Women’s basketball begins final road trip on Thursday at Kennesaw State
The Dolphins (8-16, 7-9), who have won three of their last four games, close the road trip with Mercer on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Macon, Ga.
“It will be a very tough road trip,” said JU head coach Jill Dunn. With only four games left, there is an extra air of excitement among the players. We also have a lot of players from those surrounding areas (Georgia) so it will be nice for them to get to play in front of a supporting crowd on the road.”
Last week, the Dolphins looked to bring back their momentum from the Nashville road trip home, but Florida Gulf Coast used two second half rallies to hold off JU, 63-55, at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Feb. 11.
JU bounced back two days later with a 61-47 victory against Stetson at home, which secured the Dolphins’ fifth straight Atlantic Sun Tournament berth in Dunn’s tenure.
Defense was large part in the win against the Hatters as the Dolphins held Stetson to a 23.1 field goal percentage and won the rebounding battle, 59-42.
Freshman guard Drameka Griggs recorded her fourth straight double-digit scoring effort with 18 points, while senior center Danielle Gray had 10 points and senior forward Desarae Johnson added 15 rebounds.
Like JU, Kennesaw State (8-17, 5-11) comes into the matchup winners in three of its last four contests. The Owls had won three straight before falling to ETSU, 81-63, on Feb. 13.
Angie Smith is pacing the squad in scoring with 11.5 points per game, while Gia Lockett is averaging 10.7 points per contest for the Owls.
In the first match up on Jan. 4, Junior center Lynsey Paschal recorded a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds to pace four Dolphins in double digits for a 67-55 victory.
Mercer (11-14, 8-8) will play UNF on Thursday before hosting the Dolphins on Saturday. The Bears are in a tough spell, having lost the last five games.
Courtney Ford, who leads the Bears in scoring with 17.1 points per game, had a game-high 31 points against JU in the first meeting but the Dolphins used a 24-4 run in the first half to pull away with a 72-57 win on Jan. 2.