How a regret in NCAA Tournament near upset of LSU changed Jackson State women's basketball
Tick … tick … tick … the game clock slowly ran down.
An anxious Jackson State women’s basketball coach Tomekia Reed tried to steal a victory over No. 3-seeded LSU in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament by ignoring it and managing the game.
In that game, Reed saw her team come from 17 points down late in the third quarter to lead by 10 points with less than five minutes to play. While the clock struck midnight for Jackson State in an 83-77 loss, that game prompted the JSU women’s basketball team to become the latest heartwarming March Madness story.
“I tried to milk the clock,” Reed said. “I knew we did not have the height to match them inside. When (Ameshya Williams-Holliday) got into foul trouble, it did something to us. I wish I would have left her in and trusted her not to get her fifth foul.”
With an offseason of reflection, Reed knew her team was good enough to beat LSU but did not have the depth and inside presence when the 6-foot-4 Williams-Holliday got into foul trouble late in the game.
Williams-Holliday was the 25th pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, making her the first player chosen from an HBCU in 20 years and the sixth overall.
REED BALANCES CHRISTMAS FOR SONJackson State women's basketball coach Tomekia Reed balances sport, Christmas for her son
THANKSGIVING IS REFLECTION TIME FOR REEDFor Jackson State women's basketball coach Tomekia Reed, Thanksgiving is for family and reflection
'WE'RE GONNA KEEP KNOCKING'Jackson State women's basketball coach Tomekia Reed after loss to LSU: 'We're gonna keep knocking'
To replace Williams-Holliday, Reed recruited height to go along with returning size for the 2022-23 season and beyond: Angel Jackson (6-foot-6), Daphane White (6-5), Laila Walker (6-4) are all first-year Tigers. Returning forward Daja Woodard is 6-3 and can dunk. Alexis Roberts is 6-2, and two of the team's athletic guards, Ti'lan Boler and Liz Martino, are also at least 6-foot tall.
However, that is not the only thing Reed gathered from the loss to LSU. The Tigers know they must stay composed and not have any negative displays of emotions from bad plays. During the LSU game, JSU received two technical fouls.
Reed turned down several offers to coach at other schools, instead deciding to come back to Jackson State.
“I feel like we have a lot of work to be done,” Reed said. “I do not want to leave Jackson State and wonder if we could have done more.”
Reed ratcheted up expectations for this season and put together a demanding non-conference schedule against ranked Power Five schools. The Lady Tigers played at Missouri, UCLA, Washington State, North Carolina, Colorado, and Oregon State, and welcomed Texas to Jackson.
The team also played eight of its first 10 games on the road, developing a mentality that should not let them be intimidated by any distractions or teams come tournament time.
One of the biggest wins of Reed’s career was defeating a Power Five school, winning 69-63 at Texas Tech on Nov. 15.
The Lady Tigers (4-7, 1-0) started the defense of their SWAC title by defeating rival Alcorn State 59-49 on Monday. They return home to the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center to play Alabama State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
“What I learned from the LSU game was to stay confident,” Reed said. “Stay confident in what we do as a team, stay confident in me and our players. Knowing that it is all good and that we will weather the ups and downs of the game. But, I learned more than anything that we have to stay confident.”
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State women's basketball changed by LSU NCAA Tournament loss
