Dawn Staley continues to use her platform to support HBCU women’s basketball, showing love to Jackson State head coach Tomekia Reed.

University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley shows love to Jackson State coach Tomekia Reed on X.

Jackson State women’s basketball coach Tomekia Reed has led the Lady Tigers to another phenomenal season and University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is taking notice. The Lady Tigers recently received a vote in the AP Top 25, a first for the program.

— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) March 6, 2024

Reed took to her Twitter to celebrate, saying, “We always seek to do something that has never been done in our program as we look to continue to elevate the bar each year.

But to receive an email saying we received a vote for the AP Poll is beyond my imagination!!! Lord I thank you!! To whoever voted for us THANK YOU!!”

The post was seen 64,100+ times as of this writing and caught the eye of Staley, who commented, “You’d have another one if I was a voter! Keep doing the BELIEVABLE!”

Dawn Staley is immensely supportive of HBCU women’s basketball. In December following an early season game against Morgan State, she spoke about the importance of scheduling HBCU opponents from the MEAC and the SWAC.

The Lady Gamecocks also played Mississippi Valley State earlier in the year.

“When I was at Temple, we couldn’t get a top team to play us besides Rutgers and Tennessee. Those were the only two coaches who really gave us an opportunity. It hurt them more than it hurt us. We were an up-and-coming program.

We could challenge you. We could challenge the top teams in the country. It didn’t make sense for them, so a lot of them said ‘No.’

But I’ll always remember what coach Vivian Stringer and coach Pat Summitt did for us and giving us an opportunity to measure ourselves against some of the best, most legendary coaches.

It allowed me to grow as a coach. It allowed our program to grow at Temple University. It’s scary, too. I always try to schedule people who are elevating or trying to elevate their program and move their program in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, Reed deserves respect for her coaching skills and the formidable program she has established at Jackson State. The Lady Tigers boast a 21-6 record this season and remain unbeaten in the SWAC.

They are frontrunners to clinch the SWAC Tournament title and secure a spot in the 2024 NCAA March Madness tournament.

In their previous 2022 appearance, they nearly upset LSU, taking a late-game lead that pushed the SEC powerhouse to mount a comeback for the win.

Jackson State will conclude its season by hosting Mississippi Valley State on Saturday at 1 PM EST.