By STAN CALDWELL/Sports Writer

HATTIESBURG — The William Carey women are off the best start in school history, and former Biloxi High standout Shaneal Corpuz is right in the middle of it.

The Crusaders kept their record spotless, improving to 20-0 with a pair of Southern States Athletic Conference victories last week at Clinton Gymnasium, 68-51 against Life University on Thursday and 67-41 over Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College four days before that.

WCU returned home after nearly a month on the road and celebrated a return to the NAIA Top 25 at No. 21, and the Crusaders also remained well atop the SSAC standings at 13-0.

Corpuz, a sophomore, has emerged as a team leader, both on and off the court, after enjoying a solid freshman season in 2023-24. She started all 27 games for Carey last season, averaging 14.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

“She’s a player; she’s a team player,” said longtime Carey coach Tracy English said after the win over Life. “That’s what this whole group is about. They’re for each other, they compete against each other every day. Sometimes our practices are better than our games.

“I mean, that’s a good team we beat over there, so that should show you a little bit about what they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked. It’s just pure work, and the talent has come together.”

At 5-foot-10, Corpuz is listed as a guard, but she’s actually a hybrid, a post player on defense, but she’s been playing more on the perimeter this season. Through 20 games this season, Corpuz is averaging 14.7 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game.

“My teammates are really stepping up to the plate,” said Corpuz. “They’re doing their job, so I want to do what I can. Usually, for me it’s coming out and playing defense as hard as I can, and making sure they get a chance on offense.

“I’m a little more confident with my outside shooting this season, and I know my back-to-the-basket isn’t going to work forever. So getting out a little further from the paint has really helped my game. I’m more confident out there than I was last year.”

Corpuz has been able to play facing the basket more this season with the emergence as a second offensive weapon of 6-foot senior Kolton Blakeney, who leads the team with 15.0 points and is second in rebounding with 8.1 boards a game.

“Ultimately, that’s the advantage of having two post players,” said Blakeney. “We don’t usually see a match-up that can stop both of us. I’m playing a lot more confident this year, and I think everybody has done a good job of stepping up and paying well.”

English said his two big starters have a hard-to-stop scoring duo in the low blocks, and Blakeney, in particular, has blossom with another season playing alongside Corpuz.

“Kolton is a really good player, and she’s always been a good player for us,” English said. “I think a year of her and Shaneal playing together, they’ve learned to feel each other out, fill the holes for each other, and I’m confident they’re the top 1-2 punch in our league in the post.”

The Crusaders had a breakthrough season in every way last year, finishing 22-5 overall, tying for the SSAC regular-season championship and advancing to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament.

Although Carey’s season ended at that point with an 82-73 defeat at the hands of third-ranked Campbellsville, the Crusaders headed into the offseason with a ton of confidence that has carried over into this season.

On a hostile court, WCU climbed out of a 17-point second-half hole to tie the game in the fourth quarter, and it was still a two-point game with under a minute to play.

“I think the Campbellsville game, more than anything, showed us we could play at that level,” said English. “No. 3 team in the country, on their floor, and that particular day, I thought we were better than they were.

“So I think mentally that prepared us for what’s going on right now.”

Indeed, although the Crusaders lost senior leader Lauren Rowley to graduation, she was the only departure from last season’s roster, and with four of five starters returning, along with much of the bench depth, Corpuz knew this could be a season to remember.

“It’s really important for me to be a leader,” said Corpuz. “I want to cheer my teammates on, make sure we do the right things and just help lead on and off the court.”

Carey’s depth is such that the Crusaders don’t need their twin post players to have dominant scoring games to win.

Against Life on Thursday, Corpuz had 10 points and 6 rebounds, while Blakeney also had 10 points, along with 10 boards, senior guard Rose Warren had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and sophomore Madelyn Ladner scored 9 points off the bench.

It was the same in Saturday’s win over SSAC newcomer Abraham Baldwin. Corpuz had 9 points (with 12 rebounds), with Blakeney scoring just 8 points, but with 9 rebounds. Warren led Carey with 15 points and sophomore Jenna Garriga added 12 points.

Ladner and Garriga are two of four former Hancock High standouts on the Carey roster, and the Crusaders also feature 6-2 sophomore Daydria Cuevas from Pass Christian, giving WCU a strong Gulf Coast presence.

Much of that is due to Carey assistant coach Jessica (Pucheu) Garriga, who is in her ninth season coaching at William Carey. She was recently promoted to associate head women’s basketball coach. She is Jeana’s mother as well.

Blakeney, a product of Taylorsville who is in her third season at Carey after playing at Northwest Mississippi Community College as a freshman, has stepped up her game after averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds last year.

“I knew building the chemistry from last year has played a big part in our success this year,” said Blakeney. “That was a really good team we played that last game, and after that, I felt like we could just go up from there. There is no limit to what we can achieve.”

English said he had no issue with Corpuz’ play last season, but he has seen her develop the maturity to be a leader in practice and in games, and she is more confident in her game now that she has a season under her belt.

“Maturity,” said English. “She’s more mature – and that’s not saying she wasn’t mature last year – but she’s a year older, she’s had a whole year of experience, and she’s more comfortable, not only as a player, but as a team leader.

“I think last year, she wasn’t so sure about where she belonged in the pecking order, and I think she does know now. She just needs to continue to work like she does. She’s the most focused person we have and she brings it every day.”

Corpuz has shown the ability to dominate games when called upon. Her best game this season came on November 14 in Carey’s SSAC opener at Blue Mountain Christian, when she scored 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

And the Crusaders needed every bit of it to escape with an 86-80 triple-overtime victory.

“It was a really tough game,” said Corpuz. “Those three overtimes were a test for our team, and I think we handled it and passed the test with flying colors. So, yeah, it was a really good game.”

WCU will take a quick road trip to Jackson to face Tougaloo Monday in a non-conference game, then the Crusaders are back home for their next three games, beginning next Saturday against Tennessee Southern in an SSAC game.

Looming down the road is a February 20 showdown at home against second-place Mobile, then Carey completes the regular season February 22 at Loyola-New Orleans.

“Right now, we’re just worried about the next game,” said English. “We’re not looking beyond that.”