JACKSONVILLE – A career night by Jaz Spencer guided Gamecock women's basketball to its first Conference USA victory on Wednesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The junior guard set career highs in points, field goals made, three-pointers made, rebounds, free throws, and assists in a 78-63 win over visiting Liberty. 
 
Spencer finished with 22 points, six assists, three rebounds, seven field goals, five three-pointers, three free throws, and zero turnovers in the win. The Bartow, Fla., native caught fire at an important time, pouring in 17 points in the fourth quarter to secure the program's second-ever triumph versus Liberty (5-12, 0-2).
 
"(Spencer's performance) was massive," head coach Rick Pietri said. "Jaz is starting to get to where we thought she could be. The player that she was tonight is the player that we recruited to come here. It was great to see, but it wasn't a surprise."
 
The Gamecocks (6-8, 1-1) dominated the opening period at The Pete. Jax State's forwards feasted in the first ten minutes, led by Bre'Anna Rhodes' nine points, and held Liberty to just 4-of-17 (23.5%) from the field, resulting in a 22-8 advantage heading into the second. The Red-and-White led by as many as 20 early in the next interval before a comeback attempt by LU. Though the Flames would battle back some, four treys by the home team secured a 37-25 lead at the half. 
 
Liberty continued to claw back in the third period. 6-foot-6 forward Bella Smuda crossed the double-double mark midway through the quarter and six points by Jordan Hodges helped as well. The Gamecocks produced just enough to hang onto the lead, 50-46, as the two sides tussled into the final stanza.
 
The Flames quickly tied the game for the first time early in the fourth, but a 9-0 run by the Gamecocks- eight of which came from Spencer- ensued. That swing of momentum led to a 28-point period for Jax State, capping off a dominant showing. 
 
Bre'Anna Rhodes added 18 points and three rebounds and Madison McCoy ended up with 10 points and eight boards. Though the Flames out-rebounded the Gamecocks 45-42 and scored twice as many points in the paint (40-20), Jacksonville State- who led wire-to-wire- shot 42.4% from the field and 12-of-26 (46.2%) from deep. 
 
Jax State returns to action on Saturday to play host to Western Kentucky. That Conference USA matchup in Jacksonville will tip-off at 2:30 p.m. and it will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Gamecock Sports Network. 
 
Links to listen, 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.