Jackson State women’s basketball coach Tomekia Reed has been selected Southwestern Athletic Conference coach of the year for the third time. And for good reason.

After Jackson State lost Amesyhya Williams-Holliday and Dayzsha Rogan and other seniors following the 2021-22 season, rival coaches in the conference had an opportunity to overtake the Tigers.

But Reed rebuilt with three new starters, toughened JSU's non-conference schedule with Power Five opponents, and played the Tigers' first nine games on the road. That included an upset of Power Five school Texas Tech 69-63 on Nov. 15 in Lubbock, Texas.

Playing so many games on the road against such strong competition forced JSU to grow tougher mentally and to become closer as a team. When the system she ran was not working, Reed adapted the offense to fit the personnel she had, and the team responded.

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“It was a rocky start,” Reed said. “I did not know how it would end, I didn’t know what this team would be about. ... I didn’t know what our identity would be, and I am so proud they helped hold to our tradition.”

Reed scrapped her offense and made defense a priority. JSU made scoring off steals, rebounds and turnovers a priority. That conversion led to JSU reeling off 15 consecutive wins and its fourth consecutive regular- season SWAC title.

“It means a lot,” Reed said of the SWAC honor. "It feels good that my conference respects who I am as a coach. They respect the body of work that we have done at Jackson State.”

Jackson State just missed making the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, where it competed against a tough Memphis team, losing 79-68 on Thursday.

Reed said when they called her name out at the banquet in Birmingham, she had her entire staff walk up to the stage with her to receive the award.

“I can’t be who I am without them,” she said.

In five seasons, Reed has a 99-47 record at Jackson State. She has won two SWAC tournament titles and been to the NCAA Tournament (2021, 2022) and to this year’s WNIT. Reed has also been a two-time honoree as BOXTOROW National HBCU Coach of the Year (2021, 2022).

Reed has also had a player, Williams-Holliday, selected 25th overall in the WNBA draft in 2022. Williams-Holliday was the first HBCU player to be drafted by the WNBA in 20 years.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State's coach Tomekia Reed wins SWAC coach of the year award