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• The Texas Southern women's basketball team is back in action on the road on Monday against Alabama State at 5:30 p.m.
• TSU is looking to stay undefeated this season after its first 6-0 SWAC start since 2017. A win on Saturday would move the team into uncharted territory with its best start since its AIAW days in the 70s.
• This season, the women's basketball schedule changes drastically as the women will play SWAC games on Thursday (single game) and Saturday (doubleheader). This marks the first time since 1995 that the SWAC has altered its league basketball schedule.
• This marks the third season for TSU head coach Vernette Skeete. This season also marks the first time the roster will be upperclassman heavy after fielding underclassmen-heavy rosters the past two years. Five newcomers were added via the transfer portal and two via the JUCO ranks. TSU returns three starters and six letterwinners as the Tigers also underwent a change in their coaching staff as they added a pair of assistant coaches and an operations director in the offseason.
•Since the 2011-12 season, TSU holds a 15-11 record against ASU. ASU won the last two meetings, but TSU secured a victory on Jan. 24, 2022. Before that win, ASU had a four-game winning streak. ASU has won five of the past six over TSU.
•Alabama State is currently 3-3 in conference play. Cordasia Harris is their leading scorer with 12.2 ppg. ASU is led by 26th year head coach Freda Freedman-Jackson. Jackson was a stellar forward for the Lady Hornets from 1982 to 1984. In her senior season, she earned First Team All-SWAC honors.
• Junior forward Jaida Belton was named to the 2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference Preseason All-SWAC Second Team. A native of Baltimore, Md., Belton also has four double-doubles this season and is eighth in the SWAC with 16 blocked shots while the league's seventh leading rebounder (7.1). Jaida secured her 500th rebound in the win over Alcorn State.
• TSU ranks fourth nationally in offensive rebounds (17.5) and 12th in rebounds (43.2). They rank 51st in steals per game (10.4). TSU also ranks 28th in blocks (4.6)
• TSU leads the SWAC in blocked shots (78) and defensive rebounds (25.8).
• TSU was picked to finish ninth in the SWAC's Preseason Poll.
• TSU has squared off against five NCAA D-1 conferences this year as they faced teams from the Big 12 (3), American (2), WAC (2), SEC (1), Southland (2).
• TSU head coach Vernette Skeete is 9-13 all-time in the month of January.
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• Texas Southern closes out its Alabama road swing at Alabama State Monday evening inside the ASU Acadome at 7:30 p.m.
• TSU enters the contest on a five-game winning streak as they're in a two-way tie for second entering Monday's game.
• Texas Southern fell in the finals of the 2024 SWAC Tournament last season and participated in the CIT as they fell to Tarleton State in the opening round.
• TSU returns two starters from last season and eight letterwinners as they lost seven lettermen. The Tigers added seven newcomers to its roster in the offseason as six were added via the transfer portal. The TSU men's basketball duo of Grayson Carter and Kenny Hunter were named to the 2024-25 Preseason All-SWAC Second Team. Hunter was also tabbed the league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
• TSU has dominated the series against Alabama State recently as the Tigers have won 24 of the past 26 match-ups. TSU's last loss to ASU was on Feb. 3, 2020 in Montgomery as prior to that TSU held a 15-game winning streak dating back to 2014. TSU head coach Johnny Jones is 9-1 lifetime against Alabama State.
• Picked sixth in the SWAC Preseason poll, ASU won its first two SWAC games but dropped a pair of close games at Jackson State and Alcorn State. They rebounded and defeated Alabama A&M and Prairie View A&M. Three of its wins have been by a combined seven points as they have two of the five scorers in the SWAC and three of the top of 14 in Amarr Knox (15.1 ppg), CJ Hines (14.6 ppg) and TJ Madlock (10.9 ppg). Madlock leads the team and ranks fifth in the SWAC with 6.1 rebounds per game.
• TSU, which is led by seventh-year head coach Johnny Jones, has won three-of-the-past four SWAC Tournament Championships and enters the 2024-25 season looking to earn its eighth NCAA Tournament bid over the past 12 years.
• TSU made its fourth consecutive postseason under Jones and third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23. Jones went 24-14 in his inaugural year as head coach with three Power 5 conference wins. TSU fell in the finals of the 2019 SWAC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals of the CIT in 2019. In 2019-20, the Tigers made it back to the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament after a third-place regular season finish but saw the season end abruptly due to COVID-19. TSU won the SWAC Tournament and First Four contest in 2021 and was the first SWAC team to beat a ranked opponent from the SEC in 2021 at Florida. TSU claimed another Power 5 non-conference win against Arizona State in 2022.• Jones is 99-86 all-time in the month of January and 30-18 at TSU.
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Source: https://tsusports.com/news/2025/1/2...teams-to-face-alabama-state-monday-night.aspx