A whirlwind month might be an understatement for Tess Myers.
Myers, a North Catholic grad and four-year-player for the Duquesne women’s basketball team, will transfer and play for Wisconsin in the upcoming season.
Former North Catholic standout Tess Myers headed to Big 10 and Wisconsin.
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) April 27, 2024
Tess played 4 years at Duquesne and then went into transfer portal. https://t.co/gW2xdtNW3t
The guard who finished tied for first in career 3-pointers with the Dukes, announced her transfer portal decision late last month on social media, only a little more than two weeks after entering the portal.
“The past four years were amazing,” Myers told the Post-Gazette last month. “It was a very hard decision.”
Myers’ whole world has been pretty much Allegheny County outside traveling for Atlantic 10 games.
Myers appeared in 109 games during her four seasons with the Dukes, including 93 starts. Myers started all but two games the last three seasons combined, including 32 of 33 games this year while helping Duquesne finish 21-13 overall, including 13-5 in Atlantic 10 play, the program’s most wins since the 2019-20 season. Duquesne reached the Women’s National Invitational Tournament Super 16 round, falling to Purdue, 71-50.
But Myers decided to enter the transfer portal and take a leap of faith.
“My heart was telling me to go a little bit outside out of comfort zone,” she said in an interview with the Post-Gazette late last month. “It was honestly a hard decision. I’m very close with my family. I see them all the time. This is a year of growth for me.”
Myers’ new team also played in the WNIT, reaching the Elite Eight.
“I am thrilled to welcome Tess Myers to Madison and our Badger family,” Wisconsin head coach Marisa Moseley said in a press release. “Tess has a great personality and enjoys having fun while being a true competitor on the court. We cannot wait for Badger nation to be introduced to Tess and the entire Myers family.”
Moseley should be thrilled on what Myers brings to the table in terms of scoring.
Here’s an example: Myers was fourth on the Dukes in scoring this past season, averaging 7.9 points a game to go along with 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Myers ended her career at Duquesne with 1,089 points and had 14 games with at least three made 3-pointers. She also set a program record for most made 3-pointers in a single game (11). Myers scored a career-high 35 points in the win as one of 13 double-digit performances this season, and has a career .380 3-point % (279 of 735).
Myers also should give the Badgers some much-needed 3-point shooting. The Badgers ranked last in the Big Ten in that statistic this season (28.3%) and were the only team in the league to shoot less than 30%.
Myers said she wanted to grow, and although a major conference school wasn’t initially the goal, she’s ready to prove herself. That includes scoring in more ways, outside of the obvious 3-point shooting, and that involves driving more to the hoop, developing more range and putting the ball on the floor.
“I’m going to be challenged and taking it all in,” Myers said.
And although the Badgers haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2010, Myers aims to be a piece of that program to push toward that goal.
“I’m glad I did it, and I’m excited for the next year,” she said.
Do you know of a Pittsburgh-area Division I athlete who earned a weekly conference honor, won a conference championship or qualified for a national tournament? Also, any NCAA All-American news can be forwarded to kmurphy@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 7, 2024, 2:42 p.m.