ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University women’s basketball program will look to become the first SWAC opponent to knock off the Lady Tigers this season as Jackson State enters the weekend on a nine-game winning streak that spans all of 2022.
Records: Mississippi Valley State (2-15, 1-8 SWAC) | Jackson State (11-6, 9-0 SWAC)
Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – R.W. Harrison HPER Complex
Series History: Jackson State Leads 55-33
Last Meeting: March 10, 2021 | Jackson State 70, Mississippi Valley State 47 | Birmingham, Alabama (Bartow Arena)
Winning Streak: Jackson State (W8) | Mississippi Valley State’s Last Win: January 27, 2018 (72-61)
Mississippi Valley State Overview
Whether the shots are falling or not, one thing that this team can be counted on is to try a bunch of triples. Valley tops the conference in threes attempted (422), threes made (121), and threes per game (7.1) while posting top-20 and top-30 marks nationally regarding turnovers forced (21.41) and offensive boards per game (14.8), respectively.
Despite being snubbed from being named the SWAC’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, Ronni Williams had the most impressive performance by a Devilette on years, notching the school’s first triple-double in three years with 17 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Memphis product currently fronts the SWAC with 88 dimes, is averaging the second-most dishes a night (5.2, top-35 in NCAA) and is runner-up league-wide for steals a game as well at 2.41).
Mikayla Etienne most embodies the philosophy Coach Walker-Johnson preaches, leading the league with 114 tries from distance while making the third-highest amount in average at 1.88.
Scouting The Opponent: Jackson State Lady Tigers
JSU has been borderline unstoppable since the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve, scorching every foe by at least 13 points except for its last time out when it defeated second-seeded Southern by eight, 66-58. The Lady Tigers currently have taken eight straight against MVSU in the series, one shy of tying its longest ever.
Jackson State tops the Southwestern Athletic Conference in most categories with specializations in field-goal percentage allowed (34.7%), blocks per game (5.1), three-point percentage allowed (25.8%), rebound margin (10.2), rebounds a night (44.76), and scoring margin (15.2). Each of the above stats rank top-20 in the entire country and first among conference peers.
Ameshya Williams was voted as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, but she is probably the outright favorite to be League MVP in 2021-22. The superstar leads the league in blocks (44), field-goal percentage (56.7%), rebounds per game (11.6), and points per game (18.4) while amassing an absurd 12 double-doubles.
The other phenom for the Blue and White is Dayzsha Rogan who was tabbed to the Preseason SWAC MVP before being surpassed by her teammate. Rogan slots among the conference’s top-five in terms of scoring (15.0), stealing (2.27), and field-goal percentage (47.1%).
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