JACKSONVILLE – For the second-straight game, Jacksonville State's women's basketball team led nearly wire-to-wire as it defeated New Orleans, 72-55, on Saturday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum to move to 2-0 on the season.
 
For head coach Rick Pietri, it was his 15th all-time victory over the Privateers (1-2) going back to his time in the Sun Belt. JSU moves to 4-1 in the series against UNO, and has now won 31 of its last 45 home games at The Pete. 
 
The Gamecocks were led offensively by a trio of double-digit scorers, topped by junior Imari Martin's team-high 14 points in just her second game. The Hazel Green, Ala., native is in her first season with JSU since transferring from Wallace State CC. Joining Martin in double figures was senior Kiana Johnson and junior Yamia Johnson, with 13 apiece. Redshirt-senior Jessie Day collected 11 of JSU's 40 rebounds.
 
Trailing 3-2 in the early minutes, Day, Y. Johnson and senior Taylor Hawks strung together consecutive three-pointers to quickly grab an eight-point advantage. The Privateers would fight back to briefly reclaim the lead late in the opening stanza, before Yamia punctuated the period with a final triple to lead 16-13 after one.
 
JSU showed it doesn't shy away from the deep shot, going 11-for-33 from long distance on Saturday, after a 14-for-45 day in the opener against Georgia Southern.
 
Leading by two midway through the second, Martin's layup began a 15-4 run to end the half for the Gamecocks to take a 34-21 lead into the break.
 
The Privateers, coming off a setback to No. 6 Mississippi State earlier in the week, clung to around a 10-point deficit most of the third until the final three minutes when Winnie Kuimi had a second-chance putback to make it 46-34. Kuimi quietly had eight points, seven boards and a steal to solidify the paint for Jax State.
 
For the second time to start the year, every eligible Gamecock saw time on the floor. Junior Kaiya Burnett knocked down a triple with seven minutes left to play to hand JSU its largest lead of the day at 60-39. The two sides swapped scores down the stretch, but the margin didn't move much as JSU grabbed another double-digit win.  
 
It's the first 2-0 start for JSU since the 2010-11 campaign, but the Gamecocks now put that hot start to the test on the road at Georgia on Wednesday, Dec. 9.