City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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Amya Scott could not figure out the math in her head. Back in April, nothing was adding up the way it should have for the Neumann-Goretti 5-foot-5, all-Catholic League senior guard.

She began questioning herself. Maybe she was not putting in enough work for any Division I college programs to be calling? Maybe they considered her too small for the D-I level, a stigma she has faced her entire basketball career?

The spring AAU season began and in May, Jazmone Turner, the head coach at Delaware State reached out to Scott, after she had strong AAU tournaments in Kentucky and Texas. Turner and the Hornets quickly gave her an offer, Norfolk State then came into the picture in July, and the interest began building.

In early July, Scott gave a verbal commitment to Turner and on October 19, Scott went public with her choice during her official visit to attend Delaware State on a basketball scholarship.

Scott, who averaged 11.7 ppg, 5 apg, and 2.8 steals per game her junior year, and is 225 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points, liked the home environment the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) based in Dover, Delaware, gave her. Scott made sure to give a note of thanks to Audenried coach Kevin Slaughter, who passed along Scott’s name to the Delaware State coaching staff. 

The Hornets play in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference, whose full members are HBCUs, though they will play locals like Temple and Drexel, and larger programs like West Virginia, Richmond and Baylor. Last season, in Turner’s second year as head coach, the Hornets went 8-20 overall and 4-10 in the MEAC, losing to North Carolina Central in the MEAC quarterfinal round, 66-56. Currently, freshman Brooke Barnes, of Paul VI High School in South Jersey, and freshman Ericka Huggins, of St. Elizabeth’s in Delaware, are the only two locals on the team.

“I know Brooke and Ericka and they were helpful in selling me on Delaware State,” said Scott, who carries a 3.0 GPA. “I felt welcomed every time I went there. One of their coaches (assistant Cherelle Dennis, a Lincoln University graduate) told me she had been watching me since the third grade. I was surprised. They were watching me my whole life growing up. They liked what they saw. It made me feel good. It made me know all that hard work I put in was worth it.”

Neumann-Goretti’s backcourt is now set, with Scott’s buddy and teammate, Carryn Easley, committing to Fordham in September. Norfolk State wanted them together but came into the picture too late.

Scott and Easley, both four-year starters, are looking to bookend their high school careers with another PIAA state championship. As freshmen, they won the 2022 Class 3A state championship, behind star guard Mihjae Hayes, now a redshirt junior at Virginia State. The last two years the Saints were knocked out in the second round of the PIAA Class 4A state playoffs by Wyomissing and Albany-bound center Amaya Stewart, Easley’s K-Low Elite 17U AAU teammate.

Last season, the Saints finished 19-7 overall and 8-3 in the Catholic League.

For Scott personally, there were times when the recruiting process was stressful.

“It’s a big relief knowing I have a college,” she said. “At first, to be honest, I was stressing a lot. I would see these girls committing here and there, and no one was knocking on my door. During AAU season, I was hoping to get an offer before September. I just have to worry about grinding and enjoying my senior year. I won a state championship my freshman year. Carryn and I want another one before we leave. We have a lot of help this year, we’re going to be good. I feel we can go three-for-three, winning the Catholic League, the (District 12) and (PIAA Class 5A) state championship. With (Saints’ sophomore guard) Reginna (Baker), Carryn and myself, we have the talent to do it.”

The Hornets’ running style of play fits well with how Scott plays. Her only drawback is her size. She’s heard it all her life.

“You can’t measure heart, and Amya has that, plus great speed and vision,” Saints' coach Andrea Peterson said. “The kid has been questioned her whole life and she has done nothing but prove people wrong. I watched her grow up. I’m really proud of Amya. She has come a long way. She stepped right in as a freshman and matured over the years.”

There were days when Peterson walked into the gym, it was Scott who started practice. Peterson has been cultivating her backcourt “twinkies,” as she likes to call Easley and Scott, for some time. Her emotional investment in her two guards has now seen them both land D-I scholarships.

Even with three years as a starter, Scott still prefers to lead with her play than with her voice, though her work ethic and leadership makes life easier for Peterson and her coaching staff. Scott, known as “Mousey” to her family and friends because of her quiet demeanor, has gradually stepped out of her comfort zone under Peterson, who has no filter and pulls no punches with her players. She is demanding and it is something that through time Scott has embraced.

“Amya knows I love her and would do anything for her, but it bothers me how sometimes she does not see just how great she is, and how much greater she can be, so we bump heads a lot of times,” Peterson said, laughing. “I want my kids to be successful women in life beyond basketball. I want my girls to be strong women. I want them to have a plan beyond basketball and answer the people that doubt them to one day be their CEO. The best of Amya Scott is still ahead of her. She has not even performed at her best yet—and the scary part about the next level, when Amya turns it on and it clicks, that kid will be unstoppable in life. She’s getting there.”

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here [mobile.twitter.com].