Friends and family of TCU point guard Olivia Miles surged through the Prudential Center concourse and down the steps between sections 8 and 9 Monday ahead of the noon tipoff between No. 12 Ohio State and No. 9 TCU. Her father, Yakubu, received them all as if at a reunion for the opener of the Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark.
The faithful wore No. 5 TCU jerseys and carried signs with her name on them. It had been five years since the precocious Phillipsburg product departed Blair Academy to enroll early at Notre Dame. But she returned to New Jersey as an All-American who had transferred to TCU and was now leading the Horned Frogs into national championship contention as she also readies to hear her name called during April’s WNBA Draft.
On the court, Miles took a moment before the start of the game to blow kisses and wave to her huge contingent of supporters. The crowd returned the tributes. One boy held up a sign that read, “OLIVIA PLEASE BE MY BABYSITTER!”
“That was a really surreal feeling to know that I have a village behind me,” Miles said.
The day marked a homecoming for a pair of Jersey girls on the Newark stage. The second game of the double-header featured Mikayla Blakes, a sophomore guard for No. 5-ranked Vanderbilt and a former star from Rutgers Prep. Like Miles, Blakes is also pegged as a future top WNBA draft pick.
Together, Miles and Blakes are at the vanguard of the next wave of potential future stars for a sport soaring in popularity, driven in part by the impact of All Star Caitlin Clark. The 2025 women’s NCAA Championship game drew 8.6 million viewers — nearly double the numbers from 2022 — and the WNBA reported all-time highs in attendance, viewership and social media engagements in 2025.
Miles, 22, demonstrated Saturday why she is in such demand with a flossy yet selfless style. She started the game with a 3-pointer, added a pull-up jumper and twisted her way to the rim for lay-ins with her right and left hands. She absorbed a charge, blocked a shot and poached a pass. But her all-out effort — 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists — fell short against the Buckeyes, who outlasted TCU, 71-69, in front of a crowd of 6,742.
Blair Academy’s Olivia Miles (15) stands on the court during a game against Saddle River Day in the Life Center Warrior Winter Classic on Jan. 31, 2020, at Life Center Academy in Burlington, New Jersey.Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
After the game, Miles quickly pivoted to identifying a pathway forward.
“There’s a silver lining somewhere,” she said. “We’ll watch some film. I thought I played well, not well enough. I need to get my teammates more involved. I take full accountability.”
Next up was Blakes, a McDonald’s All-American at Rutgers Prep who led No. 5 Vanderbilt against No. 7 Michigan in the second half of the doubleheader.
She and Miles were not only linked Saturday; they also work out together when home in New Jersey with Grit Basketball trainer Kerry Foderingham. They also played together for Team USA at the AmeriCup in Chile last summer, where they claimed the gold medal.
Blakes, who scored 55 points in a game against Florida and 53 points against Auburn as a freshman last season, was named the Most Valuable Player of that tournament, and she continues to develop an all-around game expected to make her a top WNBA pick just like Miles.
“The thing that most impresses me is how they constantly raise the bar,” Foderingham said. “They constantly step up to the next challenge. Olivia has stepped right into being one of the top players in the world, and now Mikayla has. When Mikayla would score 19 points as a freshman, I would say, ‘Are you allergic to 20?’ She would say, ‘Next game,’ and she did. Then it was, ‘Are you allergic to 30?’ I had to retire that joke after she hit 55.”
Mikayla Blakes (1) of Rutgers Prep makes a pass during the girls basketball game between Rutgers Prep and Ridge at Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, NJ on Thursday, January 18, 2024.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media
Foderingham, whose training company is based in and around Central Jersey, sat in the stands for both games, watching Blakes pick up two early fouls as the Commodores built a 17-point lead in the first half. Blakes was limited by the foul trouble and frustrated by the Wolverines defense as she committed five turnovers against Michigan, which rallied in the second half to cut the deficit to three points before Vanderbilt survived to extend its unbeaten start to 19-0. Senior Justine Pissott, a Toms River native, contributed 14 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench. Blakes finished with 14 points and 4 assists.
“We want more for ourselves and we know that it feels like to get to the tournament, we just want to make it further,” Blakes said. “So these games are preparing us and like coach said, we’re figuring things out that are going to be needed when we get to March Madness and SEC tournament.”
Afterward, she made her way up to the concourse, where over 100 family and friends gathered. Among the crowd was WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who is from Collingwood. The two embraced, and one by one, Blakes hugged every person who came, from her second grade teacher to her father’s high school coach. Almost all wore personalized T-shirts featuring a photo of her with the tagline: “Making history. Building a Legacy.” Several supporters posed for a photo with her holding up a banner that read: “Chef Mikayla Cooking It Up.”
At 5:30 p.m., a Vanderbilt staffer led Blakes back through a black curtain and down to the locker room before boarding the team bus for the airport.
“They have a flight to catch!” Blakes’ mother, Nikki, said. “They have a flight to catch!”