City of Basketball Love

By Jeff Griffith
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It hasn’t taken sophomore Cire Worley long to find her niche at Coppin State.

The 6-foot-tall guard from Abington wasn’t necessarily expecting to be a key rotation player when she transferred in prior to the 2024-25 season. She’d been productive in moderate minutes at UMass-Lowell, but entered an experienced Coppin State roster having not yet made a complete name for herself at the Division I level. 

Between injuries and her own consistent, quality performance, though, Worley’s made the most of her opportunity, finding a home in a newfound starting role and in an ideal campus fit.   

“I don't think it was too much of a hard process, fitting in,” she said. “As far as fitting in with the team is concerned, that happened right away.”

On the season as a whole, Worley’s numbers are a step up from her freshman season at UMass-Lowell. She logged 4.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 0.5 apg in 18.0 mpg with the River Hawks, and is up to 7.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg this season at Coppin State. 

But the most impressive aspect of Worley’s season hasn’t been the total package, but her steady incline from start to finish.

Coppin State redshirt senior guard Tyler Gray hasn’t been active for the Eagles since January 13; prior to the date, she’d served as the starting point guard, averaging 5.5 points, 3.8 boards, and a team-high 3.5 assists. In the time since, Worley has started five games in a row — five of the six total starts she’s logged this season.

While that stretch has been worth noting from a lineup perspective, Worley’s level of production has been consistent since early December, when she saw a noticeable uptick in minutes. 

Since December 19, Worley has averaged 11 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Since becoming a regular starter on January 25, she’s posted generally similar numbers — 8.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 2.2 apg. 

Now matter how you slice the stats, Worley has effectively augmented — and now, replaced — the Eagles’ lost backcourt production this season. 

“Our coach is going to play the best five, and he's not going to sub if that's what he thinks is working,” Worley said. “So I think that's what got me here, because our coach was like, ‘Alright, if you rock, you’re usually going to keep playing.’”

At UMass-Lowell, Worley had to play in more of an unfamiliar post role, and while it took some time to get her legs back as more of a wing player, it’s been good to get back to her bread and butter.

“On the court, I had to get my groove back, because I was playing a totally different position at UMass-Lowell than I was used to playing,” she said. “So, I had to get back to being myself. That took me a little bit of time.”

Worley, of course, has been appreciative of the starting opportunity, albeit coming from unfortunate circumstances. 

But having started the Eagles’ season opener to the tune of a forgettable 1-of-6 shooting performance, she also believes that serving in a bench role for most of the season was the perfect way to get her feet wet in a new program — and for that, she’s grateful, too.

“I started the first game, but it didn't really go well for me,” she said. “I went back to being the sixth or seventh man off the bench, and that was working for me in the beginning, but then I had to step into the starting rule. I’m good now, but I think in the beginning it was better for me to come off the bench.”

Off the floor, it’s been a similarly positive year for Worley.

For one, she’s settling in nicely to the new home she chose out of the transfer portal. Worley said her main reasons for selecting Coppin State was to get her “HBCU experience,” and also to be closer to home; Coppin State’s Baltimore campus is just a couple of hours from Philadelphia, as opposed to the five- or six-hour drive from Lowell.

As such, she’s also been able to continue her clothing business — an operation she started during the COVID-19 pandemic with her sister, Taylor Linton, who is a freshman at Germantown Friends. 

The clothing brand, referred to as “Bucket Get(Her),” aims to provide fashionable athletic wear to women’s basketball players. 

According to Worley, “business is business,” and there have been high points and low points in the process of developing her brand, but she’s enjoyed the opportunity to work independently in a creative medium. 

“We have been having more highs and lows recently,” she said. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurship spirit. I think just being my own boss and knowing how to run things, that’s something that interests me.”

As for basketball, the focus — like it is for any other team — is turning toward March.

While there are certainly other factors at play, since Worley’s recent starting stretch began, the Eagles are undefeated. In that time, they’ve gone from 11-9, 2-2 in conference and smack in the middle of the MEAC pack, to 16-9, 7-2 in MEAC play, third place in the conference standings, and two games out of first with five to go. 

And as such, thanks in large part to her contribution, Worley’s goals for this season — which may have seemed lofty a month or two ago — are beginning to look much more attainable. The MEAC women’s tournament will take place March 12-15 in Norfolk (Va.), Coppin State aiming for its first title since 2008.

“My goal for the rest of the season is just to continue to compete and continue to put my best foot forward each and every night out,” Worley said. “And hopefully to win a conference championship on March 15.”