Of all the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball players, nobody is more apt to fill up the stat sheet than Jenaya Wade-Fray.
Two-time Southern Conference player of the year Shanara Hollinquest has 15 double-doubles this season, but it’s the variety of contributions that Wade-Fray can make that sets the 5-foot-9 senior apart.
“I try to help out with the scoring, but I also try to get rebounds, steals, assists — whatever I can do to help,” Wade-Fray said.
The native of St. George’s, Bermuda, who moved to Alabama when she was in fifth grade, is second on the team behind Hollinquest in scoring (13.3 points per game) and rebounding (5.9). Wade-Fray leads the team in assists (2.7) and steals (1.3) per game and in 3-pointers made (52).
“Without her I don’t think we’d be in the position we’re in today,” Hollinquest said.
The Lady Mocs (21-8) face No. 9 UNC Greensboro (10-19) at about 11:30 this morning in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte. Wade-Fray will set a school record for career games played today; this will be No. 128, one more than Alex Anderson and Brooke Hand played during their great four-year run.
Wade-Fray is third all-time at UTC, and fourth in the SoCon, with 205 career 3-pointers. She needs 11 more this season to tie Katasha Brown for second in UTC and league history. UTC coach Wes Moore said the Lady Mocs need a good tournament from their most versatile player if they’re to win their third SoCon tournament in the last four seasons.
“This team definitely is influenced by what she does,” Moore said. “I hate to say it, but as she goes sometimes, we go. She still has her moments where she can hang her head … but at the same time she’s somebody we’ve got to have if we’re going to go where we want to go.”
Wade-Fray is a streaky shooter capable of going 9-for-18 from the field as she did against Clemson on Dec. 12 or going 2-for-12, as she did three times during the regular season.
For four years, Moore has stressed to the soft-spoken and laid back Wade-Fray that regardless of how she’s shooting she can still go for rebounds, get steals and play good defense.
The message has sunk in more this season than the past three, which is why Wade-Fray has 13 games with at least seven rebounds, nine with at least two steals and 14 with at least three assists, including a nine-assist performance last Saturday in the regular-season finale against Samford.
“I think Saturday night was a great example,” Moore said. “She didn’t hit very many shots, but she still made a big impact on the game with nine assists, and she knocked down some free throws. She can help us, and she needs to help us every night.”