Women's Basketball Closes Out 2007 With Jacksonville State
12/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama women's basketball team (5-7) continues its home stand against Jacksonville State University (5-6) on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 2:00 p.m. from Coleman Coliseum. The Tide is coming off a thrilling 62-60 overtime victory over Hampton University while the Gamecocks fell to Southeast Missouri State 83-71. Mick Gillispie will once again call the action on CTSN.
Today's game marks the sixth meeting between the two programs...the two squads have met four times in Tuscaloosa and once in Jacksonville...the last time the two programs clashed was in Dec. of 2003 when the Tide earned an 81-52 victory...in 2001 the two teams met in Jacksonville where UA grabbed a 72-53 victory...every victory for the Tide over the Gamecocks has been in double-digits except for a meeting in 1990 where the Tide earned a 69-63 win...Stephany Smith has yet to face the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks enter Tuscaloosa with a 5-6 overall record and a 2-2 conference mark...Jolie Efezokae and Eren McMichael lead JSU with 12.5 points apiece...as a team, the Gamecocks average 68.6 points per night and shoot 41 percent from the floor...Jacksonville State enters the 2007-08 season as one of the youngest team in the nation...not only is JSU's roster full of youth, boasting 12 players who are either freshmen or sophomores, but the Gamecocks' 13 players combine for just 38 starts...sophomore Jolie Efezokhae, who was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team last season, is JSU's only returning starter...she saw action in all 29 games last season as a freshman, earning starts in 24 games...the Gamecocks were selected to finish 11th in the Ohio Valley Conference this season, by the coaches and sports information directors of the conference...JSU returns just four players from last year's squad that was 7-22 overall, 4-16 in the OVC.
Alabama has won three out of its last four games and four out of the last six...during that span, the Tide have won three-straight home games, including an exciting 62-60 overtime win over Hampton on Dec. 20...in the last three wins, Alabama has amassed over 60 points.
Two trends have begun to surface for the Tide this season...in the five games that Alabama has eclipsed the 60-point mark, the Tide have earned the victory in four of them...in the lone loss, Alabama fell by one point to Louisiana Tech 62-61....also an Alabama player has recorded a double-double in four games this season...in all four of those games, the Tide have earned the victory.
Newcomer Tierney Jenkins has paced the Tide all season long...in five of the 12 games played thus far Jenkins has led the team in scoring...the Mt. Juliet, Tenn. native is second among SEC freshman in scoring...Jenkins has the team-high on the season with 29 points in the win against Hampton...Jenkins leads UA with 12.8 points per game and is second on the squad with 7.8 rebounds per tilt...Jenkins grabbed a career-high 15 boards in the win against Alabama A&M...the 15 rebounds is the fourth highest single game total in the conference this season...also her six steals against Washington State is the second best single-game theft total in the SEC.
Alabama will continue its six-game home stand with its first game of the new year...Alabama will host East Tennessee State on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 6:00 p.m. from Coleman Coliseum...the Tide will then play host to the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.
