Shaw Women Come Out On Top
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Mobley, the 6-2 Florida transfer, was the driving
force behind the Lady Bears run to the CIAA crown and top
ten national ranking. She led the conference in scoring at
21.7 points per game and her 15.1 rebounds per game were not only the best in
the CIAA by a whopping six per game, but topped all of Div. II.
While Mobley's exploits helped Shaw (31-3) make a splash on the NCAA Div. II national scene, she had already shown at Florida that she could have made just as big a splash in Div. I. Her dominating play propels Jacques Curtis's Lady Bears to the top of the BCSP's final women's rankings.
While Shaw ruled both the CIAA's regular season and tournament, Hampton and Alabama State did the same in the MEAC and SWAC and merit a close second in our final ranking.
Patricia Bibbs' Hampton Lady Pirates (23-9) posted a 17-1 MEAC regular season mark in five-foot, five-inch senior guard LaShondra Dixon's final campaign. Dixon finished as runner-up in the player of the year voting but took home the tourney MVP trophy after saving them with a last-second shot in the semifinals.
Senior Shameka Jackson was the stalwart for the Lady Hornets (20-11) of Alabama State who stayed atop the SWAC rankings all season before being caught by Jackson State in the last week. Freda Freeman-Jackson's squad beat back a challenge from Grambling in the SWAC finals to take the title.
Denise Taylor's Jackson State Lady Tigers (23-6) made a run at Alabama State before Grambling (20-10) knocked them off in the SWAC tournament. The JSU Lady Tigers finish fourth while Rusty Ponton's GSU Lady Tigers are sixth.
Between them at fifth is Delaware State who battled Hampton for MEAC supremacy throughout the regular season into the tournament finals. Ed Davis's Lady Hornets (20-10) are just ahead of Eric Tucker's Fayetteville State Lady Broncos (21-9) who had the misfortune of facing Shaw in both the CIAA tournament and the South Atlantic Regional.
Lonnie Bartley led SIAC regular season and tournament champion Fort Valley State to a 27-4 mark and a spot in the Div. II South Regional. In her second season, Central State head coach Patricia Tramble led her Lady Marauders deep into the NAIA national tournament. First-year head coach Debra Clark made Florida A&M a contender in the MEAC and rounds out the Top Ten.
FINAL BCSP WOMEN'S TOP 10
1. SHAW (31-3) - Lady Bears posted best record in black college basketball, took CIAA title and made it to South Atlantic Region championship to earn first women's top ranking.2. ALABAMA STATE (20-11) - Won SWAC regular season and tournament titles, bowed to Tennessee in Div. I Mideast Regional.
(TIE) HAMPTON (23-9) - Lady Pirates took MEAC regular season and tournament titles before losing to Texas in Div. I West Regional.
4. JACKSON STATE (23-6) - Tied Alabama State for SWAC regular season title, lost to Grambling in tournament semifinal.
5. DELAWARE STATE (20-10) - Finished behind Hampton in MEAC regular seasond and tournament.
6. GRAMBLING STATE (20-10) - Third place in SWAC regular season and tournament runners-up to Alabama State.
7. FAYETTEVILLE STATE (21-9) - CIAA W. Div. winners, lost in tournament semis to Shaw and again in South Atlantic Region semis to Shaw.
8. FORT VALLEY STATE (27-4) - Swept thru SIAC regular season and tournament but upended in South Region first round by Henderson State.
9. CENTRAL STATE (28-5) - Lady Marauders capped outstanding season, losing 83-73 in NAIA national quarterfinals to eventual national runner-up Oklahoma City.
10. FLORIDA A&M (16-13) - Tied for third in MEAC regular season, lost on last-second basket to Hampton to tournament semfinals.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.