Women's Basketball 3/2/2012 11:29:00 PM

Women's Basketball Concludes Regular Season Action With Senior Night

The Alabama State women's basketball program will honor three seniors as they conclude their 2011-12 regular season against the Tigers of Jackson State Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. Tamara Wadlington, Millicent Jones, and Jasmine Quinn will be honored prior to tip-off.

All three seniors have been a fixture in the Alabama State lineup during their time at the University. Quinn has been a contributor to the team since her enrollment in 2008. The senior has appeared in 75 career contests, playing more than 1200 minutes.

Wadlington joined the squad in the fall of 2010. The Oxford, Miss. native was the number one point guard for the Lady Hornets until she sustained a knee injury against Alcorn State in Lorman, Miss. earlier in the season. The junior college transfer has played in 46 games prior to her injury and has had 38 starts. She averaged 6.7 career points per game and has handed out 157 career assists.

Jones transferred in during the 2009 season from Daytona State Community College. Since her stint at ASU she has appeared in 70 games, and is currently averaging 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. This season has by far been a career best for the senior. She has scored 148 points totaling a career of 310. The last two times out, Jones scored a season best of 18 points in the loss to Prairie View and led the team with 14 points in the win against Grambling State. This made her seventh double figure game of the season.

“This game is going to be a high for the three seniors that are leaving,” said Assistant Coach Clayton Harris. “Millicent Jones, Tamara Wadlington and Jasmine Quinn, will need to make sure they stay on an even kill, we also need to make sure they don't get too high or get to low, we know it's a big game for them because it's senior night as well as ASU Connection Day. So we need to just remind them we need to take care of home (business first) and win this ball game.”

Alabama State defeated Jackson State earlier in the season, with the Lady Hornets taking a 52-49 decision in Jackson, Miss. The Tigers enter the game having lost its last contest against Alabama A&M 65-43, while Alabama State picked up its fifth win out of seven with a win over Grambling State (55-48). The four seniors will try to go out with a bang as Jackson State holds a 30-27 overall all-time mark over the Lady Hornets.

Despite the strong senior contributions this season, Alabama State has played several freshmen big minutes and they have responded. Danielle Gazaway leads all players with 9.4 points per game average. Sophomore Quentori Alford has shown remarkable improvement this season, as she is coming off of her fourth double-double, upping her averages to 7.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

The Jackson State Tigers enter Saturday's game with an 11-15 overall record, 8-9 in SWAC play. Tiffany Kellum has led the Tigers all season long in scoring she is at 13.1 points per game. Rachel Jones is second on the team averaging 8.1 points per contest and leads the squad with 42 steals.

“Jackson State is a very good team and they have been playing up and down a little bit, but they have been steady,” Harris stated. “They played Alabama A&M pretty tough the other night and they have won eight games and loss nine, they are right there in the middle of the pack. They are a dangerous ball club, and have good size, especially Kellum, she's Jackson's leading scorer averaging 13 points per game. We just have to be ready to play and do what we need to do. We need to hang our hats on defense. We feel good about what we are doing and where we are right now. We want to maintain the fourth spot going into the tournament. You always want to win your last game at home.”

The game can be seen on Hornet Vision for a cost of $5.95 or fans can listen to play-by-play action on WVAS Sports Network, as well as acquire live stats on www.bamastatesports.com.

#HORNETS#

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