City of Sisterly Love: Jill Jekot is the most recent in a line of Big 5 basketball sisters

The youngest of four girls, Jekot watched each of her three sisters play for a Big 5 team. The oldest, Kelly Jekot, had a stint playing for Villanova and then finished out her career at Penn State. Katie Jekot played five seasons for St. Joe’s, ranking eight in all-time assists for the Hawks. Julie Jekot spent her playing career and some time as a graduate assistant with La Salle. 

However, when it came to Jill, her path originally led her outside of the Big 5 to Penn State, like Kelly. But it didn’t take long for her to find her way back to the City of Brotherly (or in this case Sisterly) Love. 

Entering the transfer portal after her freshman season with the Nittany Lions, Jekot said she committed to St. Joe’s “fairly quickly,” and spent the summer making sure she would come into the season ready to do whatever was expected of her. 

“Mostly we just had goals that aligned. They wanted me to be a reliable player for them,” Jekot said. “That’s really what I’m looking to do.” 

At Penn State, Jekot played in 21 games, not starting any, and finished the season with 18 points. With St. Joe’s, Jekot has started in all eight of the team’s games so far, putting up 20 points in the season opener against West Chester, and averaging eight points per game for the Hawks. 

St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin, who also coached Katie Jekot, said Jill Jekot “bought into the culture” at St. Joe’s right away and has made it a point to understand how the program does things, as well as why they do things a certain way. 

Griffin said Jekot has also been a versatile player, buying into her role on the court as well. 

“She’s been able to play inside and outside for us, and her versatility has really shown,” Griffin said. “That’s what we need her to do. Some days we need her to be a scorer. Some days we need her to be more of a screener and facilitator, but definitely need her to defend and rebound, and she’s bought into that.”

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While playing bigger minutes and a bigger role is an adjustment compared to last year, Jekot said she was super excited to get to work this season, and her relationship with the coaches and players at St. Joe’s has made a world of difference. 

“Even though last year, I wasn’t playing these big minutes or impacting the team as much, that adjustment this year has been so much smoother because of the people I’m around,” Jekot said. “Every game, someone can go off, and that’s the fun part about it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we all play off of each other. It’s honestly really fun, and it makes my experience a lot more enjoyable.” 

While Griffin said Jekot’s familiarity with St. Joe’s and Big 5 basketball does help, there is still a learning curve because Jekot has only experienced it as a sibling. Now, she’s experiencing it for herself. For Jekot, this familiarity was comforting, but now, it’s the work she’s putting in to strengthen her relationships with her coaches and become her own player that is making a difference. 

“Our three captains on the team did a really good job of, you know, getting team chemistry going as soon as we got here in June,” Jekot said. “These girls are some of my closest friends now, so that definitely made this whole process a lot easier for me.” 

That doesn’t mean that the Jekot doesn’t still favor her sisters when playing. Griffin said there is a similarity in the intelligence all the Jekot girls play with. 

“They know the game, I think they see the game, and I think that’s been the consistent spread across the Jekot family,” Griffin said. “They understand motion. They understand going into, cutting into space, and they understand passing and maybe surrendering the good shot for the great shot, and that’s the part that I see that’s consistent with all of them.” 

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In just her fourth game at St. Joe’s, Jekot found herself facing off against her old teammates at Penn State again. While the Nittany Lions won, 89-77, giving the Hawks their first loss of the season, Jekot said it was still a cool experience to play against a team she still has “a lot of love for.” 

And Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger felt the same.

“The Jekot family is just a total class act, and one of my favorite families I’ve ever been a part of. So, I wish Jill all the success in the world.” Kieger said. “I think she’s going to be a perfect fit for St. Joe’s and [I’m] super proud of her and her growth. I think she’s going to do a lot of wonderful things, not only on the court, but in the locker room too.” 

Jekot believes the best is yet to come for her and the Hawks and said she’s excited to continue growing at St. Joe’s, just as Kieger said she expects her to. 

“Philly loves their women’s basketball, so I’m just super happy to be a part of it,” Jekot said. “There’s so much history and so much culture behind the Philly Big 5. It’s just something that’s super cool to be a part of.”