Jennifer “JT” Towne enters her second season with the South Alabama program after being named graduate assistant coach in August 2015. She is currently working on earning her graduate degree in communications studies.
Midway through the 2015-16 season, Towne joined USA’s active roster and competed in 22 games off the bench, averaging 1.4 ppg, 2,0 rpg in 9.5 minutes of action. Against Little Rock on Dec. 30, 2015, Towne eclipsed a career milestone as she scored her 1,000th career point versus the Trojans. The Jonesboro, Ark., native ended her career with 1,022 career points.
Towne came to USA after earning her bachelor of science degree in communication arts at North Alabama in the summer of 2015. The public communications major earned her degree in just three years. As a freshman, she was a member of the UNA squad which recorded 20 wins and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament under then-head coach Terry Fowler.
While at UNA, Towne was a three-year letterwinner on the Lady Lions basketball team and ended her career ranked 15th on the program’s all-time scoring list, finishing just shy of the 1,000-point mark, recording 992 points. She also pulled down 356 rebounds during that same time and started all 84 games in which she played for the Lions during her career.
As a junior, Towne averaged 13.8 points per game and was second on the club with 5.6 rpg, while knocking don 44.3 percent of her shot attempts. She ranked among the Gulf South Conference leaders in scoring, rebounding and steals (49). Towne led the team and ranked fifth in the GSC in scoring (14.3) as a sophomore. She averaged 6.5 rebounds per outing and shot 74.1 percent from the foul line, both of which ranked among the conference leaders. Towne also registered a 42.9 field-goal percentage that same season for the Lions.
Towne starred off the court at North Alabama as well as she was twice named a Presidential-Scholar Athlete and a Dean-Scholar athlete for two semesters. She was also a two-time Gulf South Conference all-academic team selection (‘15 and ‘14).
Towne served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) at North Alabama, including a term as the committee’s president. In 2014, she was a National S.A.A.C. nominee.
She was selected to the Dean’s list three times and received the Academic Award of Excellence. Towne was a National Honor Society member and selected to the 2015 Who’s Who Among College Students. She was also a member of the National Communications Association and Lion Comm, and served as the president of Lambda Pi Eta.
