DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- Jacksonville women's Basketball team (2-3) fell in a tight comeback attempt loss against SWAC foe Bethune Cookman (4-2) Tuesday night in Moore Gymnasium. By the final horn the score read 68-63, after a series of thrilling events that slightly favored Bethune Cookman.
The fourth leading scorer in Atlantic Sun, Edyn Battle, scored 16 first half points and grabbed six rebounds. Battle continued on to break her season high, finishing with 29 points and tying her rebound high of seven.
Saniyah Craig finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds recording her first career double-double while shooting 80% from the free-throw line.
Bethune Cookman held a 16-5 lead at the end of one, leading by as many as 15 in the opening 20 minutes of action. A quick scoring start to the quarter saw Bethune Cookman control an early 4-2 lead with 8:30. The Dolphins responded as their shot clock counted down, thanks to assist and bucket by Jalisa Dunlap to MaKayla Edwards. BCU had taken a 9-2 lead as time continued to elapse in the first. Not until 3:00 remaining in the quarter did JU gain some momentum led by a much-needed defensive stop by Battle that converted into a Dolphin score at the free-throw line. The Wildcats fought back, going on a scoring run that was put at halt by Craig, making the score 14-5 Wildcats with 55 seconds left.
The Dolphins fought back from the deficit and reduced it to nine by the half. To open the quarter, Battle scored on a drawn-up play by Head Coach Special Jennings, finishing an and-1 to set the tone for the Dolphin offense. Shortly after, Battle went in transition, stopping on a dime and sinking a pull-up jumper to make the score 18-9 with 8:00 left in the second. The Wildcats responded with a 6-0 run, making two crucial back-to-back threes, forcing Dolphins to climb back from a hole of 24-9 with 7:26 remaining. Isamary Telleria then came off the bench and with a nifty move, breaking the Wildcats' scoring streak to force a score of 24-11. Dolphins slowly began to chip away possession by possession as Battle and Freshman Asiania Britt and got involved, making the count 26-16. While the Wildcats continued to increase their lead, Battle responded again with a huge three-pointer to see the count 30-20. Off a stellar defensive rally, Telleria put up another two to record a 34-22 match with 1:27 remaining in the first half. Battle continued to take over offensively for the Dolphins, leading the team with 16 points in the half. The Dolphins finished the quarter on a hustle play by Telleria that led to Bre'Yana Frazier knocking down two free-throws, shrinking the score to the shortest lead yet of nine. By the whistle, the count was 38-29.
After outscoring BCU 24-22 in the second, Coach Jennings and the Dolphins held BCU to 15 in the third and outscored them by a point. Battle opened the half hot, striking from long range to start the scoring for JU. Feeding off the momentum Craig put up another two to gain JU's closest striking range of 40-33 with 6:33 left. After a BCU rebuttal, Battle let go another bomb from deep notching her 20th point and breaking her season high of 18. A trade-off of points persisted until Dolphins forced the Wildcats to their smallest lead of six with 2:21 remaining in the third. Some impressive back-and-forth displays of talent by Battle and BCU Chanel Wilson led to an ending third quarter score of 53-45.
To open the fourth, Craig scored the first bucket to put her team down six yet again. Following that tough lay-up, Kyshonna Brown lasered a deep trey to propel JU to a 5-0 run. With the score reaching 53-50, the Wildcats called a much-needed timeout as BCU Head Coach Jannell Crayton felt the Dolphin pressure. After the timeout, JU forced a turnover that was picked up by Telleria and converted into a coast-to-coast layup, bringing the Dolphins only down one. Battle drew a foul on the very next possession, knocking down a pair to give JU their first lead on the night of 54-53 with 6:09 before the final horn. BCU tried to pull away, gaining another five-point lead, but Craig powerfully gave Jacksonville some relief with three quick ones, making the score 59-57 with 2:58 remaining. Competitive play continued until the one-minute mark; Battle plowed through contact to give the Dolphins another bucket and record a score of 63-61 BCU. Battle went on to take over the next possession, draw a foul, and split a pair to give the green and white just a one-point deficit. With 30 seconds remaining and the Dolphins down two (64-62), the Wildcats had an advantage with ball possession. Coach Special and the Dolphins managed to send a 33-percent free-throw shooter on the night, Kerrighan Dunn, to the line. Unfortunately, she sunk both to give BCU a lead of 66-63. The remainder of the game went in favor of the Wildcats.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"Proud of our efforts in the second half," said Jennings. "We have to figure out how to play for 40 minutes. We have the pieces; we just have to put them all together."
UP NEXT
The Dolphins turn around quickly and head to Miami, Florida, to take on Florida International University Friday, December 1. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+.
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