Heading into the CAA tournament, Drexel is getting inspiration from a Dragons legend

Keishana Washington, considered one of the greatest Drexel players of all time is paying forward what was given to her in a 2021 Dragons run to the NCAA Tournament

Former Drexel guard Keishana Washington has joined the Dragons as motivation and inspiration as they tip off their CAA Tournament run this week.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

by Matt Ryan

Published Mar. 14, 2024, 12:00 p.m. ET

It’s March 13, 2021, and Keishana Washington just won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament MVP, leading Drexel women’s basketball to the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever.

As the team walked out of the Schar Center in Elon, N.C., they saw Bailey Greenberg crying after watching everything unfold. Greenberg, a 2020 Drexel alumna who didn’t get to play in the tournament her senior season because of the COVID pandemic, made the trip to support her former teammates.

Having Greenberg there meant a lot to Washington, and now, one year removed from setting records at Drexel, she’s returning the favor.

On Sunday, Washington flew in from Toronto and she surprised her old teammates at Drexel on Monday. When the seventh-seed Dragons face 10th-seeded Delaware on Thursday (5 p.m., FloHoops) in D.C. for the Coastal Athletic Association tournament, Washington will be there, much in part to Greenberg.

“The impact that it had on us and our success and just seeing an alum being there to support us, it meant a lot to our team,” Washington said over the phone. “Just trying to have that same impact for these guys I think is important.”

“She knows how much that meant to her, as a player,” head coach Amy Mallon said. “You finish something I started. … To have that, I think just kind of sums up our program.”

Washington is one of the greatest Drexel players of all time. Her jersey is already retired at the university, and after finishing third in the nation in scoring at 27.7 points per game last season. She’s the second-leading scorer in program history with 2,363 career points.

The 5-foot-7 guard just finished her first professional season, playing in Poland for Torun, where she averaged 16.7 ppg, according to EuroBasket. Now, she’s bringing what she learned back to practice at Drexel.

“It’s been a nightmare, actually,” senior forward Chloe Hodges said of Washington practicing with the team. “It’s great. I mean, if we can guard her, we can guard any kid in the league. I truly believe she’s one of the best kids the CAA has had in a while. She’s been great at just bringing her international experience, too. Just like the physicality and everything she just experienced over in Poland, and just bringing that back here to us and trying to push us, which has been great.”

With having Washington around, Hodges mentioned that everyone listens when she says something because “she’s someone with a lot of credibility.” Washington can also address things in real time, which Hodges appreciates.

Drexel enters the CAA tournament as a lower seed than in recent years, but the Dragons have won four of their last five games — including three in a row. The team is filled with veterans, and multiple players have won the conference tournament before, which Hodges thinks gives them more confidence heading in.

“When we did win that year, we were the three seed,” Hodges said. “So understanding that it really doesn’t matter now where you’re seeded, it’s really like a whole new ballgame. And I think coming in from the weekend we had last weekend, two really big road wins for us, and I think we are really looking the best that we have looked all year, and that’s giving everyone from one to 14 on our team a huge bucketload of confidence.”

Having a Drexel legend around doesn’t hurt either.