HOUSTON — "March matters. Nothing else matters, but March," Jackson State head coach Tomekia Reed emphatically commented two weeks ago in Houston. She was correct. The Jackson State Lady Tigers are the 2024 SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament Champions after defeating Alcorn State 68-44.
"I'm extremely proud of my players," Coach Reed said about her team. I thought we got after it early. Our thing was not to get off the gas. We've seen teams in the tournament lose leads. We wanted to make sure that we stayed on top."
Her players listened by putting the pedal to the metal in the first period, leading 8-0. Alcorn finally made its first basket with 4:33 left in the first off a Destiny Brown three-pointer.
OVERCOMING LAST YEAR'S DISSAPPOINMENT, NEW PLAYERS ROLE IN THE VICTORY
One of the problems Reed and her staff addressed in the offseason was to recruit players who were focused on bringing the SWAC Championship Trophy back to Jackson, Mississippi.
"We didn't want to feel what we felt last year in the tournament. So they did a great job of going out and getting players on the team that fit our system, players who were tough, players who could help us bring this trophy back home," Reed told HBCU Legends. One of those players was sharpshooter Andriana Avent, who left Texas Southern to join the Lady Tigers and become the 2024 SWAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Avent scored 17 points, four rebounds, and a block, which drove her team's win. Ti'lan Boler scored 13 points and seven rebounds, while Haylei Breland hit three triples off the bench for 11 points in the victory.
Nakia Cheatham and Kiar Henderson each contributed 10 points as the Braves fell against the stifling Tigers' defense.
Jackson State's bench players scored 41 points, while Alcorn State's bench only managed 18 points. With 17 points off of turnovers and 13 second-chance points, the Lady Braves were outmatched on all levels.
Reed reflected on the emotional toll losing to Southern University in last year's semifinal had on the players, coach, and herself. "It was bad. You know? The way we were crying and players passing out and were hyperventilating. It was bad."
REED WINS THIRD SWAC TOURNAMENT
Reed won her third SWAC Tournament Championship title since 2018. She's also the four-time SWAC Coach of the Year (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024) and will lead her team into the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament with an automatic berth because of winning the SWAC.
Jackson State received one vote in the AP Poll for Top 25 placement for two weeks.
"I told them all the time, you know, you know, we supposed to bring the the champ the championship back home. Like, we we can't we can't do this anymore. We can't lose like that again," Reed noted. "We have brought this program to great heights. We have done some amazing things. This is not something we just started doing today."
REED HAS A 'SLIGHT CONCERN' ABOUT NCAA SELECTION
Reed confessed that she's "slightly concerned" about the NCAA Selection Committee's decision to seed the Lady Tigers. "I just really hope that we get a chance... I'm just hoping that they give us an opportunity to really be against the team so we can showcase our talent. And so, you know, we are ready to go dancing. We are ready. We've been waiting for this moment. That's all our players have been talking about."
Tonight is a time to celebrate. Tomorrow, the Jackson State Lady Tigers will know their opponent at the Big Dance. Are they ready to shock the world again?
We shall see.
More must-reads: