SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Wisconsin 76,
Eastern Illinois 47
Campbell 66,
Jacksonville State 53
@St. John's 58,
Tennessee Tech 46
WISCONSIN 76, EASTERN ILLINOIS 47
MADISON, Wis. - The Panther women’s basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped at Big Ten member Wisconsin, 76-47, on Saturday afternoon at the UW Field House. EIU falls to 5-4 on the year.
The Panthers led the Badgers 5-4 early in the first half before Wisconsin used a 17-1 run to take a 21-6 lead with 9:34 on the clock. EIU managed to pull within 10 points on two occasions before the half, but could not overcome cold shooting that saw the Panthers hit 21.9 percent of their shots (7-for-31) in the first half.
EIU improved its field-goal percentage in the second stanza by going 10-for-29 from the floor, but the Badgers built on their first half lead to win their fourth consecutive game. Wisconsin outscored EIU 12-4 in the game’s final five minutes for the 29-point victory.
The Badgers hit nearly 50 percent of their shots in the contest, going 29-for-59 from the floor. Jackie Gulczynski paced Wisconsin with her second double-double in as many games, posting a career-high 24 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
Wisconsin posted a 46-28 advantage on the glass while the Panthers outscored the Badgers bench 25-8. EIU also committed a season-low eight turnovers in the loss to go along with nine steals.
Seniors Ta’Kenya Nixon and Sydney Mitchell paced the Panther offense with eight points each. Sabina Oroszova added a team-high six rebounds while Jordyne Crunk had a game-high three steals.
CAMPBELL 66, JACKSONVILLE STATE 53
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville State women's basketball team wrapped up the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic, hosted by North Florida with a 66-53 loss to Campbell on Saturday afternoon at the UNF Arena.
The loss dropped JSU to 0-11 on the season, while the Lady Camels improved to 8-2 on the season. JSU fell to host-UNF on Friday in the second game of the day. CU completed the two-day event with a pair of wins. CU downed Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday.
CU expanded its nine-point halftime lead out to as many as 19 points in the first six minutes of the second half. The Lady Camels, who led 52-33 at the 14:42 mark of the half, out-scored the Gamecocks 19-5 and limiting JSU to points from the free throw line. Jax State hit its first basket of the half on a lay up by Peyton Hisel at the 13:28 mark of the half. Hisel's bucket sparked a 14-0 scoring run by Jax State to trim the deficit down to five points at 52-47 with 8:28 left in the contest. Hisel scored all eight of her points in the second half.
JSU held CU without points for a span of over seven minutes before the Lady Camel's hit a three pointer with 7:49 left in the game. One of the keys to the Jax State run was on the defensive end as it pulled down 22 second half rebounds and claimed the rebounding edge in the game at 43-40. The Orange and Black extended the lead back out to double figures and went on to post the 13-point win on a neutral court.
The Gamecocks came out energized by Jacksonville, Fla-native Dashauna Truss, who scored all 12 of her points in the first half. Truss nailed two three pointers in the first 20 minutes and knocked down one of them at the 14:38 mark to give Jax State its largest lead of the contest at 11-5. Truss also had six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.
With the game even at 16-all near the ten-minute mark, CU put together an 8-0 scoring run in a two-minute span to take a 24-16 lead and eventually built its largest lead of 11 points at 37-26 with just over a minute left to play in the half. The Lady Camels would take a 37-28 advantage into the halftime break.
CU's Tonisha Baker scored nearly half of her squad's points in the first half with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Baker concluded the contest with a game-high 22 points.
JSU sophomore Briana Morrow concluded a solid weekend with a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds. Morrow posted ten points on Friday versus UNF. Sophomore Gia Banks established a new career high after being inserted into the line up for the first time in her career. Banks turned in seven points and collected five rebounds. Sophomore Miranda Cantrell added six points in the setback.
The Gamecocks wrap up their non-conference schedule with a road test against Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State on Thursday, Dec. 20. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum.
ST. JOHN'S 58, TENNESSEE TECH 46
QUEENS, N.Y. - In the tip-off game of the St. John's Chartwell's Holiday Classic, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles lost to host St. John's, 58-46, Saturday afternoon. Despite having three players score in double-digits, the Golden Eagles couldn't compete on the boards. The Red Storm out-rebounded Tech, 41-28, with 19 offensive boards.
In the big lights of a large city, the Golden Eagles appeared to be a fish out of water. No one expected Tech to make a splash, but the Purple and Gold looked right at home on the court. In the opening moments of the game, Molly Heady made a statement from the corner, draining a three-pointer as the first player to score for either team. The Golden Eagles came to the city to win and were not going to be intimidated by the bright lights.
After being stunned by an energized Golden Eagle squad, St. John's clicked into typical Big East physical style of play, and Tech lost their only lead of the game, and never got within three points in the game.
Tech fought hard, and kept the game close, trying to keep the Red Storm at bay, but it wasn't enough. Tech gave 22 second chance points to the Red Storm, and only scored four of their own. The Golden Eagles kept St. John's runs to a minimum, keeping the Red Storm scoreless for four minutes in the first half, but they continued to drift away on the boards as Tech only collected 28 rebounds.
Leading the Golden Eagles was Molly Heady with 12 points, Diamond Henderson with 11 and Jala Harris with 10. The trio combined for 11 of the teams rebounds, and T'Keyah Williams added five rebounds.
The Purple and Gold are looking to shine brighter than two of the nation's top teams Saturday in the consolation game when the Golden Eagles will face either St. Mary's College (Calif.) or UCLA. Both have received nods from the AP and USA Today's Top 25 polls and are coached by some of the most well-respected coaches in the nation. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. CT.