Saturday, February 11
JACKSONVILLE
4 P.M.
Jax State
vs
Eastern Kentucky
2/10/2023 4:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE – After scoring a thrilling 59-54 victory over visiting Bellarmine in Thursday evening's contest at Pete Mathews Coliseum, Jacksonville State women's basketball returns home on Saturday afternoon for another ASUN Conference matchup against Eastern Kentucky. That game in Jacksonville, which will serve as Jax State's annual Pink Game, will tip-off at 4 p.m.
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The Gamecocks (13-10, 6-6) played inspired basketball down the stretch against Bellarmine on Thursday. Despite facing BU's 6-foot-6 freshman Gracie Merkle most of the night, graduate forward Kennedy Gavin turned in a 17-point, seven-rebound performance and held one of the nation's best centers to just 16 points and eight boards. As a result, Rick Pietri's team picked up a 59-54 triumph to improve to .500 in ASUN play. Now, though, they will face one of the better teams in the conference in a strong Eastern Kentucky (13-12, 6-6) squad.
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The Colonels, along with Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State, are one of three teams tied for fifth place in the league standings. They rattled off impressive early-season wins over Kennesaw State, Jacksonville, and Stetson, but have fallen on some hard times as of late. After defeating JU 79-70 on Jan. 23, EKU has gone 1-4 in their last five games and have dropped three in a row. Eastern Kentucky played tight but suffered a tough 70-63 loss at Kennesaw State on Thursday.
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EKU is led by redshirt senior guard Antwainette Walker. The 5-foot-11 athlete is one of the top scorers in the nation and comes in averaging 21.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. In addition, fellow guards Marissa Mackins and Danielle Rainey have scored 12.7 and 12.4 points per game. As expected with those numbers, Eastern Kentucky's offense has thrived this season. The Colonels are 24th in assists per game (16.6), 28th in three pointers per game (8.2), and 31st in scoring offense (76.6 points per game).
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Saturday's pairing will showcase one of the ASUN's most prolific offenses and one of the nation's most disciplined squads. Jax State is tenth in turnovers per game (12.3), 18th in defensive three-point percentage (26.5%), 25th in scoring defense (55.8 points allowed per game), and 31st in turnover margin (+4.43).
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Jacksonville State is 21-19 all-time against Eastern Kentucky, a former longtime OVC foe. The Gamecocks have won eight consecutive games in the series, including both of last year's meetings.
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Thursday's game at The Pete will tip-off at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Logan Maddox will cover the matchup on the Gamecock Sports Network.
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Links to follow along with live stats, watch, or listen to the game will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. Score updates and highlights will be posted on JSU women's basketball's Twitter account (@JaxStateWBB).Â
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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.
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The Gamecocks (13-10, 6-6) played inspired basketball down the stretch against Bellarmine on Thursday. Despite facing BU's 6-foot-6 freshman Gracie Merkle most of the night, graduate forward Kennedy Gavin turned in a 17-point, seven-rebound performance and held one of the nation's best centers to just 16 points and eight boards. As a result, Rick Pietri's team picked up a 59-54 triumph to improve to .500 in ASUN play. Now, though, they will face one of the better teams in the conference in a strong Eastern Kentucky (13-12, 6-6) squad.
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The Colonels, along with Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State, are one of three teams tied for fifth place in the league standings. They rattled off impressive early-season wins over Kennesaw State, Jacksonville, and Stetson, but have fallen on some hard times as of late. After defeating JU 79-70 on Jan. 23, EKU has gone 1-4 in their last five games and have dropped three in a row. Eastern Kentucky played tight but suffered a tough 70-63 loss at Kennesaw State on Thursday.
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EKU is led by redshirt senior guard Antwainette Walker. The 5-foot-11 athlete is one of the top scorers in the nation and comes in averaging 21.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. In addition, fellow guards Marissa Mackins and Danielle Rainey have scored 12.7 and 12.4 points per game. As expected with those numbers, Eastern Kentucky's offense has thrived this season. The Colonels are 24th in assists per game (16.6), 28th in three pointers per game (8.2), and 31st in scoring offense (76.6 points per game).
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Saturday's pairing will showcase one of the ASUN's most prolific offenses and one of the nation's most disciplined squads. Jax State is tenth in turnovers per game (12.3), 18th in defensive three-point percentage (26.5%), 25th in scoring defense (55.8 points allowed per game), and 31st in turnover margin (+4.43).
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Jacksonville State is 21-19 all-time against Eastern Kentucky, a former longtime OVC foe. The Gamecocks have won eight consecutive games in the series, including both of last year's meetings.
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Thursday's game at The Pete will tip-off at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Logan Maddox will cover the matchup on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Â
Links to follow along with live stats, watch, or listen to the game will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. Score updates and highlights will be posted on JSU women's basketball's Twitter account (@JaxStateWBB).Â
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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.
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Players Mentioned
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