Heading into the SWAC Tournament, Jackson State has supporters from Dawn Staley and the AP Poll

South Carolina outlasted Tennessee on Saturday and defeated LSU on Sunday to win the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament and remain undefeated this season. No other NCAA Division I team has an ideal record.

Only seven other teams remained unblemished conference minutesincluding Jackson State (23-6 overall, 18-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference).

The Tigers will begin play on Wednesday in the SWAC Tournament after winning their fifth straight regular season title under head coach Tomekia Reed. She’s attempting to make the NCAA Tournament for the third time in 4 years, but she’s already achieved an unprecedented feat. The show received its first-ever vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

“Right now our record is the best in school history and that’s our focus,” Reed said Thursday post-match remarks after Jackson State defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff. “But the AP poll – one vote – is enough. …I used to be very excited that our program was gaining respect across the country. Maybe only one person, but that one person matters.

Reed’s joy caught attention South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who’s attempting to win her third national title. “If I were a voter, you’d have another one!” Staley sent on X, formerly referred to as Twitter. “Keep doing CREDIBLE!”

SWAC coaches would really like to make Jackson State’s dominance less likely. As of the 2020–2021 season, the Tigers’ SWAC regular season record is 67–2, with them being undefeated twice and having one loss twice. That’s near the level of South Carolina’s dominance under Staley, a national title and three total losses in the last three seasons.

Reed is getting used to the thin air.

“When I took the job, I said that in our fourth year on the job, we wanted to get national attention,” Reed said. “We are now in our sixth year and it keeps getting better. I have been overwhelmed with blessings through this program. I’m just very grateful to the players and my staff. And our administrators who work closely with the program.”

The Tigers are favored to win the league tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. But the same thing happened last 12 months when Southern upset them in the SWAC semifinals. Jackson State is decided to avoid that fate this season and prove they’re amongst the best teams in the country.

AP voter Emily Adams of the Hartford (Conn.) Courant, who forged the lone vote for JSU last week, agrees with that assessment.

“I really liked Jackson State for a long time,” Adams he said The Book of Clarion. “They beat St. Johns (60-56) on November 6, 2023, who plays in the Big East with UConn. I used to be really high on Oregon State and Mississippi State, and they (Jackson State) hung in there with each of those teams and the University of Miami.

“The only real outbreaks (in Jackson State) were in the states of Texas and Kansas. Both of those teams are top-15 for my part and shall be the host teams (in the NCAA Tournament). I actually like that (the Tigers) are dominating the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

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They did so despite the lack of 6-foot-10 center Daphane White, who was named to the preseason All-SWAC team but has been sidelined since January with a knee injury. Angel Jackson, the other half of the Jackson State twin towers, is averaging 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Three other players are averaging double figures in scoring, including guard Andriana Avent, who scored a season-high 24 points in the final against Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.

Reed, a Jackson native and hometown hero, brought glory back to a program that hadn’t won a SWAC regular-season title since 2006-07. After the Tigers caused a first-round scare in LSU during the NCAA tournament two years ago, then-LSU coach Kim Mulkey revealed to her message after the match to Reed:

“I said, ‘You’re not going to be long at Jackson State if they don’t pay you,’” Mulkey said. – And I’m not her agent. I’m not her best friend. I just know the talent and respect people from afar for a job well done.

The time for decision is approaching; Reeds the contract expires March thirty first.