ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team dominated at South Carolina State in a 72-41 win over the Bulldogs. The win improves the Gamecocks' record to 2-1 on the year, while SC State falls to 1-3.
The Gamecocks picked up where they left off after last Saturday's home win over Southern Utah as they shot 42.2% from the field and 41.2% from three in Friday evenings contest. The Gamecocks out rebounded the Bulldogs 39-31 and had 18 assists compared to only three by SC State. Jax State's defense forced 18 turnovers by the Bulldogs and held them to a 9-37 shooting night from the field and a 3-7 shooting night from three.
Jax State had plenty of contributions to the win.
Valentina Saric led the squad in points with 14 on an efficient 5-11 from the field and 4-8 from three. Saric was joined in double-digits by
Mya Barnes who had 12 efficiently on 4-7 shooting and 3-6 from range and
Shaquice May added 10 points. Bre'Anna Rhods had a nice night with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Eden Sample and
Samiya Steele both added nine points, respectively.
Barnes, Steele, and
Asia Barclay all had five rebounds.
Elsie Harris led the Red-and-White in assists with five, Steele had the next most with three.
The Gamecocks shot a blistering 53.85% from the field and 100% from three-point range in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Jax State's defense held SC State to 14.29% from the field in the opening 10 minutes.
Jax State's efficient shooting night continued into the second period. The Gamecocks knocked in seven shots on 17 attempts for 41.18% shooting from the field. They also shot nearly 43% from three in the second. Perhaps more impressive than the shooting in the first half, was the defense of Jax State holding steady throughout, allowing only 20% of the Bulldogs shots to fall in the second quarter.
Jax State cooled off a bit from three-point range after the halftime intermission, only making 28.57% of their attempts from distance. However, the Gamecocks continued to shoot well from other areas on the court, making 42.86% of their attempts from the field. In the fourth, the fortunes turned the other way as Jax State made only 30.77% of their field goal attempts but all four of their makes that period were from three. The Gamecocks made 40% of their three-pointers in the final quarter.
Jax State returns home for a matchup with in-state rival UAB on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, live stats will be available at JaxStateSports.com, and tickets are also available at JaxStateSports.com.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Women's Basketball), Instagram (@JaxStateWBB), and X (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
