The Jacksonville State women’s basketball team will tune up for the 2013-14 season with an exhibition contest with Miles College on Sunday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum on the JSU campus. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. Admission is free.
The exhibition contest will jump start the Rick Pietri era at JSU before the season officially begins on Friday, Nov. 8 with a visit to the University of Mississippi.
After beginning preseason practice on Sept. 30 the Gamecocks will look to put what they have gained in preseason drills under the new regime to test against an opposing team before Friday’s match up with the Rebels of UM.
Pietri looks to keep his prefect exhibition record intact today. While leading the South Alabama program for the last 13 years, he posted an unblemished mark of 13-0 in exhibition games.
The Gamecocks return eight players from the 2012-13 squad, led by juniors Miranda Cantrell and Candace Morton. Cantrell finished her sophomore season as JSU’s leading scorer at 8.9 points per game and bolstered that scoring average by finishing the season with seven consecutive double figure scoring games. The 6-foot-0 post player established a new career high with 18 points against Morehead State on Feb.18. The College Park, Ga,-native tallied 12 double digit scoring games a season ago. Morton, a guard from Lexington, Ky., came on strong during conference play last season averaged over eight points per OVC match and scored in seven of the 16 league games.
Pietri will have three new faces in Gamecock uniforms this season with the addition of guards – Briana Benson, Domonique Clune and Kelly Naughton. Benson and Clune hail from the state of Georgia, while Naughton come to JSU from the state of Illinois.
The Lady Bears of Miles, a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, finished the 2012-13 season with an 8-19 record. MC is coached by the veteran Phillip Wallace, Jr, who is entering his ninth season at the Birmingham, Ala.-based NCAA Division II school.
Dating back to the 2008-09 season, Jax State is 4-2 in exhibition games and looking to win its second straight exhibition match. Last season, the Gamecocks topped Blue Mountain College, 81-67. The last two meetings with MC have come on this same date. In the previous outing between the two sides on Nov. 3, 2009, Jax State turned back the Lady Bears, 76-61. The two programs also met on Nov. 3, 2008 as the Gamecocks toppled the Purple and Gold, 102-62. JSU and Miles met twice during the 1989-90 regular season.
The game will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network with Mike Parris describing all the action. Live stats and live audio will be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.
(www.jsugamacocksports.com)