AU guard Howard continues improvement as Jaguar women climb the ladder in PBC

By Jack Johnson | Sports writer

Kiera Howard has been an integral part of Augusta University’s women’s basketball team’s back court since her arrival in 2018. She has been a big part of the program’s movement from the bottom of the Peach Belt Conference standings into the top half.

In three seasons, Howard has posted career averages of 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the free throw line.

Howard, a 5-foot-5 guard, was born on June 25, 2000, and recognized her passion for the game of basketball early as she started playing when she was just 5 years old. Being born and raised in McDonough, just southeast of Atlanta, Howard attended Eagles Landing High School where she was a standout athlete. During her tenure at Eagles Landing, Howard managed to become a 1,000-point scorer while leading her team to two consecutive regional championships before graduating in 2018. 

Despite her impressive high school career, Howard did not begin to get recruited until her senior season when she received several NCAA Division II offers.

“It really came down to Columbus State and Augusta for me,” Howard said. “I ended up choosing Augusta because Coach (Millette) Green had been in touch with me from the beginning.”

Upon her arrival in Augusta, Howard was very shy and unsure what to expect. Howard stated that she developed a “go-getter” mindset in which she decided to go out and work for better opportunities rather than be satisfied with the roles she already possessed. It was this mindset, coupled with what Green calls “a tenacious work ethic,” which allowed her to start in a total of seven games during her freshman year.

Howard now is in here third year of college in pursuit of a business administration degree and credits Green for her academic success.

“Coach Green has been a huge help to me throughout college,” Howard said. “She is very adamant about wanting all of her players to graduate with degrees and really pushes us academically.” 

According to Green, it is Howard’s natural leadership and energy on and off the court that made her stand out in the recruiting process.

“I actually went to recruit someone else, but Kiera stood out because she already had the qualities of a good team leader,” Green said. “You can’t teach that.”

Green also went on to describe Howard as “the heart and soul of the team.”

Howard said that her favorite moment at Augusta came in her sophomore season when the Jaguars defeated Clayton State University in a double-overtime thriller.

“I don’t remember much of the game, just how excited my team was in the locker room after the game,” she said. “We were all screaming and even our coaches were dancing around.”

Coincidentally, this game was also Green’s favorite moment with Howard as the coach admired the impressive 35-point outing for her point guard.

“I told Kiera to go back and watch the film of that game so she could see how she played with such aggression,” Green said. “It was a very impressive performance and exactly what we need moving forward.”

In the recently completed 2020-21 season, AU finished 5-5 in the Peach Belt Conference, good for fifth place. AU was 6-8 overall in a season that saw Augusta miss the entire month of January due to the pandemic.

The Jaguars continue to climb up the PBC standings in what was Green’s fourth year as AU coach. The fifth-place finish was two slots higher than 2019-2020, the AU women’s previous best finish under Green. Augusta was in first place for part of the 2020-21 season and just missed making the four-team conference tournament (abbreviated by the pandemic). It is a far cry from that first season in 2017-18 when Green inherited a program at rock bottom and the Jaguars went 4-23 and finished 12th in the league.

Howard looks forward to joining her teammates once again for her senior campaign. The Jaguar guard hopes to lead AU to a high finish in the PBC standings, as the Jaguars continue to show steady improvement under Green.

Contact Jack Johnson at jacjohnson@augusta.edu.

Kiera Howard (3) brings the ball into the front court for the Jaguars. At the top of the page, Howard drives to the basket. (staff photos)