As the St. Joe’s women’s basketball season nears, the team welcomes three freshmen to the squad. Tough these three newcomers are part of the same class, they all took very different routes to Hawk Hill.
Freshman guard Devyne Newman has been playing basketball since first grade but never saw herself as a college–level player until she received her first recruitment letter.
Once recruitment began, Newman relied on her high school coaches for assistance because her mother didn’t have a background in basketball. Newman didn’t know a lot about St. Joe’s before they reached out to her.
“It was kind of out of the blue,” Newman said. “I knew they had done well in recent years. They won a championship in 2013 but besides that not much.”
However, once she stepped on campus and was around the program, her perception changed. “I just knew they were all about the team,” Newman said. “They focus on everyone. They are very loving people and they made me feel comfortable here. I felt like they really wanted me.”
Newman decided to come to St. Joe’s without any prior connections. Freshman forward Katie Mayock definitely had some ties to the school. Her mother, Alix Mayock, played four years of basketball at St. Joe’s. Despite her own bloodline, it took Mayock time to fall in love with both the school and the sport.
“The fact that my mom played here made me kind of not want to come to St. Joe’s at first,” Mayock said. “When I initially got my letter from St. Joe’s, I never really considered it. I kept them on my list because my mom wanted me to.”
When Mayock started high school, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue basketball in college.
“Before I started playing basketball, I played softball,” Mayock said. “I always kind of thought that would be what I ended up doing. During some point in my freshman year of high school, I started playing AAU and I realized I liked basketball better.”
After receiving her offer, Mayock’s view of St. Joe’s began to change. She warmed up to the idea of stepping onto the Hagan Arena court.
“I really enjoyed just coming here and watching the games knowing that I would be a part of it,” Mayock said. “I realized that it was going to be the perfect spot for me.”
The other member of this trio is freshman forward Elizabeth Marsicano. She goes by the name “Lovin,” Given to her after an emergency trip to the hospital due to a peanut allergy. Marsicano wants to bring positive energy and contribute to the team’s overall chemistry. This is most apparent in her career goal.
“I want to win it all,” Marsicano said.
