JACKSONVILLE – For the first time since 2017, the Jacksonville State women's basketball team crossed the 90-point mark, defeating Young Harris College 91-58 on Tuesday in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
With the win the Gamecocks improve to 5-2 on the season, having won three consecutive games, and hand the Mountain Lions their first loss of the season.
Nekiyah Thompson led JSU and a group of four players who scored in double-figures with 16 points and a career-high seven assists while
Kennedy Gavin added 14 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
Keiara Griffin added 12 points while
Imari Martin totaled 11.
The Gamecocks opened the game on a 7-0 run, capped with a three-pointer from Thompson. Another score from Thompson pushed the lead to nine in the first, 11-2 before a 7-2 run from Young Harris made it a four-point game, 13-9. JSU led 17-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Griffin capped a 10-4 run to open the second quarter with a three-pointer at the 6:38 mark pushing the Gamecocks to a 27-15 advantage. An and-one play from freshman Bre'Anna Rhodes gave the Gamecocks a 20-point lead, 47-27, with under a minute to go in the quarter. Just before half, senior
Shawnta Shaw notched a pair of free-throws giving JSU a 49-29 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Kinana Johnson put the Gamecocks up by 38, 71-32, following a jumper to cap a 17-2 run. Shaw put JSU up 39, the largest lead of the game, 79-40 following a fastbreak layup with 52 seconds remaining in the third.
Young Harris outscored Jax State 16-12 in the fourth quarter. With one minute to go in the game, junior
Winnie Kuimi gave the Gamecocks its 91
st point of the game, marking the first 90-plus point outing since defeating Murray State 97-65 on Jan. 13, 2017. JSU would go on to win, 91-58.
A 46-31 advantage on the boards carried the Gamecocks in the win. In addition, JSU totaled 16 offensive boards while Young Harris managed just four. JSU scored 19 second chance points.
"There's a number of things that I did like," said Head Coach
Rick Pietri. "While we went through a stretch where we had difficulty making our perimeter shots, we did give ourselves additional chances with offensive rebounds and those led to points."
Gavin totaled 11 rebounds in the win, including four on the offensive glass and continues to lead the ASUN in that regard. JSU is 5-0 on the season when outrebounding its opponents.
"She'll go get us second chances which is a big deal," added Pietri. "She's an extremely capable defensive rebounder as well. She has a nose for it on the offensive glass and that's always helpful because if you aren't making the first shot it certainly helps to get the second one."
The Gamecocks finished 12-of-44 from the beyond-the-arc, just one shy of tying the school record for three-pointers attempted. The record is 45 set against Georgia Southern on Nov. 25, 2020, and Eastern Illinois on Jan. 16, 2020.
"[The three's] were us taking what was given," said Pietri. "Virtually all of the three's were open. I would like to make better than 27 percent of them. I think we are capable of being better. We invest a lot of time in shooting and are going to invest a lot more time in practice to ensure that we make a higher percentage. We took what was given. We had a stretch in the third quarter where we hit three three's in a row and that was nine points that piled up on them real quick."
Martin and Griffin each made three three-pointers for the Gamecocks.
JSU returns to THE PETE against Alabama State on Sunday Dec. 5. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
