Photo 1: Florida A&M 6'-1" senior guard/forward Antonia Bennett, Lakeland, Florida (Lake Gibson High School) is majoring in Occupational/Physical Therapy. Bennett leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in several statistical categories, with per game averages of 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.7 block shots. The FAMU Lady Rattlers leads the conference in scoring offense at 72.1 points per game average and is seventh in scoring defense holding opponents to an average of 63.7 points per contest. In addition to having had a 14 game win streak, the Lady Rattlers have out-of-conference wins over Alabama-Birmingham, Southern Mississippi, Southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville, Northwestern State, Tennessee State and Austin Peay State.
Any defensive player that has the assignment of guarding Antonia Bennett will be in need of therapy by the end of the game. Bennett is a very smooth operator that can breakdown any defensive player and drive to the hoop for a score or foul. And she will kill you with her length on the offensive boards. A zone defense actually plays to her strength as she is a consistent shooter from 15-18 feet.
The Lady Rattlers are currently 19-6, 12-1 MEAC, tied for first place with the defending MEAC Champions Hampton University Lady Pirates and Howard University Lady Bison (2/20/12).
Photo 2: Howard University's All-American redshirt-junior forward Saadia Doyle has taken the Lady Bison to new heights, with its first 20-win season in twelve years. The explosive 5'-11" scorer is from Atlanta, Georgia, Columbia High School and is a fierce defender and rebounder. Doyle is second in the MEAC in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game and sixth in rebounding at 8.4 caroms per game.
The strength of the Lady Bison team is its scoring defense, holding teams to a league second best 53.7 points per game and forcing the opposition into 19.1 turnovers per game. Doyle's inside game is unstoppable -- she has forced MEAC defenses into 158 fouls, where she averages 80 percent from the line (6th in MEAC). The Lady Bison is currently tied for first place in the MEAC at 21-7, 13-2 MEAC.
Howard's signature wins are over Wake Forest, Navy, Detroit, Buffalo, Seton Hall, Fairleigh Dickinson, Mount St. Mary's and New Jersey Tech. It's most difficult opponents have been Hampton (0-2) and FAMU (1-1).
3. Photo 3: She beat Cancer! But the burning question is can she beat down Florida A&M and Howard for the 2011-12 MEAC Crown?
Sure she can!
Jericka Jenkins -- all 5'-4" is the best player in the MEAC with the best talented, supporting cast that know how to win the big games. The honorable mention AP All-American from Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster High School) made a wise decision and chose the Hampton Lady Pirates over University of Oklahoma Sooners. With Jenkins at point guard, the Lady Pirates have knocked off Pittsburgh, Boston College, Jacksonville, Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, Chicago State, Maryland Baltimore County, Central Michigan and East Carolina this season.
The two-time defending MEAC champion Lady Pirates are 20-4, 12-1 MEAC and have won at least 20 games for the third straight season. Hampton leads the MEAC in scoring defense at a per game average of 48.5, with an astounding +18.2 scoring margin on all opponents. Jenkins is averaging a conference leading 7.9 assists per game. She is scoring at a clip of 14.0 points per game, good enough for 9th place in the conference ranking. The little dynamo has slashed for 105 fouls where she leads the MEAC with a free throw percentage of 87 percent. Jenkins also ranks 8th in 3-point shooting, 1st in assist/turnover ratio and 1st in minutes played -- averaging 38.3 minutes per game.
No doubt, Jericka Jenkins is a very special player (who won her battle with Cancer as a teenager) that has immense drive, a competitive spirit, but has tremendous personality and smarts. In other words, this lady got game!
Jenkins also leads the nation in assist per game, 4th in the nation in assist-turnover ration (2.67) and 23rd in free throw percentage (.867). This is no fluke as she has improved upon her national rankings from last season.
Jenkins will receive her degree in Criminal Justice/Criminology in May 2012, after four-years of college --making the Dean's List every semester at Hampton. I look forward to seeing the Lady Pirates return to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and all three players, Bennett, Doyle and Jenkins being named MEAC Co-Players of the Year. Pound for pound, it can be fairly augued that Jericka Jenkins has been the best point guard in the MEAC in the past two or three decades.
Pay attention NCAA! Hampton is having difficulty in scheduling out-of-conference games with the top mid-major and BCS programs. No one wants to pencil in a home L by scheduling the Lady Pirates. Expect to see the same towards Howard and FAMU in the next few seasons. Hampton was seeded 13th in last year's NCAAs and proved worthy of the ranking.
Howard, FAMU and Hampton ALL deserve an invite to the Big Dance, but we know that isn't going to happen this season. MEAC women's basketball is no longer a cupcake league for our top 3-4 teams. Just ask Wake Forest, Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Southern Miss or Alabama-Birmingham. The MEAC got game!
Photo Courtesy: Florida A&M, Hampton and Howard Sports Information
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