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JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team will test its second Southeastern Conference opponent on Wednesday as it travels to The Plains of Auburn to face the Tigers in a 6 p.m. contest at Auburn Arena.

The JSU-AU tilt will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network and via live audio stream at JSUGamecockSports.com.

The Gamecocks, who ushered in the Rick Pietri era at JSU last Friday, will be looking for their first win of the 2013-14 campaign after falling to Ole Miss, 83-62, in the season lid lifter.  Auburn opened the season last Saturday with a 69-59 win over Georgia Southern, who Jax State will face Saturday in Statesboro, Ga.

Jax State got off to a great start against the Rebels of UM with a double-digit lead in the first half and held an 11-point, 35-24 advantage at the halftime break.  The Gamecocks were unable to survive a 59-point second half scoring surge by the Rebels.  JSU placed three players in double figures in the scoring column, led by juniors Candace Morton and Miranda Cantrell.  Morton and Cantrell recorded double-double performances in the season opener as Morton turned in a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds.  The Lexington, Ky.-guard tallied 14 of her points in the first half.  Cantrell scored 12 of JSU's 27 second-half points and pulled down a dozen rebounds.

The College Park, Ga.-product has now scored in double figures in eight consecutive games, dating back to the final seven games of the 2012-13 season and the Ole Miss contest. 

Pietri had a scoring lift off the JSU bench with freshman Briana Benson adding 11 points and four rebounds in her first collegiate game.  Benson played a solid 24 minutes and connected on 4-of-11 from the field.  Junior Bria'unna Buckner pitched in nine first-half points.

Wednesday's in-state duel will be the 12th meeting all time between the two programs with AU holding a decisive 10-1 lead in the series. JSU's win over the Tigers came on Jan. 2, 2005 in Jacksonville, Ala.  The Gamecocks downed the Tigers 71-66 at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The Tigers topped Jax State, 79-60, in the last meeting on Dec. 30, 2010 at Auburn Arena and has put together three straight wins over JSU since that win in 2005.

The Tigers are in the second year of the Terri Williams-Flournoy regime and return eight members of the squad that finished last season in the Women's NIT and a final mark of 19-15.

In AU's previous game, Senior Tyrese Tanner led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points, while senior Peyton Davis notched her third career double-double (15 pts, 11 rebs.). The Tigers built an early lead, going up as many as 14 points at 27-13 with 7:23 left in the first half. Three times in the second half the Eagles cut the lead to five, but that was as close as they would get as the Tigers pulled away for the double-digit lead and win.

Auburn used its defense to keep Georgia Southern at bay, forcing 16 turnovers that turned into 15 Tiger points. AU also held strong on the boards, pulling down 22 offensive rebounds that turned into 25 second-chance points.

Following the AU game, JSU returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Statesboro, Ga. to face the Eagles of Georgia Southern.  Tip off is set for 4:30 p.m. CST.