July 30, 2007

By Corey Miggins, Assistant Sports Information Director

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Former Southeast Missouri State women's basketball players Tatiana Conceicao and Simone Jackson helped their respective national teams to good showings at the 25th-annual Pan American Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, which officially concluded this past weekend.

Simone Jackson averaged 2.6 points and 4.4 rebounds for Jamaica at the Pan Am Games in Brazil

Conceicao, in her first official tour with Brazil's national team, helped her team capture the silver medal after falling to the United States, 79-66, in the Gold Medal game on July 24. The Brazilians finished the tournament with a 5-1 record and posted a 3-0 ledger in Group A competition. The 6-2 Conceicao averaged 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds a game in addition to shooting 75 percent both from three-point range and the free-throw line. She posted eight points, seven rebounds and was 2-for-2 from downtown and the charity stripe in eight-plus minutes during an 88-44 win over Mexico on July 21.

Jackson averaged 2.6 points and 4.4 boards a contest while playing an average of 20 minutes per game as Jamaica tallied a 2-3 record and finished eighth in tournament play. She also produced four steals, which tied for the third-best effort on the team, and four assists. Jackson notched eight points, six rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes in her first starting assignment with the Jamaicans on July 23 against Argentina. She also recorded five defensive caroms in the July 20 tournament opener against Brazil.