Hot-shooting AU women rout Pacers to move into second place in PBC
By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor
The Augusta University women’s basketball team had their best offensive outing this season against USC Aiken on Wednesday night, Feb. 15, at Christenberry Fieldhouse, defeating the Pacers 92-52.
The Jaguars (9-6, 16-9) shot the best they have all season from the field, shooting 63.6-percent, while holding the Pacers (9-6, 15-10) to 36.7-percent. They outscored Aiken each quarter.
Last time both teams met in Aiken, the Pacers were victorious, defeating the Jags 68-52. Aiken had several players in double figures that outing, but this time around the Pacers only had one player in double figures.
“That first go around we did not play up to our potential, we were a different team,” said AU Coach Celeste Stewart. “I remember telling our players as we were leaving the floor at Aiken ‘Remember this moment and use it as fuel for the rest of our season,’ and I feel like we’ve been doing that.”
With the win, Augusta moved up into a three-way tie for second place in the Peach Belt Conference standings with USC Aiken and Clayton State. Georgia Southwestern is ahead by three games at 12-3, while Columbus State and North Georgia sit a game behind Augusta, Aiken and Clayton State at 8-7.
Stewart spoke about the importance of the win and moving up in the conference standings.
“It was huge, we talk about defending home court and thankfully we had another opportunity to play them here,” said Stewart. “I think it’s also a continuous confidence builder. I think we’re clicking and peaking at the right moment, so I’m just hoping we can continue to do that.”
Augusta was led by Kennedi Manning in the win with 26 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Manning is currently first in the PBC in blocks per game at 1.5, and second in rebounding with 8.8.
“Kennedi is a special player and I think for her I just want to keep challenging her,” said Stewart. “She’s been responding to the challenge. Teams are typically doubling, tripling and quadruple teaming her night in and night out, so it’s good to see her in some one-on-one coverage but understand that she has to make an impact on the game more than just scoring. She’s been blocking shots and rebounding well.”
Tomiyah Alford scored 24 for AU and grabbed six rebounds. Alford has flourished this season in a new role from the previous season. She’s playing double the number of minutes she did last season and increased her scoring average from 4.9 to 13.4 this season, leading the team in scoring and good for seventh-best in the PBC.
“I think she (Alford) has always been capable of what she’s doing now,” said Stewart. "She does so many things for our team outside of scoring. She can play one through four, sometimes she’s in there guarding the five and she can be undersized at times but because of her effort and her energy and work ethic it’s just outstanding. I’m just glad to have her apart of what we’re doing.”
Mone Florence and Jebria Fullwood also scored in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. This team has depth has been off the charts this season with different players stepping up to lead.
“It’s a team effort I’ve always talked about that from the very beginning,” said Stewart. “It’s going to take a collective effort for us to get where we want to go. It’s not going to be the same people every single night and I think that’s what makes our team special. You never know who’s night it’s going to be and our players being able to respond and step up in those moments is huge.”
The Jaguars jumped out to a 10-2 lead after only three minutes of play with the help of four points from Alford and Manning each and two from Kiera Howard. By the end of the quarter, Manning stretched their lead to 10 with a free throw make giving them a 23-13 lead.
Aiken’s Emily Trushel got it going in the second quarter, knocking down a couple shots for the Pacers to try and cut the deficit. She was Aiken’s lone double-digit scorer with 18.
Howard propelled a 14-0 run for the Jags after converting a fastbreak and-one layup at the 5:31 mark. The run closed with four-straight free throws from Florence to go up 46-23. At the half AU was up 48-25.
That second quarter really put the nail in the coffin as it had Aiken dug in a deep hole and the Jags were not letting up, outscoring Aiken in the second half as well 44-27.
“It was a fun game to coach, just seeing our players have that success after all the hard work and challenges we had to overcome,” said Stewart.
The win also gives Augusta their 16th win of the season, which is the most wins in a season for the program since the 2015-16 season where they won 24 games. It’s Stewart first year in the interim head coach position after previous coach Millette Green’s departure to Wake Forest and she’s helped lead this team in the right direction.
“I’ve been taking it day by day, I’ve had a great support system throughout this season,” said Stewart. “Coach Green is a mentor to me, till this day we stay connected. When she was here, we always talked about we have to build the foundation and continue to work to build the culture. Coach Green laid the foundation down and now we’re starting to see the reward of it.”
The Jags will travel to St. Augustine, Fla., to play Flagler (3-12, 6-19) on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 1:30 p.m.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez@augusta.edu.
Tomiyah Alford pumps in two of her 24 points for the Jaguars in their 92-52 win over the Pacers. At the top of the page, Kiera Howard (3) drives to the basketball for Augusta. (photo by Madison Keel)
