NEW ORLEANS – Despite the town's nickname, it wasn't easy for the Jacksonville State women's basketball team who earned a hard-fought victory, 59-55, on the road at New Orleans on Thursday night.
The win was the first true road victory for the Gamecocks (5-2) who beat East Carolina two games ago on a neutral court in New Jersey. It also marked the third win in four meetings against the UNO Privateers since the series started in 2013. The win also secured head coach
Rick Pietri's 61 st victory at the helm of the Gamecocks, just one back of Tony Mabrey (62) for third-most all-time in school history.
The Gamecocks got off to a fast start with an 8-0 lead out of the gate. Three minutes passed before UNO got on the scoreboard, but the Privateers slowly chipped away at the deficit and soon trailed by only two, 13-11. With just under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter, McKenna Lawrence's three snapped UNO's run and set the Gamecocks up to lead by five as the quarter came to a close.
In the second, Jax State briefly stretched its lead to double digits at 27-16, but UNO quickly brought it back to a six-to-eight point game where it remained the rest of the first half. JSU took a 35-30 advantage into the locker room but missed a late opportunity after stealing UNO's inbound pass with three seconds left, but came up short on the final attempt.
JSU was held to just 10 points in the third, as the Privateers took the lead for the first time of the night at 40-39, and later led by three entering the final ten minutes of the game. UNO's Randi Brown extended the home squad lead to 50-45 early in the fourth. The Privateers' leading scoring averaging 24 points per game was limited to just 11 on Thursday. Immediately after Brown gave UNO a boost, JSU's own leading scorer, Gretchen Morrison, drained her first triple of the contest to pull the Gamecocks right back in it.
Down the stretch, Tasha Magruder had back-to-back field goals to even the score at 52 with just over five minutes remaining, before Kiana Johnson gave the Gamecocks the lead for good on a three from the left wing. JSU led by one possession trying to run the clock out when Magruder came up big on multiple occasions, first securing a critical late offensive rebound, and then streaking to the goal for a catch-and-shoot layup in the closing seconds with UNO trying to foul.
In the Gamecocks' first win of the season when scoring less than 60 points, Magruder finished with six boards, behind only Chloe Long who pulled down a team best seven rebounds.Tyler Phelion led offensively with ten points while 11 of the 12 Gamecocks that played made their way into the scoring column.
JSU now has a week off as the university begins semester finals. The Gamecocks will return to the court Dec. 9 at Miami (Ohio), before returning home to Pete Mathews Coliseum on Dec. 12 to host in-state foe, Alabama A&M.
