JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State women's basketball rolled to a blowout win over Montevallo in Wednesday's Kids Educational Day exhibition at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Five Gamecocks scored in double figures as a massive second half helped Jax State score an 85-55 triumph.
"One of the things that is normal in this situation, when you play a Division II school, is that they come out with a chip on their shoulder," head coach
Rick Pietri said. "We looked at some of those kids in high school and chose a different path, so they want to show what they can do. Some of the kids were on the squad last year when we only beat them by five, so they had no fear. Our kids did a good job against a tough team and really kind of wore them down at the end."
The two sides played to a tight first half in Jacksonville. The Falcons shot 50% from the field in the opening period, but it was not enough as a late
Jaz Spencer bucket handed the Red-and-White a 17-15 advantage going into the second. Jacksonville State and Montevallo battled again in the second. UM led for the majority of the interval before a scoring run down the stretch ensured a 30-29 lead for the Gamecocks at the break.
The second half was a completely different tale. The Gamecocks continued their wave of momentum gained in the second period, outscoring the Falcons in the third thanks to several untimely turnovers by the visitors. The flood gates opened in the final stanza as Pietri's squad heated up, connecting on five treys and converting 72% of their total shots in the final ten minutes. A 33-11 difference in the fourth secured the 30-point result for Jax State in their first action of the new year.
Spencer finished with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Brooklyn McDaniel had 12 points and three boards while
Kristol Ayson ended up with 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Bre'Anna Rhodes produced a ten-point, five-rebound outing and
Shaquice May, who connected on a pair of fourth period threes, scored 10 points in the win.
Mya Barnes posted a game-best seven rebounds,
Asia Barclay had nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and
Elsie Harris finished with eight points and two assists in her first game in Jacksonville.
The Gamecocks shot 47.1% from the field and hit one-third (10-of-33) of their three-point attempts. They finished with more rebounds (46 to 26), steals (10 to 9), blocks (4 to 2), bench points (39 to 1), points in the paint (40 to 18), and second chance points (18 to 5) as well.
With their exhibition in the rearview, Jacksonville State sets their sights towards the Plains for a big-time season-opener on Monday. The Gamecocks travel to Neville Arena on Monday night for a road test at Auburn. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.
Links to watch, listen to, or follow along with live stats for that game will be provided at JaxStateSports.com. In addition, score updates will be posted on Jax State Women's Basketball's X account (@JaxStateWBB).
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Women's Basketball), Twitter (@JaxStateWBB), and Instagram (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
