JACKSONVILLE—The Gamecocks forced a total of 18 turnovers, yielding 29 points in an 88-52 victory over Life in women's basketball Monday afternoon at the Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville State's final non-conference game of the 2024-25 season.
On offense, the Gamecocks shot 10 points above their season average connecting on 47.8% from the field and committing just nine turnovers, none leading to points for Life.
Jax State (6-5) took a 12-7 lead at the 4:56 mark of the first quarter on a 3-pointer by
Valentina Saric, taking advantage of three consecutive Life possessions that resulted in turnovers. Following a pair of Life free throws,
Shaquice May and
Elsie Harris both connected on 3-pointers to extend the lead to nine with 3:00 left in the quarter, then to 11 on a pair of
Maria Sanchez Ponce free throws.
Saric finished with 12 points.
The Gamecocks, playing their first game in 10 days which was a 10-point win over New Orleans
held a 22-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter, scoring 12 points off six Life turnovers.
After facing a 14-point deficit with 6:43 left in the second, Life answered with five straight points to get within nine at 28-19, but Saric's third of her four 3-pointers of the first half stretched the lead back to double digits at the 5:35 mark.
May's 3-pointer with 1:37 left in the half gave Jax State a 41-24 lead and took its biggest lead of the half into the intermission at 43-26. She finished with 11 points, draining three of her six 3-point attempts.
The Running Eagles, on the court for the first time in nine days after a 25-point loss to Tennessee Southern connected on each of their first three shots of the second half to get within 13 (45-32) with 8:37 left in the third, but the Gamecocks bounced back from the early struggles to finish the quarter 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range to lead 69-40 going into the fourth.
Jax State closed the third on a 16-3 run over the final 4:23.
Bre'Anna Rhodes scored eight of her season-high 16 points in the third on 4-of-4 shooting and Sanchez Ponce added three 3-pointers with one at the 3:46 mark to give Jax State a 59-37. She finished with a team-high 17 points, connecting on 5-of-10 from bonus range.
Asia Barclay had a team-best nine rebounds and added eight points.
The game was an exhibition for life and did not affect their overall win-loss record which remains at 8-8.
Jax State will begin Conference USA play on Saturday at home against Kennesaw State at 2:30 p.m.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Women's Basketball), Instagram (@JaxStateWBB), and X (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
