Leaving a Legacy on the Court
As with Minnesota, Grambling State made a coaching change last April. At Grambling, Freddy Murray finished 9-9 in the SWAC and was replaced after seven seasons by
Courtney Simmons. Simmons took over the Lady Tigers after ten years as an assistant at Troy. Fun Fact: Wednesday will not be her first appearance at Williams Arena. Simmons played for Louisville when the Cardinals visited the Gophers in November of 2007. Minnesota won 74-69. Simmon’s 4 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists in 22 minutes were somehow overshadowed by
Angel McCoughtry’s 39 points, 12 rebound effort.
Grambling is 3-4 with one game remaining before traveling to the North Star State. GSU’s resume has one shining moment. After taking down the always feared Champion Christian College 93-48, the Lady Tigers dropped road contests to North Texas 60-83 and South Florida 57-83. However, Grambling saved a little something-something for Arizona State when the Sun Devils visited Grambling as part of the PAC 12/SWAC Legacy Series.
An exciting first quarter ending at 18 all was soon eclipsed by a second quarter shootout. The Lady Tigers nailed 9 three pointers outscoring ASU 27 to 14. The Sun Devils rallied to tie the game in the fourth quarter before Little Rock transfer
DeMya Young netted a three with :11 seconds to giving Grambling a 70-67 victory..
Young, a 5’10” sophomore PG, was the star. She scored 23 points with 7 rebounds in 35 minutes and was deadly from three hitting 7-11. She’s the only Lady Tiger averages in double figures (12.7 points per game).
Young had some help from beyond the arc. 5’7” sophomore SG,
Jazmyne Jackson contributed 15 points in 22 minutes going 5-5 from three.
The other Lady Tiger in double figures was 6’1” Junior F
Brenda McKinney-a transfer from Chipola College. She had 11 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Since the win over ASU, Grambling has lost @ Houston 74-106, won @ Northwestern State 64-59 and lost @ Oklahoma 69-103. They play the always wily Wiley College on Monday.
Versus Oklahoma, 6’2” graduate forward and Tulane transfer
Aniyah Grant posted 16 points and 9 rebounds in 29 minutes.
The Lady Tigers have started 9 different players with
Aniyah Grant being the only player starting every game. 11 players are averaging over 11 minutes per game. Despite their three-point heroics taking down Arizona State, they are averaging .329 from behind the arc.
While the PAC 12/SWAC Legacy Series was about social justice education, here’s hoping basketball provided an educational spark.
Injury Update:
I don’t know if
DeMya Young is injured; but she didn’t play versus Oklahoma.