WRAL Sports Fan

Colleges

Lady Camels Top Jacksonville State, 66-53, to Claim UNF Holiday Classic

Dec 15, 2012

Jacksonville, Fla. — The Campbell women's basketball team is off to its best start since the 1991-92 season at 8-2 and used 20 points from senior guard Tonisha Baker (High Point, N.C.) to defeat Jacksonville State, 66-53 on Saturday afternoon to claim the North Florida Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic at the UNF Arena. Baker along with sophomore forward Kiera Gaines (Mechanicsville, Va.) were named to the all-tournament team.

Gaines posted another stellar all-around performance with a career-best nine steals, eight points and eight rebounds (six were offensive). Baker added nine rebounds, but the Lady Camels were out-rebounded for the second game in a row, 43-40, as both teams had 19 offensive boards.

Coming up with nine points was freshman guard Zena Lovette (High Point, N.C.). Junior forwards Ashley James (Round Rock, Texas) and Roslyn Presley (Petersburg, Va.) battled down low for seven tough points.

Six points were contributed by junior guard Monique Spry (Wilson, N.C) as Campbell shot .359 from the field. The Lady Camels stepped up to the free throw line and knocked in 14 shots, while compiling a .737 pct.

Turnovers were a key during the contest as Campbell forced 20 including 13 steals, but committed a season-low 13.

Jacksonville State (0-11) was paced by Briana Morrow and Dashauna Truss with 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Gamecocks shot .345 from the field and .333 from beyond the arc.

The first half for Campbell saw it use a 19-5 run in the middle to take a 24-16 advantage after the team fell behind early, 11-5. Spry notched a layup and made foul shot to trigger the rally, which saw Baker and Lovette nail three-point field goals.

After the Gamecocks cut the lead to five, 31-26, junior guard Jessica Moore (Jacksboro, Tenn.) hit a triple and Baker added a jumper to help the Lady Camels take a 37-28 lead into the break.

Coming out of halftime, Campbell increased the defensive intensity and held Jacksonville State without a made field goal till the 13:28 mark as the Lady Camels posted its largest lead, 52-33.

Jacksonville State went on a 14-0 run over six minutes to cut the advantage to 52-47. Campbell recovered though when Spry drained a three and Baker converted a fast break layup to stretch the advantage back to double-figure with 7:32 remaining.

A jumper by James put Campbell up, 63-51, and the team made clutch free throws by Lovette to register the victory.

Off to one of its best starts in program history at 8-2, Campbell began the 1991-92 campaign 8-2, which is the second-best start in the Division I era, while the 1987-88 squad went 11-2 before its third defeat.

The Lady Camels play their final home game of 2012 on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Elon inside Gore Arena/John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center. Campbell closes out the year with its first tilt against an ACC-opponent since 2001 when it plays on Dec. 29 at Wake Forest.