HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With the close of the 2021-22 campaign, the Alabama A&M Sports Information Office is counting down the Top-10 stories from the campaign throughout the summer. Today, we continue the No. 7 story of the season - Women's Basketball and Lewis Attack the Record Books.
 
Make sure to check www.AAMUSports.com every Friday to catch the latest release.
 
Story No. 7: Women's Basketball and Lewis Attack the Record Books
Alabama A&M women's basketball continues to rise to the occasion and in 2021-22 accomplished things, both as a team and individually, that very few have in the history of the program.
 
As a team the Bulldogs went 15-14 overall, one of just three teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference to finish over .500, and an impressive 13-5 in league play. The latter earned them just the second second-place finish in their NCAA Division I history and the No. 2 seed in the SWAC Tournament.
 
The Bulldogs would earn those latter honors on the same day they broke the program's DI Era record for consecutive wins, earning their seventh straight with a 73-67 double overtime victory over Southern (3/5) on Senior Day. That run included a 78-68 victory over archrival Alabama State (2/26) that ensured a tie-breaker and a thrilling 55-51 win over Grambling (3/3).
 
Overall the club led the SWAC in fewest points allowed, surrendering only 62.6 per game, that coming in a season that saw games against Dayton, Cincinnati and Nebraska. Also among those non-conference road contests were victories over Samford (72-47 on 12/9) and Florida Atlantic (65-63 on 12/20).
 
Individually the accomplishments stacked up even more, highlighted by an epic season by senior forward Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.). She became just the second student-athlete in A&M history to repeat as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America, earning Second-Team honors as the only member from a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).
 
That followed Academic All-District honors for a second straight year to go along with All-SWAC Second-Team honors she would share with graduate Nigeria Jones (Lincoln, Neb.). It would mark a program DI record with three straight years of having at least two honorees.
 
Lewis would also make history as she became the first player in program history to earn three straight BOXTOROW All-American selections, all First-Team honors. She is just the second individual to have earned any such honor, joining Whiquitta Tobar in 2011-12.
 
The dominant post player would also rack up four of the Bulldogs seven weekly honors, collecting SWAC Player of the Week on January 5 and January 25 and Impact Player of the Week on December 15 and December 23. Jones would pick up P-of-W recognition on December 15 for a sweep of the awards that week and was named Impact on March 2. Senior Deshawna Harper (Indianapolis, Ind.) picked up the first Impact award on November 24. Jones was also named the BOXTOROW National Player of the Week on February 28.
 
A&M had strong performances on the year as Lewis played in all 29 games, starting 28 and posting averages of 15.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.1 assists and nearly a steal per game. Jones averaged 14.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 34.8 minutes per game.
 
Meanwhile Lewis delivered at the national level, finishing ninth in defensive rebounds per game (8.1), 13^th in double-doubles, 14th in rebounds per game, 16th in total rebounds (329) and 28th in blocks per game.
 
A&M also notched significant space in the SWAC statistical rankings as Jones was fourth in minutes, sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and seventh in assists per game while Lewis led the league in rebounds and rebounds per game, was second in blocks and third in field goal percentage.
 
While Jones and Lewis did quite a bit of heavy lifting, it wasn't all them as sophomore guard Darian Burgin (Cincinnati) averaged 6.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.3 minutes per game. One of her best came at SWAC newcomer Florida A&M (2/21) as she flirted with a triple-double in a 68-57 victory.
 
As a whole, Alabama A&M women's basketball served notice that they are poised to be a force for years to come as they are the heir apparent in the Southwestern Athletic Conference following a tremendous year.
 
The Schedule
Every Friday throughout the Summer and leading up to the 2022-23 preseason, the SID Office will release the list one at a time beginning with the No. 10 story on June 3. The No. 1 story in Alabama A&M Athletics, as chosen by the Sports Information Office, will be released on Friday, August 5.
 
Countdown to the Top-10 Alabama A&M Athletics Stories from 2021-22
No. 1 – Coming August 5
No. 2 – Coming July 29
No. 3 – Coming July 22
No. 4 – Coming July 15
No. 5 – Coming July 8
No. 6 – Coming July 1
No. 7 – Women's Basketball and Lewis Attack the Record Books (June 24)
No. 8 – Bowling and Men's Golf Net Honors Not Seen In Years (June 17)
No. 9 – Baseball Delivers Strong Efforts In 2022 Campaign (June 10)
No. 10 – Men's Tennis Delivers Impressive Accolades (June 3)
Honorable Mention (May 27)