.jpg?max_width=450)
The event will air live on ESPN Thursday, March 29 at 6 p.m. (PT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Alyssa Shoji will be representing Santa Clara University and the West Coast Conference in the 3-point shooting portion of the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on Thursday, March 29 in Tulane's Fogelman Arena at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN prior to the Final Four in New Orleans, Intersport announced today.
The 24th annual event will showcase the dunking and sharp-shooting talents of 24 of the nation's top college basketball players. Individual events in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships include: 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.
After the men's and women's competitions, the winner from each 3-point event will participate in the Pure Protein Battle of the Champions competition to crown an overall 3-point champ.
"It was exciting getting the call from (Coach Mountain) yesterday," said Shoji, about finding out she was going to compete in the event. "I was pacing around my room then immediately called up coach Stacy (Clinesmith) and we grabbed a ball rack and ran over to (SCU's Malley Center) to start getting shots up."
Shoji shattered the West Coast Conference single-season 3-point record this season by making 99. Her career total of 286 is the most-ever in Santa Clara history and just 12 shy of the all-time WCC mark. She ranked No. 3 among all NCAA players this season in 3s per game (3.9) and No. 6 in 3-point percentage (41.3).
"(Alyssa) represents what Santa Clara basketball is all about and I am extremely proud of her," said Broncos head coach Jennifer Mountain, who plans on making the trip to New Orleans to support her senior star in person. "I couldn't be prouder of a senior, for what she has done for our program, and for where she has taken this program in four years."
Not only has Shoji excelled on the basketball court during her record-setting SCU career, but she has also been honored on the WCC All-Academic Team. As a team, Bronco women's basketball student-athletes own a collective GPA of 3.1, a point of emphasis since Mountain took over the program in 2008. In fact, 10 of the team's 16 players own GPA's above a 3.0.
Shoji joins a distinguished list of basketball all-stars to compete in the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships – including fellow Bronco and Santa Clara Hall of Famer Steve Nash '96 and Oregon State's Gary Payton (uncle of current SCU men's basketball player Denzel Johnson).
Competing alongside Shoji will be the following participants in the State Farm Women's 3-Point Contest: Taylor Alton (Michigan State); Becky Burke (Louisville); Ashley Corral (USC); Markeshia Grant (South Carolina); Courtney Ingersoll (Toledo); Jessica Jenkins (St. Bonaventure); Brittany Rayburn (Purdue).
"I have participated in a few 3-point contests in high school," said Shoji, who starred at Issaquah High School in the Seattle area. "It's different than just shooting 3's in a game because no one is passing you the ball, you're pulling from the rack. So it has a bit of a different feel to it. But I'm excited to go out there and represent SCU!"
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 collegeslam.com. Fogelman Arena's doors will open an hour prior at 7 pm CT.
The ESPN broadcast team includes Brad Nessler, Dan Dakich, Jimmy Dykes and Shannon Spake. The program will re-air numerous times on ESPN networks.
CLICK HERE for the complete release (PDF) as announced by Intersport.
About State Farm®:
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
About Intersport
Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports and entertainment based marketing platforms. Intersport provides turnkey solutions for globalbrands by combining two award-winning divisions: Sponsorship & Event Marketing and Television & Digital Media. Intersport owns and operates seven annual live television events: All-Star Football Challenge, College Home Run Derby, College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, National High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Kirk Herbstreit NationalKickoff Classic, Women's Basketball Tip-Off Classic and the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game. To learn more about Intersport, log on to www.intersportnet.com, like us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/IntersportBuzz) or follow us on Twitter (@IntersportBuzz).
Support Santa Clara University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Bronco Bench Foundation. For more information follow this link or call 408-554-5577. For additional involvement opportunities with Santa Clara Athletics, click here.