UD’s Williams-Jeter enjoys memorable WNBA weekend, then gets back to offseason work

Williams-Jeter then traveled to Seattle, where she reunited with former Connecticut teammates Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Asjha Jones. They were all members of the 2000 and 2002 national championship teams. Bird’s number was retired by the Seattle Storm on Sunday.

Surrounded by greatness during her trip gave Williams-Jeter a chance to appreciate her playing career in a new way.

“We’re still moving,” Williams-Jeter said Tuesday. “Sometimes you don’t look back and say, ‘That was pretty impressive.’ I know it’s cliche, but being a kid from Dayton, I never saw myself in those moments, and I don’t think I appreciated them until that moment.”

Returning to Dayton, Williams-Jeter got back to work quickly with her staff. She took a red-eye flight from Seattle to Cincinnati on Sunday night.

Williams-Jeter will have her full 2023-24 roster, including a four-player freshman class, together for the first time starting this weekend. It will be a big difference from a year ago when Williams-Jeter was in the midst of her first offseason as coach. She said that time was about survival because of a small roster that got smaller because of injuries.

Dayton finished 7-21 after an 0-10 start. Toward the end of the season, it had six players available, one of whom was a walk-on, Eleanor Monyek. In a victory against La Salle in February, the five starters — Sydney Freeman, Mariah Perez, Anyssa Jones, Taisiya Kozlova and Arianna Smith — played all but four minutes.

“We’re starting with a full roster,” Williams-Jeter said. “With competitive practices, competitive workouts, now you have more people vying for playing time. How people respond to what we throw out there is going to be huge. That’s probably my biggest message. How are you gonna respond to some adversity right now? Because the numbers are going to create adversity. There’s no guarantee of playing time anymore.”

Despite the struggles last season, Dayton didn’t lose anyone to the transfer portal. It returns its top seven starters and everyone who started a game last season. Saija Cleveland, who missed her freshman season with a knee injury, also returns.

Williams-Jeter credits all the returners for staying the course in a tough season and staying committed to getting better. She thinks she grew as a coach, as well, during her lowest moments in the game.

“There can’t be many more things thrown at you than what we went through last year,” Williams-Jeter said.

Dayton added Miami transfer Ivy Wolf in April and now will work on getting the freshmen acclimated to the program. Williams-Jeter talked about each player in advance of their arrival.

• Denika Lightbourne: A 5-10 guard from Tallulah Falls High School in Georgia, Lightbourne is a native of Nassau, Bahamas.

“She’s a college body,” Williams-Jeter said. “Fast with the ball. Phenomenal defender. Her pull-up, finish game is really elite. The 3-ball is where we’re going to have to work. She’s going to be an engineer. Super smart kid. Another introvert but has a very high-energy game, very powerful game, very aggressive game. That’s why we like her.”

Lauren Pallotta: The 5-10 guard from Massillon Jackson High School committed to Dayton on Aug. 5, becoming the first member of the class.

“A multi-sport kid, she also had a scholarship offer to play lacrosse at Ohio State,” Williams-Jeter said. “She’s like a lacrosse/hockey player on the basketball court. She plays very fast and very aggressive. She can shoot the 3. She has a a three-level game and can score around the rim. Super high basketball IQ, which I love. She’s a lefty so she shoots left, but she does everything else with her right. She played on a lower circuit AAU program and emerged pretty late with a lot of offers. We came in and scooped her up. I think she’s going to be a great kid for us.”

• Riley Rismiller: A 6-4 forward, she scored 1,309 points in her career at Coldwater High School. She averaged 16.2 points per game as a senior.

“She was highly recruited,” Williams-Jeter said. “Virginia Tech, Indiana, Michigan, Marquette, and we came in and nobody saw us coming. Super skilled. Reminds me of Rik Smits. That’s the best way to explain her. She can score. She can finish at the rim. Super sweet. Glue kid. She’s the oldest of five. She wants everything to fit together. She’s always going to fight for that energy. Her and Ivy Wolf, who’s from Minster, they’ll bring about 500 fans to the game. You win, they’ll bring 1,000 a piece.”

Eve Fiala: The 6-6 Fiala topped the 1,000-point milestone in her senior season at Indiana High School in Indiana, Pa.

“She’s the most highly-recruited athlete we have coming in,” Williams-Jeter said. “She had every offer in the Big 10 and half the SEC and ACC and then fell on some hard times from a personal standpoint with her family. Essentially, the kid was homeless, and nobody could get in contact with her. We kept in contact with her. She had to work, and she’d be doing online school. That’s where she stayed the course. Then she played this past season and had a great season. She’s a shot blocker. (New assistant coach) Darryl (Hudson) calls her Rudy Gobert. She runs the floor well. She can finish around the rim. She’s a phenomenal passer with a very high basketball IQ. She measured 6-6 at her physical. She can almost dunk. She was one of those multi-sport athletes. She played softball, volleyball, basketball, did high jump. She just overall a very athletic and very gifted kid, a very bright kid. The sky’s the limit for that one.”