Thursday, January 19
Kennesaw, GA
6 P.M.
Jacksonville State University
at
Kennesaw State
Women's Basketball to Play Owls Thursday and Saturday
1/18/2023 10:29:00 AM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State women's basketball will look to rebound with this week's ASUN Conference home-and-home series against Kennesaw State. The Gamecocks will travel to Cobb County, Ga., to play the Owls at 6 p.m. CT Thursday before hosting the league rivals at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Jax State (9-7, 2-3) fell below .500 in conference play for the first time since 2019-20 following a pair of losses in the Volunteer State last week. JSU could not stop Austin Peay in crunch time on Thursday in Clarksville, surrendering a 5-0 run late and suffering a 47-43 defeat. Their luck did not improve two days later in Nashville, as Rick Pietri's squad battled back from significant deficits twice to regain the lead but could not hold on in a 62-55 loss.
The Gamecocks entered last week tied for second in the ASUN standings, but now sit in a tie for seventh place with a 2-3 conference mark. Jacksonville State will face the same opponent twice this week in their league travel partner, Kennesaw State (7-9, 3-2).
The Owls are led by second-year head coach Octavia Blue. Like JSU, KSU played Georgia and Ole Miss in non-conference play, falling 89-47 and 72-60 to those respective SEC foes. A tough pre-league slate saw Kennesaw State go just 4-7, but they have bounced back with three big ASUN wins through five games. Following a conference-opening loss at Eastern Kentucky, they rebounded with three straight triumphs over Austin Peay and at Bellarmine and Lipscomb. APSU exacted revenge on the Owls Saturday evening in Clarksville, but Kennesaw State still sits in the top half of the league standings through the first two weeks of ASUN play.
5-foot-11 guard Jah'Che Whitfield leads KSU with 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, and Purdue transfer Lyndsey Whilby is just behind her with marks of 9.6 and 4.6 per contest. In addition, graduate guard Amani Johnson leads the league in minutes played and is third on the squad with 9.4 points per game. The Owls have seven played listed 5'11 or taller on their roster and are 68th nationally with 13.4 offensive rebounds per game. However, they shoot just 38.8% from the field and have the 230th scoring defense in Division I basketball.
Kennedy Gavin tallied two more standout performances for Jax State over the weekend. The Petal, Miss., native had a team-high nine points and 11 rebounds at Austin Peay before following it up with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double against Lipscomb. Those 12 rebounds are a season-best for Gavin, who leads the team in rebounds per game (8.3) and is second on the team in points per game (11.2). Shawnta Shaw, the squad's leading scorer (11.4 points per game), cooled off a bit and had just 12 total points in Tennessee.
Despite the shooting struggles on the road, JSU still boasts one of the NCAA's most disciplined offenses and defenses. The Gamecocks are seventh in turnovers per game (11.4), 14th in scoring defense (54.2 points allowed per game), 14th in defensive three-point percentage (25.2%), and24th in turnover margin (+5.25).
Jacksonville State is 13-8 all-time against Kennesaw State and has won seven of the 13 meetings since moving to Division I in 1995. KSU went on a run in the 2000s and 2010s, taking six of eight over the Gamecocks, but JSU has responded by winning four of the last five showdowns since 2013. Jax State has won three consecutive pairings over Kennesaw State, including wins in Kennesaw in 2016 and 2022. Their last meeting, which came on Jan. 27 of last year, saw Jacksonville State earn a 71-68 triumph in metro Atlanta.
Thursday's game at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga., will tip-off at 6 p.m. CT, and Saturday's game in Jacksonville will start at 4 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Logan Maddox will cover the matchups on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Links to follow along with live stats, watch, or listen to the games will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. Score updates and highlights will be posted on JSU women's basketball's Twitter account (@JaxStateWBB).
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, be sure to follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State University Women's Basketball), Twitter (@JaxStateWBB), and Instagram (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
Jax State (9-7, 2-3) fell below .500 in conference play for the first time since 2019-20 following a pair of losses in the Volunteer State last week. JSU could not stop Austin Peay in crunch time on Thursday in Clarksville, surrendering a 5-0 run late and suffering a 47-43 defeat. Their luck did not improve two days later in Nashville, as Rick Pietri's squad battled back from significant deficits twice to regain the lead but could not hold on in a 62-55 loss.
The Gamecocks entered last week tied for second in the ASUN standings, but now sit in a tie for seventh place with a 2-3 conference mark. Jacksonville State will face the same opponent twice this week in their league travel partner, Kennesaw State (7-9, 3-2).
The Owls are led by second-year head coach Octavia Blue. Like JSU, KSU played Georgia and Ole Miss in non-conference play, falling 89-47 and 72-60 to those respective SEC foes. A tough pre-league slate saw Kennesaw State go just 4-7, but they have bounced back with three big ASUN wins through five games. Following a conference-opening loss at Eastern Kentucky, they rebounded with three straight triumphs over Austin Peay and at Bellarmine and Lipscomb. APSU exacted revenge on the Owls Saturday evening in Clarksville, but Kennesaw State still sits in the top half of the league standings through the first two weeks of ASUN play.
5-foot-11 guard Jah'Che Whitfield leads KSU with 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, and Purdue transfer Lyndsey Whilby is just behind her with marks of 9.6 and 4.6 per contest. In addition, graduate guard Amani Johnson leads the league in minutes played and is third on the squad with 9.4 points per game. The Owls have seven played listed 5'11 or taller on their roster and are 68th nationally with 13.4 offensive rebounds per game. However, they shoot just 38.8% from the field and have the 230th scoring defense in Division I basketball.
Kennedy Gavin tallied two more standout performances for Jax State over the weekend. The Petal, Miss., native had a team-high nine points and 11 rebounds at Austin Peay before following it up with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double against Lipscomb. Those 12 rebounds are a season-best for Gavin, who leads the team in rebounds per game (8.3) and is second on the team in points per game (11.2). Shawnta Shaw, the squad's leading scorer (11.4 points per game), cooled off a bit and had just 12 total points in Tennessee.
Despite the shooting struggles on the road, JSU still boasts one of the NCAA's most disciplined offenses and defenses. The Gamecocks are seventh in turnovers per game (11.4), 14th in scoring defense (54.2 points allowed per game), 14th in defensive three-point percentage (25.2%), and24th in turnover margin (+5.25).
Jacksonville State is 13-8 all-time against Kennesaw State and has won seven of the 13 meetings since moving to Division I in 1995. KSU went on a run in the 2000s and 2010s, taking six of eight over the Gamecocks, but JSU has responded by winning four of the last five showdowns since 2013. Jax State has won three consecutive pairings over Kennesaw State, including wins in Kennesaw in 2016 and 2022. Their last meeting, which came on Jan. 27 of last year, saw Jacksonville State earn a 71-68 triumph in metro Atlanta.
Thursday's game at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga., will tip-off at 6 p.m. CT, and Saturday's game in Jacksonville will start at 4 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Logan Maddox will cover the matchups on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Links to follow along with live stats, watch, or listen to the games will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. Score updates and highlights will be posted on JSU women's basketball's Twitter account (@JaxStateWBB).
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, be sure to follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State University Women's Basketball), Twitter (@JaxStateWBB), and Instagram (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
Players Mentioned
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