JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson State Lady Tigers basketball program is set to take on No. 6 Mississippi State for the season opening tip-off tomorrow at 3 p.m.

The Lady Tigers are coming off of a historic season in which they finished 19-10 overall, 16-2 in SWAC play, while bringing home the 2019-20 SWAC Championship regular season trophy. JSU head coach Tomekia Reed enters her third season at the helm of the Lady Tigers basketball program after capturing the regular season SWAC championship in 2019-20.

In two seasons, Coach Reed has quickly elevated the Lady Tigers to a 28-8 SWAC record, 22-4 record at home, and a 37-24 overall record.  Mississippi State is coming off of a season in which they finished 27-6 and 13-3 in the Southeastern Conference. 

The two teams met last season on Nov. 21, 2019 on the campus of Jackson State in which the Lady Bulldogs defeated JSU by a final score of 92-53.

The Lady Tigers and Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to tip-off this Sunday at 3 p.m. C.T. at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss. The game will be broadcasted live on the radio on the MSU Radio Network. Fans will not be in attendance for the game.

SWAC Preseason Awards
The Lady Tigers continued to garner several Preseason SWAC awards as Ameshya Williams was named SWAC Preseason Player and Defensive Player of the Year along with senior Dayzsha Rogan being named to the 1st Team All-SWAC list.
 

"I'm extremely humbled and graciously thankful for the conference to vote for Ameysha Williams and Dayzsha Rogan on the Preseason All Conference Team. These young ladies certainly impacted our team and were paramount in our success" said Head Coach and SWAC Coach of the Year Tomekia Reed.

 
Williams was ninth in the conference in scoring with an average of 12.8 points per game, second in rebounds with 10.1 rebounds per game (116 offensive, 156 defensive), fourth in field goal percentage (.468), and twelfth in free throw percentage (.543). "It's an honor to be selected for this award and recognized by so many people for my hard work" said Williams in regard to earning both of the conferences highlight individual awards, "with a year like 2020, I'm grateful and thankful to be able to play another season." 

The junior was named to the Preseason All-SWAC 1st Team as well. "I'm also very excited for Ameysha receiving two outstanding preseason honors. I'm thankful for the conference's respect for her and what she's capable of doing. She's so deserving not only because of her abilities but because of her story. She has endured a lot and I'm proud that she has an opportunity to establish early confidence as we begin play" added Coach Reed.

Rogan joined Williams on the Preseason All-SWAC 1st team as a point guard after finishing the 2019-20 season tied for seventh in the SWAC in scoring (13.1 points per game) and third in the SWAC in steals (2.4 per game game).
 

"It's an honor to be named First-Team All-SWAC during my senior year. I am so excited for this season because of all the hard work we are putting in. I'm grateful that all of my hard work is paying off and I can't wait to see what's in store for us as we start the season" added Rogan on the All-SWAC 1st Team selection.

Newcomers
Jackson State women's basketball brought in a highly recruited class in 2020, signing six new Lady Tigers. That list also included four Dandy Dozens: La'Genesis Johnson, Ti'lan Boler, Che'Mya Carouthers, and Jariyah Covington. The Tigers now have a total of six Dandy Dozens on the squad to go along with Ameshya Williams and Keshuana Luckett. The Lady Tigers six Dandy Dozens are the most of any University inside the state of Mississippi. 

 
 La'Genesis Johnson 
 
Ht: 6-2
Position: Forward
Hometown: Weir, Miss.
High School: Choctaw County High School 

As a senior at Choctaw County HS, Johnson played in a total of 22 games with an average of 24.3 minutes played per game. Johnson also averaged a double-double with 16.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. 

Coach Reed: "She causes a lot of problems and a lot of mismatches for most post players. She can shoot the outside shot, she can shoot the three-point shot, but on the inside around the basket she can block shots and alter shots, so she just brings so much to the game and it just makes her a threat all the way around."

Ti'Ian Boler
 
Ht: 5-11
Position: Guard
Hometown: Meridian, Miss.
High School: Meridian
Club: MHSP Bobcats Wilson
 
Boler utilizes a combination of speed and length that makes her tough to defend. She's a tenacious rebounder that doesn't shy away from the paint and she is a pure shooter.
 
Last season she averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game.
 
Coach Reed: "Ti'Ian's length at guard will put her ahead of the game in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. She's long and athletic and can shoot the ball from the outside and is great off the stop and pop. She's a great rebounder and runs the floor well."
 
Che'Mya Carouthers
 
Ht: 5-8
Position: Guard
Hometown: Tupelo, Miss.
High School: Tupelo
Club: MHSP Bobcats Wilson
 
Carouthers was the leading scorer on a Tupelo team that went 22-9 last season and reached the second round of the 6A state playoffs. She's been starting on the varsity team since eighth grade.
 
She averaged 15 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season.
 
Coach Reed: "Che'mya is an extremely athletic and talented guard and can play 2 through 4 on the floor. Tremendous range from the 3-point line and will give us shots from the outside to breakup zones. She can attack the basket and finish around the rim. Great energy and very sound on defense."
 
Jasmine Edwards
 
Ht: 6-0
Position: Guard/Forward
Hometown: Haines City, Fla.
High School: Haines City
Club: Team Hype
 
Edwards joined Haines City after transferring from Westland John Glenn High School in Detroit, Michigan. She was named to the 2018-19 Detroit Free Press All-West Team. Edwards projects as a guard and can play 1 through 4 on the floor.
 
Coach Reed: "Jasmine is a crafty guard and provides instant depth because she can play the point. Shoots the ball exceptionally well from 3-point range and attacks the rim. She's from Detroit and plays with a different type of edge and I'm excited to have the positive energy that she'll bring to the program."

Jariyah Covington

Ht: 5-5
Position: Guard
Hometown: Starkville, Miss. 
High School: Starkville High School 
Previous School: East Central Community College

Jariyah Covington, a 5-foot-5 combo guard, signed her letter of intent with Jackson State and will join the program this summer.
 
"I'm very excited to welcome Jariyah to our program," said Tomekia Reed, the 2020 SWAC Coach of the Year. "Jariyah is savvy and plays hard on offense and defense. She's a pure shooter from deep and a midrange assassin and will surely be a weapon for us. She brings a ton of experience and leadership to the floor. Her energy will certainly rev the crowd and I can't wait to get her on campus."
 
Covington was a two-year starter at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi.
 
This past season, the Starkville, Mississippi native was named to the All-MACJC team.
 
Covington averaged a team-leading 15 points per game. She also had 52 assists and 36 steals in her 23 games played.

The Jackson State women's basketball program is pleased to announce the signing of Diamond Forrest, a 6-foot-5 transfer student from Smyrna, Tennessee.
 
"We are extremely excited to welcome Diamond Forrest to Jackson State University.  Her size and height will definitely bring a dominant presence to our inside game and rev excitement from our fans," said JSU head coach and 2019-20 SWAC Coach of the Year, Tomekia Reed. "She brings an outside game and inside game with experience to the court. Our fans are really going to enjoy watching her play."

Diamond Forrest 

Ht: 6-6
Position: Center
Hometown: Smyrna, Tenn. 
High School: Starkville High School 
Previous School: Wichita State University 
 
Forrest transferred from Wichita State and played a reserve role last season. She also spent two seasons at Walters State Junior College.
 
As a sophomore, she averaged 6.8 points and 3.0 rebounds, while shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor. Forrest helped Walters State clinch its eighth straight Region VII title in 2018 before ending the season in the second round of the NJCAA Division I Championship. In her final game at Walters State, Forrest scored a team-high 14 points.

Ameshya Williams 

On top of sweeping the individual SWAC awards, Jackson State's Ameshya Williams was also named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the top center of the year. Candidates for the national center-of-the-year honor were announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association on Friday, Nov. 13. Williams was the lone SWAC and HBCU student-athlete represented. Williams was ninth in the conference in scoring with an average of 12.8 points per game, second in rebounds with 10.1 rebounds per game (116 offensive, 156 defensive), fourth in field goal percentage (.468), and twelfth in free throw percentage (.543). She also ranked in the top five in the country in rebounds and top 15 in blocks and blocks per game.

New Look Lady Bulldogs
Courtesy of MSU Communications 

A new era in Starkville begins this season in Starkville, as new Lady Bulldog head coach, Nikki McCray-Penson, takes the helm of a program that returns three starters, including preseason All-Americans Jessika Carter and Rickea Jackson along with Nancy Lieberman Award nominee Myah Taylor.
 
The squad also brings back several key contributors in Aliyah Matharu, JaMya Mingo-Young, Yemiyah Morris and Xaria Wiggins. Former McDonald's All-American Sidney Cooks is eligible this season after sitting out last year. The Bulldogs also added a trio of newcomers in McDonald's All-American Madison Hayes, skilled post Charlotte Kohl and graduate transfer Caterrion Thompson.
 
A member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, McCray-Penson has won championships at all levels of her basketball career. As a coach, she has been a part of one national championship, four conference championships and four conference tournament championships. As a player, she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and 1998 World Cup gold medalist while competing for Team USA. She led her Columbus Quest team to the 1997 ABL Championship. During college, she helped Tennessee win three SEC regular-season championships and two SEC Tournament titles.

Mississippi State comes into the game ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press' Preseason Top 25 Poll.
 
Dating back to Nov. 24, 2014, the Bulldogs have now spent 115 consecutive weeks inside the AP Top 25, marking the longest streak in program history. That marks the fifth-longest active streak in Division I.
 
During the stretch, State has been ranked inside the top 10 for 73 weeks and spent 33 weeks ranked as a top-five squad. This is the sixth consecutive season that MSU has started the season ranked inside the top 25 and just the ninth time overall in program history.

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