The battle for supremacy in SWAC women’s basketball hit the reset button this off season. Tomekia Reed leaving Jackson State has left the throne wide open and Dawn Thornton from Alabama A&M may be ready to fill the gap. The former Arkansas Pine Bluff coach hit the recruiting trail hard seemingly before her boxes arrived in Huntsville.
The big splash came on April 25 when Shelomi Sanders, the daughter of Deion Sanders, announced she was signing with Alabama A&M after leaving Colorado. While that naturally drew a lot of new eye balls to the program and maybe woke up some older ones, it was just the beginning.
A handful of players followed Thornton from UAPB by going through the portal process and landing in the Rocket City. Kalia Walker brings her 8.2 points per game over to AAMU along with teammate Maori Davenport, who averaged 5.6 rebounds per game along with 4.7 points. Davenport is a big with lots of potential who played alongside Maya Peat, at times offering a high low post combination. A similar combination could exist with Alisha Wilson, who announced she will return to AAMU. Wilson is 6’2″ and averaged 9 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game last year.
Also coming over from UAPb is Kourtney Rittenberry who averaged 3.4 ppg last year and Coriah Beck, an All SWAC performer. Out of the four carry overs from Thornton’s old school, Beck is the biggest catch. She averaged 12.8 points per game last year before missing the SWAC Tournament with an injury.
Beck was a second team all conference selection and was the seventh best three pointer shooter in the league, percentage wise.
The former UAPB players were just the beginning of the Arkansas Relocation Program. Teammates Mailyn Wilkerson and Lauryn Pendleton both transferred over from Arkansas State. Wilkerson averaged 6.9 ppg over the last three years, while Pendleton poured in 11.7 ppg.
Also in the mix are a pair of teammates from the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Jaiyah Harris-Smith averaged 5.8 ppg last year for Little Rock, while Tia Harvey contributed 4.9 ppg.
The Alabama gang on the squad will consist of the returning Wilson along with Darian Burgin who announced that she was returning. Burgin averaged 8.7 ppg for last year’s team. And an intriguing prospect is Kennedi Hawkins from Calhoun Community College in Alabama. This past season Hawkins set a school record with 42 points and 20 rebounds. The competition in the SWAC will be a step up but it’ll be interesting to see how much of that scorning prowess carries over.
Dawn Thornton has been preaching “Big Energy” on social media and she’s shown it herself on the recruiting trail. Having been on the job less than a month she was able to quickly assemble the core of her team heading into the summer months. Six months from now the world will see how this team comes together and if it claim the throne in the SWAC. It will soon be time for take off in Huntsville.