Lady Trojan Crawford gives future coach a preview

 





Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports


As if Dyersburg standout and future Division I player Joya Crawford needed any more motivation on Tuesday night when the Lady Trojans hosted Crockett County – the only team this season to defeat them in District 13-3A action, there was a set of eyes from her future watching her on the court as the black and gold defeated the Lady Cavaliers in the Terry Glover Gymnasium.



In the Glove getting a first-hand look at one of the players she recruited to come to Cincinnati next season was Bearcat Head Coach Katrina Merriweather. Though the team is in the middle of its season, Merriweather made the trip down to Dyersburg to see her recruit score 19 points in the district win on the night before playing Iowa State.

“When kids commit to play for you, you want to make sure you come out to support them,” Merriweather said. “We’re not evaluating them anymore – we know how good the people we sign like Joya is.”

Merriweather talked about the things which made Crawford a good signee for the Bearcats.

“Number one, we look for more than just good basketball players,” the Cincinnati coach explained. “We talk to all the people around them. Make sure that they’re good people and that their family is one that will always support them.

“Joya and her family check all those boxes.”

Merriweather added Crawford’s abilities on the court are obvious.

“It’s her being explosive, it’s her three-level scoring, it’s her defense,” Merriweather added. “There’s nothing to dislike about Joya’s basketball game.

“But she is bigger than that. We’re excited we got that caliber of a person – not just a basketball players.”

The Cincinnati head coach pointed out that, when you get to know her, Crawford is really funny.

“You have to get to know her a little bit and she has to get comfortable around you,” Merriweather added. “And you start to see it.

“She likes to dance and she loves her family. And that entire family is hilarious. I think that was my favorite part of getting to know her.”

Looking to the future when Crawford sheds the black and gold for the colors of the Bearcats, Merriweather talked the expectations for the Lady Trojan standout in 2025-26.

“I think that she can impact our team offensively and defensively,” Merriweather explained. “I look forward to her energy, her motor and her athleticism.”

Merriweather added she looks for Crawford to help the team out in multiple ways as her game transitions to the college level.

“Slowly but surely as her game transitions to our non-conference and into the Big 12, I think we’re going to continue to see growth in Joya from the time she steps on campus until the end of her first year,” Merriweather pointed out. “There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s going to make a difference.”


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