BUIES CREEK, N.C.-Tonisha
Baker led all scorers with 17 points and Campbell held
Jacksonville to 22 percent shooting in the first half, as the Lady
Camels took a 74-63 Atlantic Sun win over the Dolphins inside the
John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center Saturday afternoon.
Campbell improves to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in A-Sun play with the
win, while JU falls to 1-7 and 0-1 in its first conference game.
The win was the Lady Camels' first over the Dolphins since January
of 2005, with Jacksonville taking the last six meetings between the
teams. CU also pushed its all-time record against the Dolphins to
11-8.
Baker's 17 tied a season-high for the rookie guard, who also hit
the mark against Coastal Carolina in the Lady Camels' second game
of the season. The High Point, N.C. native added six rebounds and a
steal in the win.
Joining Baker in double figures was Monique
Spry, another freshman guard, and senior forward Geami
Britt, who tallied 13 and 12, respectively. Britt also chipped
in four rebounds, while tying career-highs of four assists and two
blocks.
Sophomore guard Kate Cloxton also punched in
nine while tying a career-high with eight dimes. Freshman forward
Jazmine
Cooper, meanwhile, posted season-highs of seven points and 11
rebounds, leading all participants on the boards.
Senior guard Courtney Jackson was the only playing in double
figures for the Dolphins, collecting 10 points on 4-of-21 shooting
that included a 1-for-8 rate from three point range. Redshirt
junior guard Gigi Thomas added nine points with four rebounds,
while Desarae Johnson and Drameka Griggs both notched eight for the
Dolphins. Johnson added nine rebounds in the loss. Abril Peebles,
Ashanti Williams and Danielle Gray added six points each.
The Dolphins built a 20-11 lead by the 7:51 mark in the first
stanza, but the Lady Camels held Jacksonville to just a single
field goal over the last seven minutes of the first half, reeling
off a 13-2 run over that span to take a 24-22 lead into the
break.
At the break, JU managed just 22 percent shooting, connecting on
9-of-41 attempts from the field and just 1-of-14 attempts from
beyond the arc. Campbell, meanwhile, held on to the two point lead
despite managing 18 fewer shots and facing a 28-19 deficit on the
glass, including a 17-4 disadvantage on the offensive end.
A pair of Baker buckets to open the second half moved the Lady
Camels to a six point lead. After the Dolphins brought the game
back to a four point difference, JU's Jackson nailed a three,
closing the gap to one, at 30-29 with 17:17 on the clock.
By the 10:49 mark, the Lady Camels stretched the lead to seven,
their largest of the game up to that point, as Kate
Cloxton found Monique
Spry on a backdoor cut for the reverse lay-in.
The closest Jacksonville would come to the Lady Camels for the
remainder of the game was the 3:55 mark, when a Danielle Gray free
throw brought the game back to six at 61-55.
From there, Campbell connected on 7-of-10 free throw attempts,
taking the 74-63 home win.
Jacksonville ended the game with a 52-44 advantage on the glass
that included 31 offensive rebounds for the Dolphins. Campbell shot
56.7 percent in the second half, while JU put up a 38.1 percent
clip.
The Lady Camels are now 3-1 at home this season, with two of those
wins coming in A-Sun play. The last time Campbell started 2-0 in
A-Sun play was the 2005-06 season, when the Lady Camels defeated
Stetson and Mercer to start conference play.
Campbell will be back in action Monday inside the John W. Pope Jr.
Convocation Center, taking on Winthrop at 7 p.m.
