BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Texas Southern Lady Tigers won’t have to travel far in the first leg of their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament, as TSU garnered a 16-seed in the Oklahoma City region, where the 2017 SWAC Tournament Champion will face 1-seed Baylor.
The contest will take place in Waco, Texas on Saturday.
Texas Southern comes into the tournament with a 23-9 overall record (14-4 SWAC). The Lady Tigers are led by all-SWAC first-team guard and tournament most valuable player Joyce Kennerson, who is tied for the league lead in scoring at 18.3 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in 11 of TSU’s last 15 games — during which the Lady Tigers have posted a 12-3 record, including tournament play.
Flanking the dynamic sophomore will be inside presence Artavia Ford (10.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG), gunner Kaitlyn Palmer (9.8 PPG, 34.2 3PT%) and freshman Chynna Ewing (7.4 PPG), who also earned all-tournament recognition. The Lady Tigers also placed in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense 57.0.
In the Lady Bears, Texas Southern has an opponent that has won 30 or more games in seven straight seasons, including a 40-0, national championship-winning campaign in 2011-12. The Lady Bears have four players that average 12 points or more per game, led by first team All-Big 12 and All-Defense choice Kalani Brown (15.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG) at center.
First-team All-Big 12 guard Alexis Jones (13.9 PPG, 42.1 3PT%) and Alexis Prince (12.1 PPG, 42.7 3PT%) offer perimeter threats for the nation’s second-highest scoring offense (88.6 PPG).
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2011. In the teams’ Nov. 30 contest of that season, Baylor prevailed 91-39.
