”

It was an eventful week for Powell as she not only scored a career-high in points, but was also named to the Northeast-10 weekly honor roll. Powell credits her success in the classroom to managing her time well.

“During the day I feel like I’m a student and try to get my work done early. During the night I’m a basketball player and focus on my athletics. That’s how I try to manage the two,” said Powell.

With only six regular season games left in Powell’s Southern career, she will try and continue to lead the Owls as they head into the NE-10 playoffs.

Photo Credit: SCSU Athletic Communications

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