BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Redshirt senior
Kennedy Gavin poured in a career high 17 points to lead the Jacksonville State women's basketball team to its first win on the road with a 56-53 decision over in-state rival Samford on Wednesday at the Pete Hanna Canter.
The Gamecocks, in the midst of five games away from Jacksonville, improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-2 overall. Jax State will take the momentum of Wednesday's win to Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday against Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. inside Memorial Gym.
Gavin, from Petal, Mississippi, got the Gamecocks off to a quick start by scoring the first six points of the game before being hampered by foul trouble in the first half. She scored all six of her points in the first quarter. Gavin continued her stellar play in the second half, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. She finished the contest 6-of-8 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. Gavin added three rebounds in 18 minutes of floor action.
In a first half of scoring runs, the Gamecocks opened strong, but a run by the Bulldogs got them back into the contest. Jax State held an 18-11 lead after the first 10 minutes, but a 14-point effort by Samford sent both squads to the halftime break deadlocked at 25-all.
The Bulldogs led after three quarters, but could not withstand a 20-point fourth quarter output by Jax State, highlighted by a top of the key three pointer by Nekiyah Thompson that erased the Bulldogs' lead and hand the Gamecocks the lead for good.
Kiana Johnson drilled a pair of key free throws late to seal the contest. Samford had one last open look at the game-tying three, but it rimmed off the front end.
Thompson and Johnson each finished with seven points, followed by nine points from
Imari Martin.
Madison McCoy nearly reached double figures in rebounds with nine boards.
Samford was led by Andrea Cournoyer, the reining Southern Conference Player of the Year. She posted a game-high 20 points.
Sunday's contest with the Commodores will be streamed on the SEC Network+, the online platform of the SEC Network.
