Despite missing out on March Madness, here’s why Deja Evans still feels like she won with Drexel
A two-time state champion at Archbishop Wood, Evans transferred to Drexel and cemented her position as the backbone of a Dragons scoring defense that ranks among the top 50 in the nation
Deja Evans, Drexel’s 6-foot-2 center and arguably the women’s basketball program’s biggest offseason addition, made her presence felt.
A two-time state champion at Archbishop Wood, Evans transferred to Drexel and cemented her position as the backbone of a Dragons scoring defense that ranks among the top 50 in the nation — all while developing herself into a legitimate scoring threat.
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The Dragons added the sophomore center through the transfer portal in the offseason after Evans spent one season at the University of Albany, where she earned all-conference, all-defensive, and all-rookie honors in the America East.
Seeking a better off-the-court fit for herself, Evans returned to the Philadelphia area to join the Dragons, who were fresh off a Coastal Athletic Association championship. At Drexel, Evans says she has found the fit she was looking for, on and off the court.
“Coming here, the community, the coaches, and the players just really made [Drexel] feel like a second home to me,” said Evans, a Conshohocken native. “As a person, I feel like it was the easiest transition I have ever done, to be honest. I connected so well with the girls and the coaches. On the court, it was hard at first because I came from a different system, but it became easy for me to understand eventually just because everybody works so well together.”
Evans’ 2.2 blocks per game ranked in the CAA and she was named to the conference’s all-defensive team.
While Drexel’s Amaris Baker finished the season as the top scorer in the conference, the rest of the team lacked dynamic scoring options. Few players can routinely create easy baskets for themselves, but that is where Evans has grown to thrive. She’s a true post player, rarely flirting with outside or even mid-range shots, and developed into a reliable scorer in the paint.
Evans averaged 13.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks since Feb. 14, and shot 60% from the field. The sophomore capped the regular season with a season-high 22-point performance against Stony Brook on March 8. Evans credits the confidence that her coaches and teammates have instilled in her to trust her capabilities and be assertive on offense.
Many players on this Drexel team had CAA championship rings on their fingers from last season, which Evans noticed the value of leading up to the conference tournament before the defending champs fell to William & Mary in the semifinals. Evans says the key to the Dragons adding some new hardware in the future revolves around sticking to their identity as a gritty, defensive team that makes games difficult for their opponents.
“We have to come with that fire to play,” she said. “The only person that can take us out is ourselves. We just have to come with that energy to play and that starts on the defensive end. If we defend, everything else will come with it. ...
“Our strength is playing together and staying connected. When we play off each other, and we’re having fun, not stressing, not worrying about what happened the last play, moving on to the next play, just continuously encouraging each other and also holding each other accountable, that’s when we play our best basketball.”
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