WSSU women’s basketball made a resounding statement in its home opener under new head coach Tierra Terry, a proud alumna returning to lead her HBCU program. WSSU defeated Converse University 101-67 inside the C.E. Gaines Center on Wednesday night. The victory marked the first win of the 2025-26 season and the program’s first 100-point performance in nearly three years.
The win was a major milestone for Terry. She earned her first official victory at the helm of the Rams just over seven months after her introduction as head coach.
“It was surreal,” Terry said. “Just seeing the victory circle as a player and previous assistant, but seeing it as a head coach—it was a very cool moment to walk out and be like, wow, you’re really the head coach of your alma mater now. And to come out with that debut like that, I’m really excited.”
WSSU bounces back, learns from D1 losses
The Rams wasted no time asserting themselves. They jumped out to a 27-15 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. WSSU poured in 33 points during the fourth to cap the night and hit the century mark for the first time since scoring 103 against Allen University on December 3, 2022.
This win came on the heels of two early-season matchups against Division I opponents. WSSU dropped a 70-59 contest to Elon on Oct. 28, followed by a 74-43 loss to North Carolina A&T on Nov. 18.
“From the D1 games, our defense was excellent… but they’ve really taken the defensive spirit that we’re trying to get,” Terry said. “The toughest part was one thing we couldn’t control in the A&T game was size… it did alter our shots a little bit. So we just tried to give them confidence in practice to come out here and shoot the shots they’re comfortable with.”
Terry brought talent with her
Freshman Ah’Kiya Pye led the Rams with 22 points off the bench on 9-of-11 shooting. She redshirted at VUU and transferred along with Maia Charles, who added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Former Temple guard Makayla Waleed and Nevaeh Farmer also made their presence felt, contributing 11 and 9 points, respectively.
Terry had high praise for Pye’s performance.
“She made a huge impact coming off the bench, and I expect her to do that for the rest of the season,” she said.
WSSU has big goals
While the celebration was well-earned, Terry didn’t allow it to last long. “I’m not going to celebrate too long. I’m excited, but in about 30 minutes I’ll be focused on Aiken,” she said, referencing WSSU’s next opponent.
“It’s going to be a hard game for us,” she said. “But my goal is to play on Saturday in Baltimore, so every step we can get closer to that — I’m excited about it.”
The Rams matched their on-court dominance with strong energy inside the Gaines Center. “Just hearing that ‘Power’ come on and the victory circle… it really did give them a lot of fuel,” Terry said.
Clearly, Terry’s return to WSSU already feels like the beginning of something special. For an HBCU community defined by pride and tradition, it’s a powerful sign that the Rams are ready to rise once again.