LAS VEGAS – Strong offensive outings from Shawnta Shaw and Brooklyn McDaniel and a smothering defensive performance guided Jacksonville State's women's basketball squad to a 59-47 win over Campbell on Wednesday afternoon. That triumph in Nevada concluded JSU's action in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic and secured their first three-game winning streak of 2022-23. 
 
"For us to come in and get these two wins is a big deal because these are both quality mid-major teams we faced," Jacksonville State head coach Rick Pietri said. "I feel really good about what this team was able to do. We made a business trip here and came up with the results that we would've hoped to get."
 
Fifth-year guard Shawnta Shaw was virtually unstoppable at South Point Arena. The Nashville, Tenn., native had a game-high 17 points to go along with her two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. In addition, freshman Brooklyn McDaniel posted a career-best 12 points and four boards in an impressive win for Jax State (6-4). 
 
"Brooklyn did a nice job in a relief role and was able to make some offensive plays for us and gave good effort," Pietri said. "Shawnta did what she has continued to do for us this year multiple times. She's found ways to get to the goal, but she also hits perimeter shots. I think both of those kids were instrumental in our ability to win the game."
 
Like Tuesday's triumph over Utah Tech, the Gamecock defense forced 21 turnovers against a solid Campbell (5-6) offense. Jacksonville State turned that into 19 points off turnovers. That, combined with 20 bench points and 10 second-chance points, were invaluable in Wednesday's victory. 
 
"Our team, in a very quick turnaround with little time to repair, really bought into our method of how we were going to defend, and it yielded some positive results for us," Pietri said. "We had a handful of breakdowns, but for the most part we did a nice job adhering to what our plan was defensively."
 
JSU entered their contest with the Camels still riding high from the previous day's upset of a NET Top-100 Trailblazers team. Pietri's girls raced out to a 9-2 advantage before Campbell began clawing back, eventually tying it at 12-12 late in the opening period. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by McDaniel would serve as the difference through one, but a much more decisive second period followed. The Gamecocks scored the first 12 points of the interval and outscored the Camels 14-5 to head into the locker rooms up 29-17.
 
A scrappy Campbell program packed a punch in the third period. The Camels utilized a ferocious offensive attack, relying mostly on fast break opportunities, to cut it to a one-possession difference. Fortunately for Pietri, his squad was able to convert clutch shots down the stretch and led by nine going into the final quarter. Campbell once again attempted a comeback and were as close as five points away before Jacksonville State put the game on ice with a pair of late field goals by McDaniel and Kennedy Gavin.
 
Gavin finished with 11 points and scored in double figures for the second straight game. The Petal, Miss., native also had five rebounds. Keiara Griffin had a team-high six rebounds and NeKiyah Thompson ended up with three points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal. 
 
After tallying two big wins out west, Jacksonville State's women have one last non-conference tune-up before the real games start. JSU travels to Chattanooga next Thurs., Dec. 29, for a friendly affair with the Mocs. Their first ASUN Conference test will take place Jan. 2 at Central Arkansas, and Jax State's next home game will be Jan. 5 versus Lipscomb. 
 
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