Coach LeDawn Gibson has FAMU women off to 2-1 start so far this season
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Nov. 24) - The Florida A&M Women's Basketball team will head
to South Florida for a Monday night court clash with the University of Miami
basketball team. Tipoff will be 7:00 p.m. on the Coral Gables campus.
Florida A&M is off to a 2-1 start so far, with one more game against Alabama
State (Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.) in Tallahassee on tap before their trek to
the Magic City.
New coach LeDawn Gibson has led the Lady Rattlers to wins over Albany (Ga.)
State, 64-46 and Savannah (Ga.) State, 48-34, with a heartbreaking 71-69 road
loss at Central Florida this past Friday the only blemish on the record.
FAMU led UCF virtually the entire game, holding a 10-point lead with eight
minutes to go, before the Knights rallied to overtake the Lady Rattlers in the
final minute.
The FAMU women feature an interesting mix of veterans, led by Gibson, who
fashioned a sizzling 300-plus win resume at Winter Haven High School, leading
them to three state titles, eight regional crowns and six Final Four berths.
Gibson's crew is leaning heavily on the senior trio of guard Deidra Jones, and
forwards Stephanie Foster and Denise Tate for leadership in the early going.
Jones, a 5-10 native of Powder Springs, Georgia, who averages 11.5 points an 8.0
rebounds per game. is a slashing, guard who will drive the lane in traffic, or
shoot from outside.
Foster, a 6-0 wing player, who is an honor student from Columbus, Ohio, can play
a big guard, or take small forwards off the dribble to the glass, is scoring at
a 7.0 per game clip while pulling down 5.0 rebounds per game.
Tate, a 6-1 native of Cleveland, Ohio, was the second-leading rebounder in the
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference a year ago, and has become the consummate
rebounding artist for FAMU, averaging 12.5 rebounds per game so far, while
scoring a modest 4.5 points per game.
Other FAMU players of note include Jacksonville freshman Qiana Donald, a 6-0
guard/forward who is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game; diminutive
sophomore guard Jarquella Woods, a 5-1 sparkplug from Columbus, Georgia, is a
three-point threat, averaging 8.0 points per game; 6-1 freshman guard/forward
Antonia Bennett, a product of Lakeland, is averaging 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds
per game, plus senior Melissa Daniels, a 6-4 post player from Jasper, Florida,
who is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game.