Montgomery, Ala. – Alabama State women's basketball was picked to finish fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference while sophomores Jayla Crawford, Ayana Emmanuel and Shmya Ward were all placed on Preseason All-SWAC teams as announced by the conference office Monday evening.
 
The Lady Hornets led the conference with three selections as Crawford earned a spot on the Preseason All-SWAC First Team followed by Emmanuel and Ward landing on the Preseason All-SWAC Second Team in a vote by the league's sport information directors and head coaches.
 
Defending SWAC Champions Southern University was picked to repeat in 2019-20 while Jackson State and Prairie View A&M was picked to round out the top three, respectively.
 
Crawford played in all 30 games in 2018-19 including starting the most games on the team with 27, averaging 25.5 minutes per contest. Crawford finished the season with a 43.3 field goal percentage (126-291) while shooting 36.0 percent from behind the arc, knocking down 36 three-pointers, the most on the team. The sophomore averaged 12.4 points per game while grabbing 2.9 boards and recorded double-digit points in all but 10 games.
 
Emmanuel, reigning SWAC Freshman of the Year, played in all 30 games with 26 starts last season. Emmanuel led the team averaging 13.3 points while shooting 38.8 percent (33-85) from behind the arc alongside 4.2 rebounds per game and 1.4 assists per game. Additionally, Emmanuel racked up a team-high 39 steals to average 1.3 steals per game while leading team at the charity stripe with a 79.6 percentage (133-167).
 
Ward played in 28 games with 22 starts in 2018-19 finishing the year with the highest shooting percentage on the team posting a 56.3 clip (108-192). Ward averaged 9.8 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game finishing the season with six double doubles. Additionally, Ward tallied the most blocks (35) to average 1.3 blocks per game along with 14 total steals.
 
Alabama State opens the season on the road at South Carolina on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. The Gamecocks made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament last season and finished the season ranked at No. 15.
 
The Lady Hornets return 12 letter winners from the 2018-19 campaign while bringing in four freshmen for the upcoming season – Kailah Johnson, Dereseia Randle, Hannah White and Aniyah Smith. Head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson enters her 22nd season at the helm in 2019-20 with a 308-316 overall record.
 
Season tickets are available for the 2019-20 season by calling 334-229-4551 or visiting BamaStateSports.com. Those interested in courtside seating, call Deputy Director of Athletics Terrance Jones at 334-207-1756 or email him at tjones@alasu.edu.
 
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