Chasing a National Title: Fayetteville State enters the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament with the tools to seek its first national championship in program history. The Broncos are coming off their fifth CIAA championship in school history with previous titles coming in 2020, 2010, 2001, and 1979. FSU last earned a chance to play in the DII National Tournament in 2020, however the scheduled matchup with Indiana University of Pa. was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. By coincidence, the two schools will meet up in the first game of the 2023-24 tournament with FSU as the No. 3 seed and IUP the No. 6 seed. This is the first Atlantic Region Tournament game for the Broncos since March 12, 2010 when they lost to Seton Hill 73-64 in the first game.
Ms. 1000: Broncos shooting guard Aniylah Bryant will go down as one of the all-time great players in FSU program history and closed her senior regular season with a pair of career-defining achievements. She reached 1,000 career points in her Fayetteville State career with a 17-point performance on February 8th against Johnson C. Smith, and currently sits at 1,074 career points over three seasons entering the CIAA tournament. Bryant was also named CIAA conference player of the year, averaging 16.7 points per game while leading the conference with 113 steals on the defensive end. One of her best performances of the season came in the conference semi-final game against Virginia State, scoring 31 points on a perfect 11-for-11 shooting for the first time in her career.
All-CIAA: The Broncos had a pair of starters earn All-CIAA recognition and Player of the Year accolades at the end of the regular season. Conference Player of the Year Aniylah Bryant along with Broncos Forward/Center Morgan Graham, who earned the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year honor. Over the course of the regular season Bryant earned a pair of CIAA Player of the Week Awards and a Defensive Player of the Week honor. Graham also was named CIAA Player of the Week for week 8 and led the conference with 3.0 blocks per game.
A Historic Season: FSU set a program record for wins in a regular season, going 24-2 overall and 17-1 in conference play. It marked the most wins in a single year since 1976 when FSU went 25-2 and finished as a runner-up in the CIAA tournament. After sweeping through this year's conference tournament, the Broncos have set a new program record with 27 wins and enter the Atlantic Region Tournament on a 13-game winning streak.
Hey Coach!: Tyreece Brown was named CIAA Coach of the Year after leading the program to a regular-season record 24 wins in his first season as interim head coach. Under his leadership, FSU defended home court with a perfect 12-0 record inside of Capel Arena. Brown previously spent nine seasons as an assistant coach of the women's program and is a former player at Fayetteville State, captaining the 2005 Broncos squad to the CIAA Championship Game.
Clutch Keayna: Keayna McLaughlin put together a big game in the CIAA Championship Game, leading the Broncos with 17-points on 7-10 FG in their 64-59 victory over Elizabeth City State. She scored 6 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter of the game, including a jump shot with :08 seconds remaining in the game to take a three-point lead and seal the victory. Across the tournament, McLaughlin shot 13-for-23 from the floor (56.5%) with 34 total points, 15 rebounds and 5 steals over 3 games.
Post Presence: CIAA Defensive Player of the Year Morgan Graham had an all-conference season leading the Broncos front court in her junior season. The Raleigh, North Carolina native blocked 78 shots, the most in the conference and finished fifth in rebounding with 7.5 per game. Graham compiled five double-doubles during the season, the biggest being a 20-point, 14-rebound, 7-block night at Virginia State on 12/16/23.
Ball Don't Lie: It was a well-rounded season by the numbers for the Broncos on both the offensive and defensive ends. FSU finished the regular season with the third best scoring offense at 67.2 PPG and tied for the best scoring defense at 58.5 PPG allowed. The Broncos were also the top rebounding unit in the league with 41.5 rebound per game, 27.7 of which came on the defensive end. Elsewhere in league leaderboards, FSU finished first in blocked shots, second in turnover margin and steals, and fourth in total assists.
