HUNTSVILLE ^__ Junior Dariauna Lewis and seniors Deshawna Harper and Nigeria Jones were voted All-Southwestern Athletic Conference Tuesday by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

Lewis was tabbed Preseason All-SWAC First Team alongside Niya Mitchell (Texas Southern), Justice Coleman (Grambling State), and two Jackson State Tigers in Dayzha Rogan and Preseason Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the year, Ameshya Williams.

The Lady Bulldog backcourt of Harper and Jones received second team honors with Ataiya Bridges (Texas Southern), Jayla Crawford (Alabama State) and Ayana Emmanuel (Alabama State). The three Alabama A&M preseason honorees are the most in program history.

Lewis, made waves in her first season with the Lady Bulldogs, earning Newcomer of the Year and HBCU All-American honors in 2019-20. The forward returns this season after averaging 17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks per game, all leading the team. The Omaha, Nebraska native also set a new single-season program record for total rebounds in a season with 275 and accounted for 10 double-double games on the year.

Her 26 games in double figures helped propel Alabama A&M to a fourth seed in last year's SWAC Tournament with a chance to advance before the shutdown.

Harper started in 18 games during her junior season in which she nearly doubled her scoring output to 13.1 points per game and tied the school record for threes made in a season with 55. The guard scored in double figures in 19 games on the year and led team in scoring on ten different occasions, including a 30 point outburst last season against Memphis, including a career-high 12 made field goals.

Her honor adds to a great career marked by a consistent growth in performance. The Indianapolis, Indiana native came off the bench in all but six games as a freshman, and has been a fringe starter and jolt of offense off the bench for the Lady Bulldogs over the previous two seasons.
 
Jones, a point guard from Lincoln, Nebraska is making her second consecutive appearance on the preseason all-conference team as she was also named to the second team last year.

A starter in 24 of 30 games a year ago and 81 of 89 during her career, Jones ranked among the conference leaders in assists (3.6), minutes played (32.7) per game and steals (1.8) last season.

She enters the 2020-21 season looking to dish out 100+ assists for her third straight year and become just the sixth Lady Bulldog to reach the 1,000-point career mark. Jones additionally is within striking distance this season of attaining 400 career assists, and is 27 games away from becoming the program leader in career games played.
 
The Lady Bulldogs garnered the most preseason team selections (3), followed by Alabama State (2), Jackson State (2), Texas Southern (2), and Grambling State (1). The full listing of preseason honors can be found below.

2020-21 SWAC Preseason Player of the Year
Ameshya Williams, Jackson State
 
2020-21 SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Ameshya Williams, Jackson State
 
2020-21 Preseason All-SWAC First Team
 

Position	Name	Classification	School	Hometown
Guard	Justice Coleman	Senior	Grambling State	Baton Rouge, La.
Guard	Dayzsha Rogan	Senior	Jackson State	Ripley, Miss.
Forward	Niya Mitchell	Graduate	Texas Southern	Bay City, Texas
Forward	Dariauna Lewis	Junior	Alabama A&M	Omaha, Neb.
Center	Ameshya Williams	Senior	Jackson State	Gulfport, Miss.

 
2020-21 Preseason All-SWAC Second Team
 

Position	Name	Classification	School	Hometown
Guard	Ataiya Bridges	Senior	Texas Southern	Lanett, Ala.
Guard	Deshawna Harper	Senior	Alabama A&M	Indianapolis, Ind.
Guard	Jayla Crawford	Junior	Alabama State	Birmingham, Ala.
Guard	Ayana Emmanuel	Junior	Alabama State	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Guard	Nigeria Jones	Senior	Alabama A&M	Lincoln, Neb.

 
Head coaches and sports information directors not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.


For more information on the Alabama A&M women's basketball team, follow the Lady Bulldogs on Twitter (@aamuwbb) and Instagram (@aamuwbb). For more on all Bulldogs sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of AAMU Athletics on Twitter (@AAMUBulldogs), Facebook (@AAMUBulldogs) and Instagram (@AAMUathletics). 


About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.

Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.

Women's competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.

Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.