Early SWAC Battle On Tap For Women’s Basketball At Jackson State
• Second-year head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke returns to the TSU sidelines for the first time since 2012-13. She spent the 2012-13 season at TSU and led them to the SWAC Regular Season Championship for the first time in school history.
• Guard Ciani Cryor is off to a sizzling start as she’s averaging 16.8 points, 7.5 assists and 3.86 steals. She ranks third nationally in assists per game and fifth in steals.
• Head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is 68-39 all-time in the month of January and 11-1 at TSU.
• Cooper-Dyke is 8-6 all-time against JSU and 2-0 as head coach at TSU.
• Jackson State was picked second in the SWAC Preseason poll. Marneisha Hamer leads the team with 14.1 points per game while Ameshya Williams leads with 8.4 rebounds per game. Jackson State is on a five-game win streak including a 4-0 start in SWAC play.
• Senior forward Niya Mitchell completed the trifecta as she was named the SWAC’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in addition to earning first team honors. A 5-10 graduate student from Bay City, Texas, Mitchell is averaging a double-double (15.4/11.9) and ranks 5th nationally in rebounding and 9th in steals. She has 7 double-doubles.
• TSU was picked fifth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason poll after finishing the 2018-19 season in fifth. TSU has a revamped roster with only five letterwiners retuning while they welcome nine newcomers and two redshirts.
• TSU’s RPI as of Jan. 14 is 97 and is 81 points higher than the next closest team (Jackson State) in the SWAC. TSU has the fifth-highest RPI in the state of Texas.
Courtesy: TSUSports.com
