KENNESAW, Ga. – Jacksonville State women's basketball could not overcome a slow start in Thursday's ASUN Conference loss at Kennesaw State. The Gamecocks, playing without a pair of major contributors in Shawnta Shaw and NeKiyah Thompson, used a big fourth period to make things interesting against the Owls but came up short in their 71-61 defeat in metro Atlanta.
 
Jax State (9-8, 2-4) suffered their third straight setback in their first of two meetings with Kennesaw State (8-9, 4-2) this week. Rick Pietri's squad trailed by as many as 24 points before mounting a second half comeback in which they cut the deficit to seven. Unfortunately, the Owls ended the game with a few clutch shots and free throws to earn a hard-fought victory.
 
"There's no question that we fought back. It's just that we started the game with no fight," Pietri said. "It really took us until midway through the second quarter before we started playing with any kind of fight and competitiveness. And by that time, we're down 20-something. In the second half, I thought we fought and competed, but when you're trying to overcome a deficit like that, you can't afford mistakes and we had too many."
 
The Gamecocks took their only lead of the matchup early in the first period. A three-pointer from Masengo Mutanda put Jacksonville State on top 3-2 before Kennesaw State responded with a mid-range jumped. This started a 6-0 run, handing KSU an advantage that they would not relinquish. Mutanda scored nine points in the opening interval, but it was not enough to match the Owls' effort, as they claimed a 24-13 lead through one. That mark would increase in the early stages of the second period. A 10-0 run had Jax State down by 21 points midway through the frame, and Kennesaw State cruised to a 44-24 halftime advantage.
 
The Owls continued to produce to start the second half. A pair of quick baskets had Jacksonville State down 48-24, and the two sides traded blows throughout the third. Jax State finally found their footing in the final stanza. An enthused defensive effort helped create more turnovers and key rebounds, directly leading to solid scoring opportunities for the Gamecock offense. Two free throws from Kennedy Gavin with 1:39 left pushed her over her previous career-high of 23 points and cut the deficit to seven points, but the Owls put the game on ice by converting a couple of contested shots in the final minute of their ten-point triumph.  
 
Gavin's 27 points and Mutanda's 15 points and nine rebounds set new career-bests for the standout Gamecocks. Imari Martin added six points and four rebounds in Cobb County, Ga.
 
"What earned (Mutanda) the starting role was we had two point guards out (Shaw and Thompson)," Pietri said. "What she did was took advantage of the circumstance. Imari Martin is our third point guard on this roster- and she did a great job in that role today- so that opens the two up and Mango is her backup. She did a great job for us today and hopefully that's something that can be a catalyst for her moving forward."
 
Jacksonville State was out-rebounded 44-35 at Kennesaw State and were outscored in the paint 36-22. KSU also had more second-chance points, points off turnovers, bench points, and fast break points. Thanks to an efficient second half, the Gamecock offense ended with a mark of 37.7% shooting from the field and finished with eight made threes.
 
Jax State will look for some quick revenge against the Owls as they welcome the ASUN foes to Pete Mathews Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. That matchup in Jacksonville will tip-off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Gamecock Sports Network.
 
"We're going to have to come out with a different attitude," Pietri said. "In a half of basketball, we outscored them by ten points. The problem is that we went into it down 20. We proved that in a half of basketball we can outscore them, even with a shorthanded roster. Hopefully, by what happened in the second half, we proved to ourselves that with this roster as it is right now, we can still compete and play with these guys."
 
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