JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State women's basketball downed Conference USA foe New Mexico State 60-56 at home on Saturday afternoon. With the win, head coach
Rick Pietri reached the 400-career win milestone as a head coach. Pietri also now has 180 wins leading the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks improved to 9-9 on the year and 3-4 in conference play, while New Mexico State falls to 10-10 and 3-4 in CUSA action.
Maria Sanchez Ponce led the way for the Gamecocks with 15 points on 6-9 shooting. She also led the team with six rebounds and 31 minutes played.
Shaquice May joined Ponce in double-digits with 10 points on 3-4 shooting from the field and from three. May also contributed defensively against the conference leading scorer Molly Kaiser.
May and Ponce hit two threes early to give the Gamecocks a 6-4 lead early in the game. The Gamecocks cooled off as they went scoreless until
Asia Barclay knocked down one of two free throws with 2:46 left in the first quarter. A 20% shooting performance in the opening period as a team led the Gamecocks trailing 15-8.
The Aggies continued to score the ball in the second quarter getting up by as many as 10 points. When the Aggies gained a 26-16 lead, Pietri called a timeout with 5:42 left in the first half to stop the momentum.
Valentina Saric hit a three with just over one minute left in the second to cut NMSU's lead to 34-31. Ponce hit a free throw to make it 34-32 Aggies heading into halftime.
In the first half, the Gamecocks made only one two-point field goal. They made six threes and had 12 points off free throws.
Out of halftime the tides of the game shifted in favor of Jax State.
Samiya Steele made a layup after a
Mya Barnes steal to give Jax State a 41-38 advantage and force a New Mexico State timeout. The Gamecocks were on a 10-0 run out of halftime for 2:23 until a free throw by Kaiser made it 45-43 in favor of Jax State. By the end of the third, Jax State claimed a 48-46 lead.
The fourth quarter started with a back-and-forth affair as the Aggies tied it at 48 all with 8:43 on the clock.
Bre'Anna Rhodes hit a jump shot to make it 50-48 before the Aggies tied it up again. Out of the media timeout with 4:11 left, Saric hit another three to make it 55-52 Gamecocks. The Aggies responded with a two, but
Elsie Harris laid the ball in to make it 57-54 with a little over three minutes remaining.
The Aggies got within one with 1:24 left, but a Ponce layup with 39 seconds remaining made it a 59-56 game. Steele sealed the win with a made free throw with only 14 ticks left on the clock.
The Gamecocks will be back on the road to face Florida International Thursday, Jan. 30, for a 6 p.m. central time start before heading to Virginia to take on Liberty on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 12 p.m. central.
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