2008 Woodie Awards
Finding their 'identity'
Patrick Swafford
Issue date: 2/2/06 Section: Sports
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Jacksonville State's women's basketball team has finally found something they've been looking for all season long.
A defensive identity.
That identity has taken them from the nine game losing streak two weeks ago to winning four of their last five, including a 73-52 victory over Austin Peay on January 26 and a decisive 84-55 win against UT-Martin this past Saturday.
The numbers don't lie. During the recent nine-game losing streak, the Gamecocks gave up an average of 76.4 points a game. In the last five games, four of which were wins, opponents averaged 63.4 points per game.
Austin Peay kept the game close through the first four minutes, but Jacksonville State's defense held the Lady Govs to only 12 points through the first 13 minutes of play and a dismal 42 percent shooting in the first half.
By halftime, Austin Peay was on the wrong end of an eight-point deficit.
It only got worse from there.
The Lady Govs trimmed the lead to as little as five, but with under ten minutes left to play and a six-point lead, the Gamecock defense answered the question of their identity.
With a 50-44 lead, JSU went on a 14-0 run, pressuring Austin Peay into turning the ball over seven times in a five minute span and only allowing eight points during the final 9:49. Austin Peay's Ashley Haynes, the OVC's fifth leading scorer, was held to 10 points.
Offensively, four Gamecocks were in double-digits with freshman Ashley Boykin leading all scorers with 19. Boykin's performance over the weekend earned OVC Freshman of the Week honors.
Courtney Slaughter contributed 16 while seniors Rebecca Haynes and Ann-Marie Healy each had 12.
Tennessee-Martin got an early lead on JSU this past Saturday. It lasted fifteen seconds.