WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Chattanooga 72,
Jacksonville State 59
CHATTANOOGA 72, JACKSONVILLE STATE 59
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Career high efforts by Amanda McCarthy and Peyton Hisel weren't enough for the Jacksonville State women's basketball team to knock off Chattanooga as the Gamecocks fell 72-59 on Wednesday evening at McKenzie Arena .
UTC moved to 8-1 on the season that includes wins over Southeastern Conference foes Tennessee and Alabama. The loss drops Jax State to 0-9 on the season and returns to action on Friday and Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.
McCarthy had a stellar opening half as she scored ten of her career-high 13 points in the half. The Boston, Mass.-native was 4-of-8 from the field and knocked down a pair of treys. The senior turned in 12 point efforts on two occasions in her three seasons with the Gamecocks, including a 12-point contest this season at Mercer. She also dished out a career-high seven assists, which is also a season-best for the Gamecock squad.
Hisel, who came off the bench for the second consecutive game, sparked the Red and White with 11 points and seven rebounds. The Lexington, Ky.-freshman was 4-of-7 from the field and knocked down three free throws.
JSU started fast as it jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead before the Lady Mocs registered their first basket of the game. The Gamecocks held the advantage for the first five minutes of the game before UTC equalized at 11-11, the first of a pair of ties in the first 20 minutes. With the game knotted at 16-all with 11:26 left in the half, UTC went on a 16-6 scoring run over a six-minute span to take its first double digit lead at 32-22. UTC added ten more points on the ledger to take a 42-31 lead at halftime.
Jax State had no answer for UTC's inside presence of Ashlen Dewart as she reached her season's scoring average of 14 points by intermission with 14 points in the paint. Dewart was 6-of-10 from the field in the first half and completed her night at 9-of-15 from the field to turn in a game-high 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds. UTC also knocked down 5-of-19 from behind the three-point arc in the first 20 minutes. UTC out-scored JSU 30-28 in the second half and was limited to 9-of-33 from the field in the final half. The Lady Mocs finished the game 25-of-73 shooting, while JSU matched its opposition with 25 made baskets for the game.
JSU made its run at the Lady Mocs near the midway point of the half as it trimmed a 12-point, 53-41 UTC advantage down to six points at 55-49 at the 7:47 mark of the half. That would be as close as the Gamecocks could get, but the contest remained in single digits until the waning moments as UTC knocked down free throws.
Jax State also had solid efforts across the board as Miranda Cantrell added seven points, including knocking down her first career three-pointer in the second half. Sophomore Gia Banks came off the bench to grab a team-high and career-high eight rebounds. Banks added four points in 16 minutes of action. The JSU bench turned in a 28-17 edge over UTC, while the Lady Mocs edged the Gamecocks on the boards, 45-41. Jax State, who had just 15 rebounds after one half of competition, grabbed 26 second half boards.
The Gamecocks have a quick turnaround as they will travel on Thursday to Jacksonville, Fla. To participate in the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic, hosted by the University of North Florida. JSU will face host-UNF on Friday, Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m. CST and close out the two-day event versus Campbell University on Saturday at 12 p.m. CST.