Stephanie Jackson having big season off the bench for UA Anchorage women鈥檚 basketball
ANCHORAGE, Alaska 鈥� University of Alaska Anchorage guard Stephanie Jackson is having a productive season off the bench for the Seawolves’ basketball team.
Jackson did not grow up in Alaska. In fact, she grew up quite far away from Alaska. Jackson is from the Dallas, Texas suburb of McKinney. She attended McKinney North High School and played on its varsity basketball team for all four years.
She averaged six points per game and 2.3 assists as a freshman in high school. She was named the team鈥檚 newcomer of the year and helped her team win district and regional titles and, finish runner-up in the state tournament.
Jackson had an even better sophomore season. She averaged 9.6 points per game and 3.2 rebounds. Her team won the district title that year.
Even though Jackson had solid freshman and sophomore seasons, she had very difficult junior and senior seasons. She suffered an ACL injury early in her junior season, and it sidelined her for a while. She missed the rest of the year and most of her senior season. She returned for the last 11 games of her senior season and played surprisingly well. She averaged 10.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks.
After high school, Jackson went to Santa Fe College, a junior college in Gainesville, Florida. She made an immediate impact there and averaged 14.8 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals as a freshman. Her best game that year came against Central Florida Junior College. She could not be stopped that game and scored 32 points.
Jackson鈥檚 strong play continued into her sophomore season. She averaged 14.0 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.3 steals. She was named first team all-conference and helped lead her team to a conference title.
Jackson took her talents to UA Anchorage after her two-year stint at Santa Fe College. Anchorage went 31-2 that season and finished fourth in NCAA Division II national polls. The 5-foot-9 guard only started one game that season but played almost 17 minutes a game off the bench. She averaged an efficient 5.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in the COVID-19 shortened season.
Anchorage only played three games last season, but Jackson could not be stopped. She started two of the three games and averaged 13.7 points and 5.7 assists.
This season, Jackson is back on the bench but an essential piece to her team. The Seawolves are 6-0, and Jackson is playing an efficient 13.8 minutes per game. She is averaging 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Expect her numbers to go up as the season goes on.
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