JACKSONVILLE – Kristol Ayson and Samiya Steele reached double digits scoring in Jacksonville State women's basketball's 67-53 triumph over Alabama-Huntsville at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The Gamecocks were able to rebound from a slow start in their home opener to top UAH and earn their first win of the 2023-24 campaign. 
 
"When you had the kind of week we had last week, it's really important to find a way to finish a game with the result that you'd like," head coach Rick Pietri said. "There are lots of things we can take from this game that we need to improve upon and we need to be better than today moving forward, but we were good enough today to beat a quality Division II team."
 
Both defenses stood tall in the first ten minutes. The two Yellowhammer State squads combined to go just 6-of-32 from the field in the opening period as the visiting Chargers (1-3) carried a 13-9 advantage in the second. The following ten minutes saw Jax State (1-3) find more of a rhythm offensively. The Red-and-White knocked down five shots and a pair of threes and used a 10-2 run to storm back late and claim a 29-21 lead heading into the locker rooms.
 
More of the same continued in the second half. Although an athletic UAH bunch found ways to generate points, they could not keep Jacksonville State's scorers in check enough to create a comeback. Pietri's team secured the game's first double-digit difference in the third period and kept their foot on the accelerator, leading by as many as 20 points in the fourth before cruising to a 67-53 victory. 
 
Ayson had a team-best 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting with four made free throws. Steele ended up with 11 points, three triples, and three rebounds, and Bre'Anna Rhodes finished just shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 boards. Keiara Griffin added nine points while Asia Barclay and Brooklyn McDaniel scored eight each. 
 
Jax State was out-shot 39.6% to 35.1% but held advantages in bench points (18 to 11), points off turnovers (14 to 12), second chance points (11 to 7), and fast break points (8 to 4). In addition, the Gamecocks out-rebounded the Chargers 40-31, forced 17 turnovers, and shot 86.4% (19-of-22) from the free throw line in the win. 
 
"We talked about the fact that if we're going to shoot poorly, we've got to give ourselves a chance (by rebounding)," Pietri said. "We have to get in there and give ourselves a second chance. We didn't do so hot early but in the second quarter we did a much better job of getting second chances for ourselves, which in some cases led to getting fouled and getting to the free throw line, and we were able to shoot it well there."
 
With their first result of the season in the rearview mirror, Jacksonville State is set to play its final game before Thanksgiving Break on Monday at The Pete. The Gamecocks will welcome Life University back to Calhoun County for a 6:30 p.m. contest. They handed the Running Eagles a 63-40 setback last season in the program's first meeting with the NAIA foe from Marietta, Ga. 
 
Links to watch 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), Instagram (@JaxStateWBB), and X (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.