MISENHEIMER — As a freshman guard on the Pfeiffer Falcons women’s basketball team wraps up her first month of collegiate play, the USA South Athletic Conference has taken notice.
On Monday, it was announced that Pfeiffer’s Ava Hairston was once again the winner of the USA South Rookie of the week honors — an award that she also took home for the previous week.
The rookie from Winston-Salem is currently averaging a team-high 14.3 points for the Falcons (3-3, 2-0 USA South) despite only starting in two of Pfeiffer’s six games so far this season.
Aside from her scoring ability, which has allowed her to generate a 40% shooting rate from behind the arc, Hairston has displayed a well-rounded performance output as her team bounces back from a 1-3 start to the 2024-25 campaign.
She totaled eight points, six rebounds, five steals, two assists, and one block with zero turnovers in the Falcons’ 66-41 win at Salem (05, 0-1 USA South) on Nov. 26. In a 72-46 conference-opening win over rival Greensboro (2-5, 0-1 USA South), Hairston recorded 10 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals.
Even in Pfeiffer’s losses to Johnson & Wales (5-3) and Carolina U (6-3), she provided her team a persistent offensive threat, combining for nearly 40 points in the two matchups.
Second-year Pfeiffer coach Vontreece Hayes is hoping to turn the Falcons women’s hoops program around, aiming for the team’s first winning season since the 2017-18 campaign.
In Hayes’ first season in Misenheimer, her team turned in a 8-16 final record after Pfeiffer was saddled with 6-17 and 11-14 seasons in the two years leading up it. She was previously an assistant at Millersville University (Division II), where her team improved from a 7-20 record to an 18-12 record and generated a strong postseason run in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament.
Pfeiffer’s 2-0 record in the first lap of USA South play marks the first time in four years since the team opened its conference stretch with a pair of victories.
The Falcons traveled to Meredith (2-4, 0-1 USA South) on Tuesday night and are scheduled to return home to Misenheimer’s Merner Gym for a Saturday night matchup with NC Wesleyan (3-2).
Looking ahead, Pfeiffer will open up the new year with a road trip to Methodist (1-4, 0-1 USA South), followed by a trio of home games against Southern Virginia (5-2, 2-0 USA South), VU of Lynchburg (0-5), and Bob Jones (4-5, 1-0 NCCAA).