Women’s Basketball To Face Gonzaga Saturday Afternoon

• Texas Southern hits the road again for a non-conference contest at Gonzaga Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash. This marks the first meeting against Gonzaga since 2000.

• Second-year head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke returns to the TSU sidelines for the first time since 2011-12. She spent the 2011-12 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 15.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 steals. She ranks 3rd nationally in assists per game and 4th in steals. 

• Head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is 34-37 all-time in the month of December and 3-4 at TSU. 

• Cooper-Dyke is 1-0 all-time against Gonzaga as she defeated them by a 60-56 margin on Nov. 24, 2015 while serving as USC’s head coach.

• TSU is the only team Gonzaga has ever faced from the SWAC as the Bulldogs lead the series 1-0. The teams last met on a neutral court in Albuquerque, NM in 2000.

• 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 senior from Bay City, Texas, Mitchell averaged a double-double last season, scoring 14.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest. She’s averaging 16 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.2 steals this season. She ranks 5th in steals per game nationally.

• 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.