LAS VEGAS – Jacksonville State women's basketball has made a trip to Sin City this week to participate in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Gamecocks will take on Utah Tech on Tues., Dec. 20, before sparring with Campbell the next day at South Point Arena in two of their final three non-conference tests of the 2022-23 campaign.
JSU (4-4) continued a trend of back-to-back losses followed by consecutive wins in last week's victory over Alabama State. Jax State scored just one point in the opening period and trailed 19-15 at halftime, but a 56-point second-half explosion guided the Gamecocks to a memorable 71-60 triumph. Jacksonville State got back to .500 on the season with that win, and head coach
Rick Pietri's squad will look to create a winning streak this week in the Silver State.
Utah Tech (7-2) has had a strong start in the seventh year of the JD Gustin era. After finishing 10-19 with a young squad a season ago, the Trailblazers have already tallied several key victories in non-conference play and are nearing last year's season-long win total. Utah Tech's only losses came at Power 5 opponents in Washington (87-74) and Kansas State (91-82), but both were tight games throughout. The Trailblazers enter the Holiday Hoops Classic winners of four straight, as they picked up a 69-65 triumph at Weber State on Saturday night.
The Trailblazers sport an electrifying offense that averages nearly 87 points per game. Their leading scorers are senior Breaunna Gillen and sophomore Macie Warren, two speedy guards posting 20.4 and 18.9 points per game. Their top rebounder is 5-foot-8 guard Maggie McCord, who has 8.6 rebounds per outing to go along with her 12.1 points.
As they make the trip from North Carolina, Campbell (5-4) enters this week's tournament just one game above .500. However, the Camels have one of the best defenses in Division I and have held even the best offenses to far below their season averages in 2022-23. Seventh-year head coach Ronny Fisher's squad narrowly lost to UCF, 62-60, in mid-November and gave up just 62 points at Virginia a week later. The Big South opponent drubbed William Peace 101-38 last Wednesday and have won two of their last three contests.
The Camels have allowed just 48.0 points per game this season, a mark that is the second-best in all of Division I. In addition, their defensive three-point percentage (22.2%) and field goal percentage on defense (32.1%) rank fourth and fifth nationally. While they average just 63.6 points per game, the Camel offense can be deadly as they have topped 80 points three times in nine games. Their most consistent offensive piece has been graduate guard Shy Teulle who scores 13.0 points per game.
Fifth-year guard
Imari Martin and junior forward
Keiara Griffin shined for JSU in last week's comeback win over Alabama State. Martin finished with four made three-pointers and 17 total points while Griffin added 14 points as well. Upperclassmen
NeKiyah Thompson and
Kyra Williams had nine points each in that victory at The Pete. Martin reclaimed her lead in points per game with 13.8, but Troy transfer
Shawnta Shaw is right behind her with 13.0 per outing. Williams is averaging 10.5 points per game through six appearances this season. Jax State's top rebounders remain
Kennedy Gavin (6.9) and
Madison McCoy (5.3).
Jacksonville State's calling card in the Pietri era has been defense, and that remains the same this year. The Gamecocks are allowing 55.5 points per game- the 34
th best mark in Division I- and are Top 50 in three-point percentage defense (25.4%, 36
th) as well.
Jax State will play Utah Tech for the first time in program history on Tuesday afternoon at South Point Arena. The Gamecocks are 10-9 all-time versus Campbell, but the last meeting resulted in a 66-53 loss in the Lady Osprey Holiday Classic in Dec. 2012.
Also on the line for JSU this week is a chance to improve their fortunes away from home. The Gamecocks are 4-1 at Pete Mathews Coliseum this season but are 0-3 on the road. Their games in Las Vegas will mark their first neutral site showdowns of 2022-23.
Tuesday's game versus Utah Tech will tip-off at 3:15 p.m. CT. Their matchup with Campbell the following day will also tip-off at 3:15 p.m. CT. Fans unable to attend either of this week's games in Nevada can follow along with all the action via streaming or listening on the radio. Both contests will be broadcast on BallerTV and Logan Maddox will cover the matchups on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Links to follow along with live stats or to watch or listen to those non-conference tests will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. Score updates and highlights will be posted on JSU women's basketball's Twitter account (@JSUGamecocksWBB).
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, be sure to follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State University Women's Basketball), Twitter (@JSUGamecocksWBB), and Instagram (@JSUGamecocksWBB) accounts.
