Championship Preview: Grambling State vs. Texas Southern
SWAC.org
HOUSTON – It will be an all-Tiger final as the top two seeds in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament will do battle for the title, as No. 1 Grambling State (18-13, 14-4 SWAC) will face No. 2 Texas Southern (22-9, 14-4 SWAC) tomorrow afternoon at the Toyota Center
The co-regular season champions advanced at the expense of the finalists from the last two seasons, when Grambling State defeated No. 4 seed Southern 65-56. Texas Southern bounced two-time defending champion and No. 3 seed Alabama State 68-54 to punch its ticket. TSU is looking for the first tournament championship in program history, while Grambling eyes its first tournament title since 1999.
The sides split their regular-season meetings this year, as Texas Southern downed Grambling 69-61 on Jan. 14. In that contest, TSU’s Joyce Kennerson put up what was at the time, a career-high in scoring with 29 points, as TSU overcame a 34-25 halftime deficit thanks to a blistering 67-percent shooting clip to win it. Meanwhile, Grambling’s Jazmin Boyd had a contest to forget, scoring eight points while shooting 1-of-13.
GSU gained a measure of revenge on Feb. 11, winning 62-54. Kennerson again broke the 20-point plateau, but Jazmine Torian’s 22 points along with a 19-point effort from Boyd helped pace Grambling in a double-digit win that ultimately determined the tournament seeding.
Kennerson has been on a tear, as the SWAC’s second-leading scorer has scored 20 or more points in 10 of Texas Southern’s last 14 contests, during which TSU has gone 11-3. Grambling State, however, has won 13 of its past 15 games (including tournament) since that loss, with six different players leading them in scoring during that time.
Grambling’s Shakyla Hill is the only player that ranks in the top-5 in the SWAC in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and shooting percentage as she teams with Boyd and swingman Monisha Neal to form one of the best and most versatile backcourts in the league. That will be put to the test by the TSU trio of Kennerson, Chynna Ewing and gunner Kaitlyn Palmer.
A player to watch for TSU is center Shamiya Brooks, who scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the win over Alabama State. GSU struggled against Southern center Miaya Crowder (23 pts, 14 reb) in the semifinals, so perhaps Brooks can exploit a mismatch in personnel to boost TSU’s championship intentions.
For Grambling, an x-factor to watch will be the turnover game, as TSU committed the third-most turnovers in the league. Grambling’s pressure defense has forced the most turnovers in the league, and if GSU is able to force Texas Southern into sloppy play, it may bode well for the top seed’s title aspirations.
Grambling State and Texas Southern tip off at 2 PM. The game can be seen live on ESPN3.