MONTGOMERY, Ala. | The Alabama State University women's basketball opens the 2017-18 season on the road against the University of South Carolina, the defending national champion, at the Colonial Life Arena.
 
The Lady Hornets were picked to finish third in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) this season, a position in which they finished last year, and junior center Tatyana Calhoun was named First Team Preseason All-Conference earlier this fall.
 
However, the Lady Hornets, have to replace the bulk of the scoring as 78 percent of the scoring graduated – or did not return – from last season. Britney Wright, last year's SWAC Player of the Year, and Daniele Ewert led the team in scoring last season and combined for 28 points per game. Wright also graduated as the second-leading scorer in school history with 1,800 career points.
 
Alabama State will look to a trio of transfers to help offset the difference this season in Jordyn Holmes, Kenya Pye and Keimeshia Walker.
 
Holmes, a transfer from Tulsa, averaged 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore; while Pye, a transfer from New Mexico, averaged 1.6 points per game as a sophomore. Walker averaged 5.6 points per game at Cal-State Fullerton.
 
The Lady Hornets also have a bevy of talent returning this season including point Shamyiah Smith who recorded her 200th career assist last season and Kayla Stephens who is nearing her 200th career assist and has over 200 rebounds from her wing position. Sophomore Victoria Harvey will come off the bench for the Lady Hornets to provide depth in the post.
 
Lady Hornets' head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson begins her 20th year on the bench for Alabama State and sits at 293 wins at the school. She will open the campaign against the Gamecocks and her daughter Bianca Jackson, a freshman on this year's team.
 
South Carolina returns a pair of starters from their national championship team, and was picked fourth in the Associated Press Preseason Poll. The Gamecocks outscored their opponents last season by nearly 20 points and grabbed six more rebounds than their opponents.
 
The game tips off at 7:00 pm (est) and can be seen on the SEC Network+, using the WatchESPN app.
 
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