Saturday, Nov. 15
Georgia State Defense Gets 18 Steals in Win over North Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Georgia State defeated North Florida 72-59 in the season opener Saturday night. The visiting Panthers forced 28 turnovers and made 18 steals, while holding the host Ospreys to 38 percent shooting.
Senior guard Kayla Nolan and senior center Brittany Logan led the Panthers as each scored 15 points, while Logan added nine rebounds and Nolan added five steals. Point guard Alisha Andrews added 11 points, three steals and three assists.
The closest UNF got in the second half was four points, but GSU always responded. When the Ospreys closed to five with 6:33 left (59-54), Georgia State went on a 6-0 burst to get the lead back into double figures at 4:55 (65-54) and the lead never came back under double digits.
UNF ended up with a 50-39 rebound advantage, but Georgia State got off 12 more shots than UNF (69-57) and shot more free throws (26-21). In lieu of more rebounds, GSU just took the ball away before UNF could shoot.
Georgia State will play its home opener in Atlanta on Monday, Nov. 24 against Thomas College.
Dow, UL Monroe Open Season with a 68-35 Win over William Carey
MONROE, La. – Alayshia Hunter had a game-high 14 points as the ULM women’s basketball team defeated William Carey 68-35 in head coach Jeff Dow’s inaugural game on Saturday afternoon in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
“It's great to start with a win,” said Dow. “It's huge for the program, coaching staff and players alike. We talked about this a few weeks ago. We have returning players that admittedly didn't play a whole lot the last couple of years. They certainly didn't start. All of a sudden, they are being thrust into much bigger roles. It was good for them to have some success, get some confidence and a win along the way.”
In addition to Hunter’s 14 points, the junior grabbed eight rebounds and had one assist and one steal.
Sharnice Brooks was right on Hunter’s heels with 13 points and seven rebounds. The senior also tacked on three assists, four blocks and one steal.
Jade Wharton and Chelsea Tieuel each had eight points, with the latter having four rebounds as well.
Keoshya Wilson led the Lady Crusaders with 11 points, four rebounds and one steal.
Journee Beard opened the season with a three-pointer to jump start a 10-2 run by the Warhawks.
William Carey’s Wilson hit a layup to cut the lead to 10-4, but ULM took its first double-digit lead of the game at 15-4 after Olivia Countiss hit a free throw.
Khadejah Buxton’s jumper brought the Lady Crusaders within nine points, but Hunter hit a field goal on the next drive down the court to spark a 10-0 run, giving the Warhawks a 25-6 lead with 5:11 remaining before the break.
William Carey kept battling and hit two three-point shots to leave ULM with a 25-12 lead with 4:11 left in the half.
Hunter hit two more field goals and Tyler Holley added a layup as the Warhawks led 31-12 at the half.
Shania Posey made a field goal to cut the Warhawk’s lead to 17 points in the opening minutes of the second half, but Aleesha Coulter struck from beyond the arc, giving ULM a 34-14 lead.
Tieuel connected on two free throws with 2:58 remaining to give the Warhawks their largest lead of the game before the final score of 68-35.
The Warhawks take the court again on November 21 as they travel to Stephen F. Austin for a 7 p.m. showdown in William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Texas State Cruises in Home Opening Victory
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- A career day by senior Jacqueline Jeffcoat led the Texas State women's basketball team to an 83-65 victory over Texas A&M-International on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats had four double-digit scorers to contribute to the commanding victory at Strahan Coliseum.
Jeffcoat finished the day with a team-high 16 points and 14 rebounds, both career-highs en route to her second career double-double for Texas State. Junior guard Erin Peoples also helped lead the offensive efforts of Texas State as she recorded her second career double-double with a 16 point, 10 rebound afternoon.
After getting out to a slow start to start the contest and falling behind, 5-1, Texas State rallied off nine-straight points to take a 10-5 lead. The run was ignited by senior Meghan Braeuer with her first three-pointer of the game with 17:38 remaining in the first.
Braeuer finished the first half going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
With 46 seconds remaining in the first half, Jeffcoat surpassed her previous career-high as she tallied 13 first half points for Texas State. Her previous high was set against Troy on January 25, 2014. She finished the half on 5-of-10 shooting including 3-of-4 from the line.
The Bobcats used their 9-0 run early in the half to build as high as a 19-point lead over the Dustdevils. Texas State finished the half shooting 39.5 percent.
Throughout the second half, the Bobcats maintained their comfortable lead over the Dustdevils. Texas State went up by as many as 24 with 6:19 remaining in the game after Ayriel Anderson nailed a three-pointer from Ericka May.
Several Bobcats recorded their first collegiate points on Saturday. May tallied two, Ti'Aira Pitts added five, and Taeler Deer contributed two.
In addition to Peoples' and Jeffcoat's double-digit efforts, Braeuer and Kaitlin Walla added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bobcats committed just nine turnovers while forcing 15 by TAMIU. The Bobcats outrebounded the Dustdevils 56-44. TAMIU's Jessica Prieto led all players on the floor with 25 points.