AUBURN, Ala. – Turnovers plagued Gamecock women's basketball in Monday night's season-opening loss at Auburn. Jacksonville State turned the ball over 19 times at Neville Arena, resulting in 24 points off turnovers for the Tigers in their 78-49 win.
"They're just better than we are," head coach
Rick Pietri said. "We've got a lot of work to do. They're at a level of athleticism we just haven't faced, and it's back to the drawing board for us."
Jax State (0-1) rebounded quickly from a slow start in the opening period. Auburn (1-0) raced out to a 10-2 lead early before the Gamecocks rallied to cut it to a one-point difference at 17-16 following a pair of threes by
Keiara Griffin and
Samiya Steele. AU carried a 24-20 advantage into the second period but wasted little time building upon that. The Southeastern Conference foe shot 50% from the field in the second interval and a smothering defense allowed just three made baskets by Jacksonville State. In the end, a 17-6 run in the second built a 41-26 halftime lead for the Tigers.
Shooting woes continued for Jax State in the third. Pietri's group shot just 3-of-11 from the field while Auburn continued to press down on the accelerator. A rowdy crowd in Lee County cheered the Tigers on to a 20-point lead through three periods and the Tigers led by as many as 31 late in the fourth. In the end, the Red-and-White packed up and headed home following a 29-point setback on the Plains.
Steele impressed in her first action as a Gamecock, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting with two rebounds and two assists. Griffin added nine points, three rebounds, two steals, and an assist and
Kristol Ayson had eight points, two steals, two rebounds, and one assist.
Madison McCoy had a team-best seven rebounds and
Mya Barnes had Jax State's only block.
The Tigers out-shot the Gamecocks 47.5% to 30.5% from the field and 44.4% to 21.4% from three. Auburn out-rebounded Jacksonville State 43-31 and tallied more steals (11 to 7), assists (13 to 5), and blocks (4 to 1).
Jacksonville State travels west for their next contest which will take place Thursday night at Utah Tech. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
"We're going to see an entirely different team in Utah Tech," Pietri said. "They don't look anything like this and they don't play like this. We're going to have to show an ability to adjust and manage, so we'll see whether we can do that or not."
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), Instagram (@JaxStateWBB), and X (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
