Alabama State guard Amarr Knox is riding high after Tuesday’s game-winning layup versus Saint Francis in the NCAA Tournament. But he’s probably been on the proverbial Cloud Number Nine for the last month after proposing marriage to his girlfriend DaKiyah Sanders. Here’s the catch: she’s an HBCU star as well, playing point guard for the Southern University Jaguars.
Want even more Providence for this story? This week both the Alabama State men and Southern women won their first NCAA Tournament games in each school’s history.
Knox is a redshirt sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee who arrived at Alabama State in 2022. While Sanders now plays for Southern University, she began her career at Alabama State back in 2020. She played four seasons for the Hornets before transferring to Southern to play for the Jaguars this season.
According to Knox’s Instagram account, the two were engaged at least one month ago. He posted a picture of the two at an engagement party with the hashtag #engaged in the caption. Their journey has been intertwined ever since, both on and off the court.
Last week both Alabama State and Southern went on to win the SWAC Championship in Atlanta, earning automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament for the HBCU programs.
On Tuesday night ASU slid by Saint Francis in a back-and-forth affair at the First Four.
The game was deadlocked at 68 apiece when the Hornets provided a dramatic finish that will surely make the “One Shining Moment” season recap at the Final Four. TJ Madlock was fouled with 12.4 seconds left and missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have broken the 68-68 tie. However, Saint Francis turned the ball over on the ensuing possession giving Alabama State the ball back with 3.4 seconds remaining. Alabama State threw the ball the length of the court for a wild play that ended up with the ball being tipped to Knox who made the game-winning layup with 1 second remaining.
Southern University on Wednesday night became the first SWAC women’s basketball program to win a NCAA Tournament game. Their 68-56 triumph over UC San Diego moves the Jaguars into the traditional first round of the tournament to face No. 1 seed UCLA on Friday night.
Alabama State will face No. 1 seed Auburn University on Thursday.
