March 27, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior guard Markeshia Grant will participate in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on Thu., March 29, in New Orleans. The 24th annual event showcases the dunking and sharp-shooting talents of 24 of the nation’s top college basketball players. Individual events include the State Farm Women’s 3-Point Contest, Hampton Hotels Men’s 3-Point Contest, Pure Protein Battle of the Champions and Denny’s Slam Dunk Contest, all of which will take place at Tulane University’s Fogelman Arena and air live at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
A Second-Team All-SEC selection, Grant will compete in the State Farm Women’s 3-Point Contest. Her 21 points, including three 3-pointers, against No. 13/15 Purdue propelled the Gamecocks into the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 where she hit four 3s in a loss to No. 2/2 Stanford. The Tampa, Fla., native closed her two-year career in the Garnet and Black ranked sixth in school history in career 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 33.4 percent. Her 64 3s this season were the 10th-most in school history and included her seven at Tennessee on Feb. 21, which was two short of the program’s single-game record. Grant finished the season ranked fourth in the SEC in 3-point percentage at .364 (64-176) and was sixth in 3s made per game (1.8).
The final roster for the 2012 State Farm Women’s 3-Point Championship is not yet finalized, but, with Grant, will include Brittany Rayburn (Purdue), Jessica Jenkins (St. Bonaventure), Ashley Corral (Southern Cal), Becky Burke (Louisville), Taylor Alton (Michigan State) and Courtney Ingersoll (Toledo).
After the men’s and women’s 3-point competitions, the winner from each event will participate in the Pure Protein Battle of the Champions to crown the overall 3-point winner.
For fans who would like to attend the event, doors will open at 8 p.m. (ET). General admission tickets are $15, a Family Four Pack is $40 and groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $8 per ticket. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.CollegeSlam.com.
The ESPN broadcast team includes Brad Nessler, Dan Dakich, Jimmy Dykes and Shannon Spake. The program will re-air numerous times on the ESPN networks.
