Jessica Jenkins to Participate in State Farm 3-Point Championship

CHICAGO - St. Bonaventure guard Jessica Jenkins will cap off an illustrious senior season by participating in the State Farm Women's 3-Point Championship Thursday night on the campus of Tulane in New Orleans.

The competition will be part of the 24th Annual State Farm Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, traditionally held the Thursday before the Final Four in the event's host city. For the first time ever, ESPN will air the event live from 9-11 p.m.

Jenkins will join Purdue's Brittany Rayburn, USC's Ashley Corral, Louisville's Becky Burke, Michigan State's Taylor Alton, Toledo's Courtney Ingersoll and South Carolina's Markeshia Grant in the contest, with possible additions coming in the next day.

The winner of the Women's 3-Point Championship will face the champion of the Hampton Hotels Men's 3-Point Championship in the Pure Protein Battle of the Champions later in the evening. Current men's participants include: Missouri's Marcus Denmon, Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom, Northwestern's John Shurna, Temple's Juan Fernandez, UNLV's Chace Stanback, VCU's Bradford Burgess and High Point's Nick Barbour.

If Jenkins wins Thursday night, she would be the second consecutive Atlantic 10 player to do after Massachusetts' Cerie Mosgrove proved victorious last season. Mosgrove won the women's title before falling in the overall final.

Jenkins, a First-Team All-Conference and Academic All-Conference selection, was one of just 30 finalists named as a Naismith Player of the Year nominee. The Marion, Ohio product led the Bonnies with 13.9 points per game and a program-record 110 3-pointers while shooting 96 percent (65-for-68) from the free-throw line.

Jenkins ends her career ranked 12th all-time in NCAA Division I history with 338 3-pointers, which also shattered the A-10 record of 291. She also ranks seventh in program history in points (1,441), eighth in double-figure point games (69) and second in free-throw percentage (.869). She tallied 25 games with five or more three-pointers, more than any other player in the country. Additionally, Jenkins made eight 3's in game three separate times this season.

The Denny's Slam Dunk Championship will conclude the night's festivities. Duke's Miles Plumlee, Auburn's Kenny Gabriel, Miami's DeQuan Jones, Wichita State's David Kyles, Oregon's Olu Ashaolu, Northwestern State's William Mosley and Martin Methodist's James Justice are scheduled to participate in the contest.

Fans will join Duke legend Bobby Hurley, running back Pierre Thomas and tight end Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints, and LSU defensive end Michael Brockers as the "fifth judge" via Twitter. Viewers and those in attendance are encouraged to use "#CollegeSlam" and a corresponding hashtag with the player's name and a score between one and 10 during the event, with an average score being tabulated.

Tickets for the State Farm Slam Dunk and Three-Point Championships can be purchased via Tulane's office (504-861-WAVE) or Ticketmaster.

The news leader of the Twin Tiers ...
since 1947