Dolphins upset No. 3 seed Campbell in A-Sun quarterfinals, 52-46
Thomas scored 12 points of her game-high total in the first half, finishing the game having hit 10-of-19 from the floor.
While Thomas was doing the scoring, the Dolphins (10-19) were doing on defense. JU held the Camels to just 30.2 percent shooting from the floor and never let Campbell take the lead.
“We talked about it at halftime that Gigi had the hot hand and that we needed to get her the ball,” said JU head coach Jill Dunn. “Defensively, we did a good job of pressuring them early and not allowing them to get comfortable on offense.”
The Dolphins advance to the semifinals where No. 7 seed and crosstown rival UNF awaits. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m., with the game being televised on Comcast Sports Southeast (Channel 54 in Jacksonville).
“I’m ready to play them,” Thomas said. “They broke my nose in the first game and I missed the second one. This is payback.”
After a dominating first half in which JU took a 30-19 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Dolphins extended the lead early in the half to 13, 34-21, on a pair of Maggie Wilson free throws.
Campbell (14-16) would not go away easily. The Camels slowly cut into the deficit and trailed by three, 40-37, after a Kate Cloxton 3-pointer with 8:24 left in the game.
JU bounced back to push the lead back to eight when Thomas finished off a 3-point play with 6:07 remaining.
Campbell had one last rally, cutting the deficit to four, 47-43, with 3:44 left in the game on a pair of free throws by Tonisha Baker.
While JU only scored five points in the final four minutes, they held the Camels to just five as well – getting enough defensive stops to seal a fourth straight trip to the semifinals.
Campbell was led by the trio of Cloxton, Baker and Ashley Williamson – who each had 11 points.
JU opened the game by taking an 8-2 and never looked back, eventually opening a 13-point lead before going into halftime up 30-19 courtesy of 12 from Thomas, who hit 6-of-10 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.