Women’s Basketball Back In Action Monday Night At UAPB

• Texas Southern concludes a two-game road trip against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Monday night at the H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff, Ark.

• 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 averaging 17.1 points, 6.5 assists and 3.74 steals. Nationally, she ranks fifth in assists and seventh in steals per game. 

• Head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is 60-38 all-time in the month of February and 11-3 at TSU. 

• Cooper-Dyke is 13-2 all-time against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. She last faced Pine Bluff in January when Texas Southern won 78-77 at TSU. 

• Arkansas-Pine Bluff was picked 10th in the SWAC Preseason poll and is eighth in the SWAC standings. They recently ended a five-game slide with a win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday. Keyonia Harris leads the team with 10.4 points per game while Nissa Sam-Grant and Jayla Atmore each average 4.7 rebounds per game to lead the team. UAPB is 4-10 in SWAC play.

• TSU 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 (15.8/11.5) and ranks eighth nationally in rebounding (7th in offensive rebounding). She has 12 double-doubles this season. Mitchell is tied for 20th nationally in steals. 

• 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 through games played Feb. 22 is a SWAC-leading 142.