There’s an undeniable truth behind the words spoken by Jackson State’s women’s basketball head coach, Tomekia Reed. The Jackson, Mississippi native, who originally joined the program back in ‘06 as a recruiting coordinator, has taken the HBCU program back to prominence after winning back-to-back SWAC regular season championships since being hired as the head coach in 2018.
Yet back in mid-August, the Jackson State women’s head coach tweeted out her frustrations with how Black female coaches are constantly overlooked. Amidst all the shade, the Tigers finished their season with a 18-6 record and a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008, where they faced Baylor in the first round.
“You know, that was something I’ve been feeling for a very long time,” Reed says over a Zoom call in August. “I think our ability to have won as many championships as we’ve won here at Jackson State—in three years we’ve won three championships—so I think I had ears for the platform at this point. And so I said, ‘you know what, I’m gonna go for it.’”
Reed knows what it takes to lead a program to success, both as a player and a coach. After leading Southern Miss to a WNIT appearance, she transferred to Hinds Community College for the 2000-01 season and led the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) in rebounds per game, while also posting second in the conference in scoring and earning All-State first team honors.
Jared ebanks 