Many times the transition from being a high school star to the college court can be tough for a basketball player to navigate.
Middle Tennessee State women’s basketball guard Savannah Davis has battled those growing pains during her freshman season with the Blue Raiders (18-6, 10-1 CUSA). But the 5-foot-10 Davis is hoping to be a big contributor down the stretch.
“Coming in, I didn’t even know if I was going to play, but I’m playing and I am so blessed for that,” said Davis, who combined for four 3-pointers in MTSU’s home Conference USA wins last week (63-46 over Jacksonville State Thursday, 76-43 over Kennesaw State Saturday). “I’m grateful to be given the opportunity. Every single day is a challenge, which is what I love. I came here for the challenge.”
Davis signed with MTSU out of McKenzie, where she won two Class 1A Miss Basketball awards and broke the TSSAA record for 3-pointers in a game (17) during her senior year.
Coach Rick Insell knew Davis could help the Blue Raiders as a shooter. Other areas of her game are helping her get more playing time, including logging 25 minutes in the win over Jacksonville State and 15 against Kennesaw. She has earned double-digit minutes in seven of the team’s past eight games.
“Defense,” said Insell, when asked what Davis has improved on the most to increase her court time. “That’s all we work on every day. Davis can shoot … that’s why we recruited her. We gave her the green light to let it fly. She’s a pure shooter.”
Her defense is steadily improving, and that’s because of the time and effort she has put in daily. She combined for three steals in the past two league games. She’s also showing signs of becoming the shooter the team recruited, hitting four of her past eight attempts after starting the season just nine of 32.
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“I do wish I was a little further on defense,” Davis said. “They tell me to work on that every day, and I agree. I’m taking in what the coaches are saying every day and putting that on the court in games and practice and just knowing I can do it. That’s the biggest thing.
“I have to make shots that are wide open. I’m a shooter, and that’s what I have to do. I (hadn’t) been doing that.”
Having Savannah Davis on the court a plus for MTSU offense
Davis knew it would be tough to crack a lineup that included three returning starters and point guard Courtney Blakely, a former starter who spent a year at Arizona before transferring back.
Her shooting ability is what gets her on the court, but areas of her game she’s improved could keep her out there going forward. That would help open up a Raiders offense that likes to drive to the basket and also feed to 6-6 center Anastasiia Boldyreva.
“They don’t really help off (when Davis is out there),” said MTSU junior Ta’Mia Scott, who combined for 54 points and 22 rebounds in the past two games. “If I’m driving and she’s my ball-side corner, they can’t help off her. Instead of (being) doubled going to the rim, they have to guard our other shooters.”
Having an improved Davis contributing on the floor would certainly help MTSU’s depth − and offense.
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“She’s very valuable to our basketball team,” Insell said. “You’ve got to decide who you’re going to guard.”
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU basketball’s Savannah Davis is earning more minutes in big games
