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From left to right, Rio Grande's Kaylee Darnell, Jasmine Jordan, Azyiah Williams and Payton Johnson were named to the All-River States Conference Women's Basketball Team. Darnell and Jordan were first team picks, Williams was named to the second team and Johnson was a third team selection. Jordan was also named the RSC Newcomer of the Year.
From left to right, Rio Grande's Kaylee Darnell, Jasmine Jordan, Azyiah Williams and Payton Johnson were named to the All-River States Conference Women's Basketball Team. Darnell and Jordan were first team picks, Williams was named to the second team and Johnson was a third team selection. Jordan was also named the RSC Newcomer of the Year.
Posted: Mar 02, 2025

Quartet represent Rio on All-RSC team; Jordan named Newcomer of the Year

Rio Grande/RSC Sports Information
     MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande's lethal 1-2 punch of senior Kaylee Darnell and freshman Jasmine Jordan combined for 16 Player of the Week awards this season, yet neither was recognized as the River States Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year.
     Fortunately, both earned first team All-Conference honors and Jordan was named the RSC Newcomer of the Year.
     The all-conference teams and major award winners were selected through balloting of the league's head coaches and announced earlier in the week as conference tournament play got underway.
     Darnell, a native of Wheelersburg, Ohio, and Jordan - a freshman from Ashland, Ky. - were the top two scorers in the conference at 23.2 ppg and 18.7 ppg, respectively. Jordan also led the conference in rebounding at 14.1 per game.
     Darnell, who also ranks third nationally in scoring, was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week on six different occasions during the season by the RSC's corps of Sports Information Directors.
     She also became Rio Grande's all-time leading scorer during Saturday night's win over Oakland City University in the semifinal round of the RSC Women's Basketball Championship.
     Jordan, who ranks fifth nationally in rebounding, earned six RSC Defensive Player of the Week and four RSC Offensive Player of the Week award. She became the first player in the conference - male or female - to earn both awards in the same week - a feat she accomplished on three different occasions.
     Rio Grande, which ousted Indiana University Southeast in the quarterfinals before its win over Oakland City, will face rival and league regular season champion Shawnee State University in the tourney title game on Tuesday, at 6 p.m., at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
     Oakland City's Emilee Hope, a fifth-year guard from Henderson, Ky., was named the RSC Player of the Year. A three-time First Team All-Conference selection, Hope averaged 18 points and nearly five rebounds per contest for the Mighty Oaks, who claimed the RSC West Division title.
     Hope knocked down 83 three-pointers in the regular season, a total which ranked seventh in the nation. She became Oakland City's all-time leading scorer during the season, and eclipsed 2,000 total points for her career.
     Jordan immediately became a standout for Rio Grande, recording 23 double-doubles on the season.
     DeWayne Burroughs led Shawnee State to a standout season and was honored as River States Conference Coach of the Year for his efforts.
     The fourth-year head coach led the Bears to a 15-1 conference record - including a sweep of Rio Grande - in addition to an East Division title and a berth in the NAIA Tournament.
     Burroughs led SSU to its first regular season conference championship since the 2017-18 season and helped SSU clinch its first NAIA National Tournament berth since the 2020-21 season.
     Rio Grande had two other players who were recognized with All-Conference honors. Senior guard Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) was among those named to the second team, while freshman guard Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) earned third team honors.
     Williams averages 7.7 points and 6.6 assists per game, becoming the school's all-time assists leader and ranking fifth nationally.
     Johnson averages just under nine points and 3.5 rebounds per game for the RedStorm.
     Four teams - Oakland City, Rio Grande, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, and Shawnee State - led the way in All-Conference voting, with all earning two first team selections and four selections total. Midway, who also picked up a first team selection, was right behind that group with three selections.
     Alice Lloyd, Brescia, IU East, IU Kokomo, and IU Southeast all placed two players on the All-Conference teams, with IU East accounting for the final first team selection. WVU Tech rounded out the conference with one selection.
     Eleven of the 12 River States Conference schools placed at least one player on the All-Conference teams, with 10 of the 12 members earning multiple selections.
     Joining Darnell, Jordan and Hope on the 10-player first team were Marissa Austin of Oakland City; Miyoshi Ellis and Cianna Gloster from Shawnee State; IU East's Taylor Farris; Madison Fueger and Brooklynn Jones of St. Mary-of-the-Woods; and A'Lyrica Hughes of Midway.
     Twelve players made up the second team due to a tie in voting. Accordingly, eight players are honored on the third team.
     Joining Williams on the second team were Jermyra Christian of Midway; Jamie Cowan and Katie Jo Moore from Alice Lloyd; Oakland City's Gabrielle Joyner; Anna Kiser of IU Kokomo; Jenna Krampe and Caroline Lucas from Brescia; IU Southeast's Jesse Ledgerwood and Linzie Wernert; Sally Mortensen of IU East; and Cadence Stewart from WVU Tech.
     In addition to Johnson, the third team also included Emily Maynard and Jariah Steele from Shawnee State; IU Kokomo's Mia Catey; Irye Gomez and Destiny Thomas from St. Mary-of-the-Woods; Jacie Chesser of Midway; and Oakland City's Monesjia Harvey.