Saturday, February 24
JACKSONVILLE
2:30 P.M.
Jacksonville State University
vs
FIU
Jacksonville State Hosts FIU Saturday
2/23/2024 3:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE – After suffering their third straight setback on the road on Wednesday night, Gamecock women's basketball is back at it at home this weekend for another big Conference USA pairing. Jacksonville State will welcome Florida International to Pete Mathews Coliseum for a Saturday showdown that is set to tip off at 2:30 p.m.
"We follow up playing the best team in the league by playing the second-best team in the league," head coach Rick Pietri said. "They beat us by 25 at their place at the beginning of the season, so it'll be a tremendous challenge for us. We'll just have to see if we can both defend at a high level and find a way to score."
Jax State (9-15, 4-8) won three in a row to open the month of February but have now fallen short in their last three matchups. Following a 54-45 loss at Western Kentucky on Feb. 10, the Red-and-White were topped by Louisiana Tech, 61-51, at The Pete last Thursday. Despite putting up a good fight at first-place Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, Pietri's squad could not hang tight late in a 66-40 defeat.
Kristol Ayson has produced some strong outings of late, including a 12-point night in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this week, and is now tied with Bre'Anna Rhodes for the team's lead in scoring with 7.9 points per game. Rhodes, the team's leading rebounder (4.7 rebounds per game), is narrowly ahead of Asia Barclay (4.4 rpg) and Mya Barnes (4.3 rpg) in that statistic.
Saturday's contest in Calhoun County will not be the first featuring the Gamecocks and the Panthers this year. Jacksonville State visited Miami, Fla., on Jan. 6, dropping the program's first ever CUSA game 75-50. Florida International (18-8, 9-3) forced 20 turnovers and held Jax State to 34.5% from the field and 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three. Barnes, who was playing in her first game back from injury, ended up with 14 points, four blocks, and three treys at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Fourth-year head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley has enjoyed a very successful year leading the Panthers in south Florida. After defeating the Gamecocks to open conference action, they proceeded to go on a five-game winning streak in league play before getting blown out by MTSU, 92-62, in a battle of unbeatens on Jan. 27. Despite that lopsided loss and a 73-54 heartbreaker at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 10, FIU was able to beat everyone in Conference USA not named Middle Tennessee until earlier this week. On Thursday night, a resilient Liberty squad downed them, 71-56, in Lynchburg, Va.
Mya Kone is the team's leading scorer (11.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.9 rpg) and looks like a lock for the All-Conference list. In addition, athletic scorers Ajae Yoakum (10.4 ppg) and Tanajah Hayes (10.3 ppg) have produced well this season and are also averaging double digits scoring.
"Even if they might be missing a couple players, they have incredible depth," Pietri said. "They have the ability to make three-point shots, get downhill and drive it, and post you up, so they're very diverse offensively. On defense, they play with aggression and toughness. We're going to have to deal with their aggression on the defensive side of the ball and find a way to score while trying to guard everything, because they're capable of hurting you every possible way you can be hurt."
Florida International leads the all-time series with Jacksonville State, a former Trans America Athletic Conference member, 7-1. The Gamecocks' lone win over the Panthers came on Jan. 16, 1997, in a 65-62 thriller in Jacksonville.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ray Hammett and Mickey Shadrix on the call, and Logan Maddox will handle the Gamecock Sports Network broadcast. Links to listen, watch, or follow along with live stats 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.
"We follow up playing the best team in the league by playing the second-best team in the league," head coach Rick Pietri said. "They beat us by 25 at their place at the beginning of the season, so it'll be a tremendous challenge for us. We'll just have to see if we can both defend at a high level and find a way to score."
Jax State (9-15, 4-8) won three in a row to open the month of February but have now fallen short in their last three matchups. Following a 54-45 loss at Western Kentucky on Feb. 10, the Red-and-White were topped by Louisiana Tech, 61-51, at The Pete last Thursday. Despite putting up a good fight at first-place Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, Pietri's squad could not hang tight late in a 66-40 defeat.
Kristol Ayson has produced some strong outings of late, including a 12-point night in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this week, and is now tied with Bre'Anna Rhodes for the team's lead in scoring with 7.9 points per game. Rhodes, the team's leading rebounder (4.7 rebounds per game), is narrowly ahead of Asia Barclay (4.4 rpg) and Mya Barnes (4.3 rpg) in that statistic.
Saturday's contest in Calhoun County will not be the first featuring the Gamecocks and the Panthers this year. Jacksonville State visited Miami, Fla., on Jan. 6, dropping the program's first ever CUSA game 75-50. Florida International (18-8, 9-3) forced 20 turnovers and held Jax State to 34.5% from the field and 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three. Barnes, who was playing in her first game back from injury, ended up with 14 points, four blocks, and three treys at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Fourth-year head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley has enjoyed a very successful year leading the Panthers in south Florida. After defeating the Gamecocks to open conference action, they proceeded to go on a five-game winning streak in league play before getting blown out by MTSU, 92-62, in a battle of unbeatens on Jan. 27. Despite that lopsided loss and a 73-54 heartbreaker at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 10, FIU was able to beat everyone in Conference USA not named Middle Tennessee until earlier this week. On Thursday night, a resilient Liberty squad downed them, 71-56, in Lynchburg, Va.
Mya Kone is the team's leading scorer (11.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.9 rpg) and looks like a lock for the All-Conference list. In addition, athletic scorers Ajae Yoakum (10.4 ppg) and Tanajah Hayes (10.3 ppg) have produced well this season and are also averaging double digits scoring.
"Even if they might be missing a couple players, they have incredible depth," Pietri said. "They have the ability to make three-point shots, get downhill and drive it, and post you up, so they're very diverse offensively. On defense, they play with aggression and toughness. We're going to have to deal with their aggression on the defensive side of the ball and find a way to score while trying to guard everything, because they're capable of hurting you every possible way you can be hurt."
Florida International leads the all-time series with Jacksonville State, a former Trans America Athletic Conference member, 7-1. The Gamecocks' lone win over the Panthers came on Jan. 16, 1997, in a 65-62 thriller in Jacksonville.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ray Hammett and Mickey Shadrix on the call, and Logan Maddox will handle the Gamecock Sports Network broadcast. Links to listen, watch, or follow along with live stats 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.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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