City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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PHILADELPHIA >> Tom Shirley wasn’t sure what he was going to do with Emma Kuczynski, but the Jefferson women’s basketball coach knew he needed the guard in his program.

Throughout his career in East Falls, Shirley’s had a knack for finding players he wasn’t even looking for that end up having a winning impact in their careers. Kuczynski’s a testament to that lineage, the senior from Tamaqua (Pa.) off to a stellar start for the unbeaten Rams.

Saturday, it was the guard’s lights-out shooting that helped Jefferson improve to 4-0 with an 82-68 win over visiting Kutztown.

“I credit it to the rest of the team,” Kuczynski said. “They’re all great basketball players, other teams have to guard them so when they give me the looks, if it’s off cuts or off screens, they get me open and it’s my responsibility to knock them down. Luckily enough so far this season, we’ve been able to accomplish that and I credit it to them.”

Kuzcynski scored 22 points in Saturday’s win, the senior connecting on 9-of-10 shots and 4-of-5 from three, following a 26-point effort in Wednesday’s win over Dominican where the 5-foot-7 guard connected on 11-of-14 overall and 4-of-6 from three. With reigning CACC Player of the Year Sam Yencha going down in the first half of Wednesday’s game and sitting out Saturday - Shirley expects the senior to be back by next weekend - the Rams needed to replicate the forward’s production.

Cassie Murphy wasn’t too bad either on Saturday, the senior forward posting a game-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting. That the two seniors were so vital in picking up a win over a Golden Bears team that is on the younger side but shoots the ball really well wasn’t a coincidence.

Murphy and Kuczynski were AAU teammates with Penn Fever and it was through Murphy that Shirley found Kuczynski, the guard having a terrific game during a tournament where he’d gone to check in on Murphy.

“Emma was the point guard on that team, you do a little research and find out her senior year, she’s got a chance of breaking 2,000 points and if you score 2,000 points in high school, there’s something there,” Shirley said. “We took her, not really knowing what we were going to do with her, and she’s just emerged.”

It’s not like Kuczynski came out of nowhere this season. She’s been a mainstay in the lineup the past two years, starting 33 games in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but not necessarily standing in the limelight and instead giving the Rams exactly what they need.

This year, on a team that works primarily inside the arc, what the Rams need Kuczynski to do is shoot. With Emily Keehfus graduating after leading the roster with 44 made threes on last season’s 32-2 CACC championship squad, the Rams needed someone able to knock down shots on the perimeter.

Last winter, Kuczynski made 19-of-59 looks behind the line. Counting Saturday’s efforts, the senior is 9-of-15 on threes this season (60 percent) and a blistering 28-of-44 overall (63.6 percent) shooting the ball through four games.

“Sam and Cass down low, we have JT (Jordyn Thomas), Carolyn (Sipprell) and Gabby (Recinto) coming off the bench, they’re all such great inside players and teams know that, it’s why we’ll see zone trying to shut that down,” Kuczynski said. “As a guard, it’s on me to extend their zone so it opens it up a little more down low for them. That’s how I see my role.”

Again, it’s not a surprise because Kuczynski could fill it up in high school. She graduated from Tamaqua Area High School with 2,010 career points, third on the school’s all-time scoring list and interestingly enough, was also the school’s third leading scorer all time in soccer. 

Kuczynski, an all-state pick in basketball and soccer as a high school senior, was close to coming to Jefferson as a dual-sport athlete but ultimately it all worked out that she could focus on basketball. Like every player that comes into Jefferson’s program, Kuczynski spent a year developing and honing the quick-release on her jump shot to be the zone-buster that she was Saturday.

“Her catch-and-shoot, there’s no wasted motion,” Shirley said. “She shot (Kutztown) out of that zone, which we don’t usually shoot people out of a zone. She’s really matured, she’s a graduate student so that coming in and redshirting really makes a difference for us.

“I think where she’s grown most is her ability to read, if the scripted part is not open or not working, she’ll find that crack and her ability to read and get open off her reads makes a difference.”

Kuczynski was particularly effective from the corners Saturday, hitting all three of her three-point attempts in the first quarter and had all her long-range shooting done by halftime. In the second half, the senior worked inside more, showing some good touch on a couple midrange looks, adding in a few assists and finding the space within the arc to keep her looks coming.

“I hate the corners sometimes, so it’s weird that’s the thing that’s been open for me recently but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and find comfort in it regardless if you want to or you’re used to it,” Kuczynski said. “It’s all about finding what you can and taking advantage.”

While Shirley admits he wasn’t quite sure what role Kuczynski was going to fill when he first saw her as a prospect, at this point, she could probably do anything the team needed. Kuczynski is essentially the team’s back-up point guard and runs the offense when Tori Nigro sits, she can shoot on the outside but also moves well off the ball and understands spacing and if for some reason every other big was unavailable, she’d probably do ok playing in the post.

“In high school, I was the tallest kid on my team at 5-7, so I learned that way,” Kuczynski said. “My best friends and I, we played scrappy basketball and learned to just get those grit wins, go all-out and that’s what I think has given me that mentality of ‘you do whatever you gotta do to win.’”

This is Kuczynski’s last year playing college basketball, same as it is for Yencha, Murphy and senior Kaya Burkhart, the seniors a core part of the Rams’ massive success the last couple of seasons. Even replacing a two-time CACC Defensive Player of the year in Haley Meinel and the program’s all-time assist leader in Morgan Robinson from last season, the Rams’ veterans aren’t lowering the bar this year.

Shirley trusts that group plenty, he mentioned that Murphy made a suggestion defensively preparing for Saturday’s game and it’s what the Rams went with through the game.

“I’m loving the confidence,” Kuczynski said. “We instilled in them in preseason and even the last year, we have full confidence in them to come off the bench or start, we believe in them and know what they’re capable of. I’m proud of them and how they’ve started the season.”

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Miller’s hot shooting helps Rams men stay unbeaten

It seemed like Ashton Miller simply couldn’t miss Saturday afternoon.

With the unbeaten Jefferson men’s basketball team finally getting to play in its home gym for the first time this season, the feeling was contagious. The Rams shot the ball at an incredible clip, including a 15-of-26 mark from behind the three-point line with Miller as the hottest of several warm hands.

The senior guard from Scotch Plains, NJ was on fire throughout, scoring 34 points as Jefferson handed Millersville its first loss of the season in a 102-98 barnburner.

“It was us moving the ball,” Miller said. “Coach (Jimmy Reilly) always preaches moving the ball side to side, so I think that’s what got us open looks along with being unselfish and making plays for others.”

As much as he was feeling it, Miller shot 12-of-18 overall and 5-of-9 on threes, he wasn’t just putting up shots at will. Jefferson moved the ball really well and got plenty of guys involved, with Justin Hawkins going to work inside for 24 points and Farouk Kaba adding 18 that included an emphatic dunk late to help seal up the win.

Sean Fullerton had a poster dunk in the early going for Jefferson, but it was Millersville that jumped out to an 11-point lead with 7:44 left in the first half. Jefferson came back, Miller hitting a three to tie it 44-44 before the Marauders rebuilt a five-point lead with two minutes left.

Hawkins, Kaba and Miller put together a 10-0 run, Miller getting the last hoop on a tough take just ahead of the buzzer, to give the hosts a 57-52 lead at the break.

“That was definitely really big, to get down early, we didn’t know what we were going to do or what way it was going to go, so we showed fight, played gritty and got it done,” Miller said.

Jefferson took its own double-digit lead in the second half, but it was Millersville that came back strong behind 30 points from Aiden Gair, 20 from senior Drew Stover - the Upper Dublin alum playing in front of a section of family and friends - and 19 from Montell Cooper.

The Marauders and Rams played yo-yo down the stretch, Millersville getting within a point at 91-90 with 3:15 to go before Miller came back with a lay-up and a three before a Kaba hoop in a 7-0 response run.

“We knew we were good, I don’t think we knew we were this good early on,” Miller said. “This was a good test for us, our first home game so we were all excited but there’s plenty more to come.”

That three, which came with 1:15 left, was Miller’s last score of the night but that didn’t bother the senior. He said a strength of this team is that it can be anybody’s night in a given day and they’re plenty confident in each other.

“All credit to my teammates, they look for me, but more importantly, they look for the right play and the open play,” Miller said. “Tonight was just my night.”