Despite being voted to finish first in the Patriot League for the first time in women’s basketball history, Loyola Maryland has adopted “Prove It” as its team motto.
Koi Sims is taking the same approach.
Sims, a 6-foot power forward, sat out last season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the previous campaign. When she steps on the court on Nov. 7 at James Madison, it will mark her first appearance in a game in 652 days — and launch her objective of being a key cog in the team’s goals this winter.
“I’m excited to get back out on the court and be able to prove it myself and go hard and get everything back that I wasn’t able to do while I was out with my injury,” the Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate said. “I’m just feeling very hungry and very excited after being out so long.”
Sims’ fervor is shared by her teammates and coaches.
“It’s so nice to have her back,” senior guard Laura Salmerón said. “We really needed her. She does all of the little things like rebound and set good screens. She’s stronger than ever. She’s playing really well, and I’m so excited for her just to see her play this year and to play with her. I missed her so much.”
Coach Danielle O’Banion believes that if Sims had played last year, the Greyhounds (16-15, 10-8 Patriot League) would have captured the conference’s regular-season title and had a better-than-average chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994-95.
“She adds a degree of toughness that we were missing,” O’Banion said of Sims. “I think she is one of the most prolific rebounding players that has ever been at Loyola. She has taken great pride in winning extra possessions for our team on the offensive side of the ball. She’s a physical presence. She gives everyone else confidence because of her physicality.”
Aside from a couple of sprained ankles and the usual “bumps and bruises,” Sims had never suffered a serious injury — until she felt her right knee cave in while making a jump-stop in the second quarter of an eventual 39-35 loss to Lafayette on Jan. 25, 2023. She said she knew immediately that something was wrong.
“I knew when I went down and couldn’t stand up, it was a done deal,” she said.
After undergoing surgery on Feb. 14, 2023, Sims had to wait five months before she could begin jogging. She was cleared in February but agreed with O’Banion that returning at that point would have wasted a year of eligibility. (Sims has two years remaining.)
“That plan was OK with me because I wanted to feel 100% when I came back,” she said. “Sometimes when you get cleared, you don’t feel prepared to go. And with it being especially late in the season, I think sitting out was the best option.”
When Loyola traveled to Spain in late June for a series of exhibitions, Sims played without a brace on her knee for the first time. O’Banion said she was pleasantly surprised that Sims looked leaner and stronger than she did before the injury.
Salmerón said Sims is even better now than before.
“She’s playing with patience, she’s really strong, she’s playing really smart,” she said. “She’s been waiting a year. So she’s more than ready to play.”
While acknowledging that she is trying to be cautious with Sims, O’Banion said she has no plans to keep Sims on a “pitch count.”
“I think she’s physically capable of playing as much as we need her to,” she said. “The medical team is not advising us to keep an eye on her game minutes, and that’s a credit to Koi’s recovery and her commitment to her rehab. So at this point, she’s available, and she’ll be out there.”
Sims’ return is expected to strengthen a frontcourt anchored by 6-1 senior power forward Alexa Therien, the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 15.7 points on 55.4% shooting, 10.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals last winter.
With Sims and Therien — a duo that O’Banion called the team’s “jumbo package” — the Greyhounds ranked second in the conference in rebounding margin (plus-3.6) and offensive rebounds (11 per game) in 2022-23. Without Sims, the team slipped to fourth in rebounding margin (minus-0.1) and sixth in offensive rebounds (.87) last season.
The numbers don’t mean much to Sims because her greatest desire is playing again.
“I am so excited to be back on the court, especially to be back with this team,” she said. “It’s a great blessing and I’m thankful to God that I’m able to be strong and ready to go back out there again as I prepare for this next season.”
Here’s what else you need to know about the other Baltimore-area women’s college basketball teams:
Coppin State
Coach: Jermaine Woods, third season
Last season: 12-18, 8-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Postseason: MEAC Tournament semifinal, No. 4 seed
Preseason conference poll: Third of eight teams
Starters gone (2): SF Faith Blackstone (11.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg), PG Mossi Staples (6.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Starters back (3): PF Laila Lawrence (14.1 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.7 spg), SG Angel Jones (10.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), SG Tiffany Hammond (6.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
One-liner: The Eagles will lean on Lawrence, an All-MEAC preseason first-team selection, and Jones, a preseason second-team choice, to see if they can improve on last year’s run to the MEAC Tournament semifinal, which was their first appearance since 2016.
Loyola Maryland
Coach: Danielle O’Banion, fourth season
Last season: 16-15, 10-8 Patriot League
Postseason: Patriot League Tournament semifinal, No. 4 seed
Preseason conference poll: First of 10 teams
Starters gone (1): SF Ava Therien (7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Starters back (4): PF Alexa Therien (15.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 spg), PG Laura Salmerón (10.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg), SG Kelly Ratigan (8.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 apg), SG Meliah Van-Otoo (4.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg)
One-liner: With Ava Therien as the only loss from last year’s roster, the Greyhounds return 88.5% of their scoring, 87.1% of their rebounding, 86.8% of their assists and 92.6% of their steals.
Maryland
Coach: Brenda Frese, 23rd season
Last season: 19-14, 9-9 Big Ten
Postseason: Big Ten Tournament semifinal, No. 8 seed; NCAA Tournament first round, No. 10 seed
Preseason conference poll: Fourth of 18 teams
Starters gone (2): PF Jakia Brown-Turner (13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg), SG Brinae Alexander (9.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
Starters back (3): PG Shyanne Sellers (15.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.5 apg), SG Bri McDaniel (12.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.7 spg), PF Allie Kubek (9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
One-liner: The arrival of seven transfers — led by Arkansas shooting guard and Middletown native Saylor Poffenbarger (10.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg) and Virginia Commonwealth point guard Sarah Te-Biasu (16.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 spg) — will be crucial in determining whether the Terps can contend with USC, UCLA, Ohio State and Indiana in a deep Big Ten.
Morgan State
Coach: Edward Davis Jr., ninth season
Last season: 8-22, 3-11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Postseason: MEAC Tournament quarterfinal, No. 7 seed
Preseason conference poll: Fifth of eight teams
Starters gone (3): SF Joelle Johnson (8.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 apg), SG Sedayjha Payne (6.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 spg), SG Amari Smith (5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Starters back (2): PG Gabrielle Johnson (6.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.7 apg), SG Emily Jones (2.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 spg)
One-liner: Power forward Laila Fair, who was named to the All-MEAC preseason third team, averaged 8.5 points and 7.1 rebounds despite playing in just 15 games, including 12 starts.
Mount St. Mary’s
Coach: Antoine White, fourth season
Last season: 14-17, 10-10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Postseason: MAAC Tournament quarterfinal, No. 6 seed
Preseason conference poll: Seventh of 13 teams
Starters gone (3): PG Jessica Tomasetti (13.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg), PG Jada Lee (9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 spg), PF Isabella Hunt (8.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.6 spg)
Starters back (2): SG Jo Raflo (12.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg), SF Jaedyn Jamison (2.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
One-liner: Finding consistent 3-point shooting will be a premium for the Mountaineers, who return without two of their top three snipers in Tomasetti (41 3-point baskets) and Lee (18) from a year ago.
Navy
Coach: Tim Taylor, fifth season
Last season: 14-17, 9-9 Patriot League
Postseason: Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal, No. 7 seed
Preseason conference poll: Seventh of 10 teams
Starters gone (1): SF Sydne Watts (8.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Starters back (4): SG Zanai Barnett-Gay (18.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 spg), PG Kyah Smith (12.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.5 apg), SG Maren Louridas (5.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.7 apg), C Kate Samson (5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
One-liner: After fueling the Midshipmen’s 13-win improvement from 2022-23, Barnett-Gay and Smith seek to build on explosive debuts as freshmen.
Towson
Coach: Laura Harper, third season
Last season: 20-11, 11-7 Coastal Athletic Association
Postseason: CAA Tournament semifinal, No. 6 seed
Preseason conference poll: Third of 14 teams
Starters gone (2): SG Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (12.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.3 spg, 1.2 bpg), PF Quinzia Fulmore (7.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
Starters back (3): SG Patricia Anumgba (14.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.4 spg), PG Alexia Nelson (9.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 apg), SF Anaiah Jenkins (2.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
One-liner: The Tigers must turn to other sources to replace 36.8% of their scoring, 43.6% of their rebounding, 36.5% of their assists and 46.7% of their steals from last year’s team.
UMBC
Coach: Candice Hill, first season
Last season: 10-19, 6-10 America East
Postseason: America East Tournament quarterfinal, No. 6 seed
Preseason conference poll: Sixth of nine teams
Starters gone (2): C Anna Blount (13.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg), PG Trinity Palacio (6.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg)
Starters back (3): SG Jaliena Sanchez (8.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg), SF Jaden Walker (7.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg), SF Jordon Lewis (7.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
One-liner: One of Hill’s top priorities in her debut at the helm should be fixing a defense that ranked second-to-last in the America East in points allowed (63 per game) and opponents’ field-goal percentage (.422).
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