GRAMBLING, La. | The venue, time and date have changed but the shared competitive spirits between the Grambling State University and Texas Southern University women's basketball teams remain the same as the two schools meet up again for the third time this season in the 2018 Toyota Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals.
 
This will be the second straight year the teams have met in the tournament as Grambling State and Texas Southern face off with a 6 p.m. tip-off on Friday at the Delmar Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas.
 
Grambling State (17-13), the No. 3 seed, advanced to the semifinals after an 80-71 victory against Alcorn State, while Texas Southern (19-11), the No. 2 seed, eliminated Alabama State, 70-42, on Tuesday.
 
The first semifinal of the day features top-seed Southern against No. 4 seed Prairie View A&M at 12 p.m.
 
ABOUT TEXAS SOUTHERN
* Texas Southern is averaging 64.1 points per game, while its opponents are averaging 57.3 points.
* Texas Southern is shooting 675-of-1626 (41.5 percent) from the floor and 425-of-625 (68.0 percent) from the free-throw line.
* Joyce Kennerson, who ranks third in the nation in scoring, paces Texas Southern's offense at 24.2 points and 3.2 rebounds, followed by Kaitlyn Palmer with 13.4 points and 3.0 boards per game.
 
TEXAS SOUTHERN'S LAST TIME OUT
* Texas Southern opened SWAC Tournament play with a 70-42 win over Alabama State on Tuesday.
* Joyce Kennerson contributed 15 points (shooting 9-of-11 from the free-throw line), four assists and four steals. Kaitlyn Palmer chipped in 10 points and three assists.
* Texas Southern shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor and 61.9 percent (26-of-42) from the charity stripe.
 
SERIES HISTORY
* Grambling State head coach Freddie Murray is 1-4 against Texas Southern in two seasons. Texas Southern defeated GSU in last year's championship game, 70-66.
 
GRAMBLING STATE'S LAST TIME OUT
* Jazmin Boyd's fourth-quarter spark with seven straight points helped guide Grambling State to an 80-71 SWAC Quarterfinal victory over Alcorn State on Tuesday night.
* Shakyla Hill led the team in scoring with 30 points, five rebounds, six assists and eight steals. Boyd registered 15 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal, while Monisha Neal added 12 points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals.
* Grambling State shot 30-of-62 (48.4 percent) from the field and 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
* Tickets can be purchased at the box office of the Delmar Fieldhouse.
* Student tickets can be purchased for a reduced rate at the box office with a valid student ID.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
* Shakyla Hill surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Dec. 10 in a 73-49 loss to Alabama.
* Monisha Neal became the second Grambling State women's basketball player this season to score 1,000 career-high points.
* In the Lady Tigers' 93-89 win over Jackson State, Jazmin Boyd and Justice Coleman set career-high points (Boyd with 31 and Coleman with 30).
* Shakyla Hill posted a career-high 35 points in a road loss to Alabama A&M on March 1.
 
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
* Shakyla Hill was named the SWAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week by the conference.
* Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal earned All-SWAC First-Team selections.
 
PRESEASON POLL
* Grambling State was picked to finish second in the preseason coaches' poll as voted on by conference head coaches and sports information directors. GSU guard Shakyla Hill was selected the SWAC Preseason Player of the Year.
 
GRAMBLING STATE BASKETBALL HISTORY
* Grambling State became the only SWAC school to advance in a postseason tournament as the GSU defeated Ole Miss, 78-75, in the first round of the WNIT last season.
* Grambling State reached the SWAC Championship game last season, but fell to Texas Southern, 70-66.
 
UP NEXT
It is win or go home for Grambling State. A victory puts GSU in the SWAC Championship game on Saturday against either Southern, the No. 1 seed, or Prairie View A&M, the No. 4 seed. Tip-off for the championship game is set for 3:30 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN3.
 
A loss eliminates Grambling State and sends Texas Southern to the title game.
 
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathletics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.
 
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathetics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.
 

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