JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Big days for
Kyra Williams and
Masengo Mutanda were not enough to secure a win for Jacksonville State women's basketball in Saturday's 59-53 overtime loss at Jacksonville University.
Williams followed up Thursday's strong performance with a 20-point outing at Swisher Gymnasium and Mutanda added 15 points and three boards. As fate would have it, though, Jax State (14-12, 7-8) could not seize opportunities to take control of the game in regulation and fell to the Dolphins (11-14, 5-10) on the road.
The two sides battled in an evenly matched first half. The Gamecocks hit some key threes early on to claim a five-point advantage, but the Dolphins responded with a run of their own to knot it up, resulting in a 13-13 tie after one period of play. Jacksonville opened the second period on fire, nailing multiple contested shots to jump back on top. Fortunately for the Red-and-White, three-point shooting helped Jacksonville State manufacture an 11-2 scoring run late to produce the game's biggest lead and enter the locker rooms up 26-21.
Jax State kept building momentum early in the second half. The Gamecocks led by as many as seven points as players like Mutanda and Williams earned consistent baskets and trips to the charity stripe. A resilient Dolphins squad would not relent, however, mounting a comeback to cut the deficit to just one at the end of three. Jacksonville would retake the lead in the fourth period as the two teams traded blows throughout much of the frame. The Gamecocks controlled a 50-46 lead in the final two minutes, but four made free throws by JU tied it.
Jacksonville had the ball with under a minute to play but missed a potential go-ahead jumper. Jax State got it back with 37 seconds left and tried to retake the lead, but
Keiara Griffin missed a three with nine seconds remaining. Though Griffin got the offensive board and was fouled, the Gamecocks could not capitalize and went into overtime tied with JU at 50.
The Dolphins started hot in the extra period, nailing their initial trey to start overtime. That opening make set the tone for the stanza, and JU outscored Jax State 9-3 over the five-minute interval to claim a 59-53 triumph.
A scary moment occurred midway through the overtime period. Senior guard
NeKiyah Thompson fell to the ground after fouling a Dolphin attempting a layup and seemed to make contact with a cameraperson sitting behind the basket. Both training staffs tended to Thompson before medical personnel came and escorted the fourth-year Gamecock to a local hospital.
"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with
NeKiyah Thompson," head coach
Rick Pietri said. "I love that kid. She's put her body on the line for us time and time again. We lost the game, but we may have lost a lot more."
Shawnta Shaw had seven points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Kennedy Gavin got into early foul trouble and eventually fouled out in just 15 minutes of game action. Gavin had two points and four rebounds, ending a ten-game streak of scoring in double figures.
Jacksonville State out-rebounded Jacksonville 28-27 but was out-shot 42.2% to 32.1%. In addition, the Dolphins had 22 points in the paint to Jax State's two and had five more bench points than the Gamecocks.
With the loss in Florida, Jax State remains in seventh place in the ASUN Conference standings.
Jacksonville State returns to Pete Mathews Coliseum next week for their final two home games of the 2022-23 season. The Gamecocks will play host to Stetson at 6 p.m. Thursday before taking on Florida Gulf Coast at 4 p.m. Saturday. Both of those games will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and the Gamecock Sports Network.
Links to follow along with live stats, watch, or listen to the games will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. Score updates and highlights will be posted on JSU women's basketball's Twitter account (@JaxStateWBB).
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.
