Short-handed Lady Jaguars fall to Georgia Southwestern despite Jackson’s career night

By Jaxon Garner | Editor in chief

Despite a strong outing from Amari Jackson and a solid start on defense, the short-handed Augusta University women’s basketball team (4-2 PBC, 12-4) lost to Georgia Southwestern (4-2 PBC, 8-6) 74-61 on Jan. 18. Missing key players due to illness, the Jaguars stayed competitive early but couldn’t keep up in the second half.

Georgia Southwestern entered the game with the top two scorers in the Peach Belt Conference: Ndidiamaka Ndukwe, averaging 20.1 points per game, and Destiny Garrett, with 17.7 ppg. Ranked third in the conference for scoring offense, the Hurricanes posed a significant challenge for the Jaguars, who have held opponents to just 51.6 ppg this season.

Freshman Quinasia Abercrombie carried over the momentum from her career-high 21-point performance against Flagler College on Jan. 15, contributing six of the Jaguars’ first nine points against the Hurricanes.

The Jaguars took an early lead in the first quarter, but the Hurricanes fought back to tie the game at 5-5. Augusta responded with a dominant 16-0 run, taking a 21-5 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Amari Jackson played a key role, scoring half of the points during the run.

Georgia Southwestern leaned on their post presence, particularly 6-foot-3 forward Shane’ Jackson, who scored all four points during a 4-0 run to close the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Jaguars switched to a zone defense, doubling the post to disrupt the Hurricanes' inside game.

“We decided that we wanted to slow the tempo down versus them by playing zone defense and switching up our defensive looks,” Jaguars coach, Celeste Stewart said.

While this adjustment slowed Georgia Southwestern’s post play, the high-powered offense still found ways to score. The Hurricanes opened the second quarter with a 7-1 run, cutting the deficit to 22-16. However, the Jaguars regained momentum with a 5-0 run, extending their lead to 27-16 with just over five minutes left in the half.

Georgia Southwestern refused to back down, answering with a 10-0 run fueled by their star scorers, Garrett and Ndukwe, to cut Augusta’s lead to just one point at 27-26. Despite missing multiple key players due to an illness spreading through the program, the Jaguars managed to close the first half with a 32-28 lead.

The Jaguars out-rebounded the Hurricanes 24-13 in the first half, with 10 offensive boards. However, they converted just nine second-chance points.

Amari Jackson led the Jaguars in the first half, setting career highs with 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hurricanes were paced by Ndukwe, a Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year candidate, who scored 11 points.

Jackson picked up where she left off in the first half, contributing six of the Jaguars’ first 10 points in the third quarter. Augusta maintained its lead, outscoring the Hurricanes 12-10 halfway through the third quarter. Abercrombie and Jackson split the load evenly, each scoring six of the 12 points.

“Amari is a very talented player,” Stewart said. “She has continued to work and play hard over the season. She was able to showcase what all she can do offensively and defensively in this game. She played phenomenal on both sides of the ball.”

The Hurricanes once again turned to their post play, with Shane’ Jackson leading a 12-2 run to give Georgia Southwestern its first lead of the night at 48-46 with just over one minute remaining in the third quarter. Jackson contributed eight of the 12 points in the run.

Georgia Southwestern held onto its lead heading into the fourth quarter, up 50-46. The Hurricanes outscored the Jaguars 22-14 in the third quarter, shooting 50% from the field compared to Augusta’s 33.3%.

The Jaguars faced additional adversity in the fourth quarter, with multiple players in foul trouble and only seven available on the roster.

“We attempted to use timeouts when needed as a strategy, media timeouts as well,” Stewart said. “Our players are fighters and really wanted to give their best effort. But unfortunately, we couldn’t pull out the win.”

The Hurricanes opened the fourth quarter on a 5-2 run, extending their lead to 55-48 with just over seven minutes remaining. Augusta struggled to stop the Hurricanes’ high-powered offense as Georgia Southwestern extended its lead to 64-55 with four minutes left. The Hurricanes controlled the clock and closed out the game with a 74-61 victory.

The Jaguars were led by Amari Jackson, who tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Abercrombie added 16 points for Augusta. The Hurricanes had four players in double figures, with Garrett leading the way with 19 points.

Despite the loss, coach Stewart saw positives in the performance. “We had some players play crucial minutes versus Georgia Southwestern, which will help us going forward,” Stewart said. “Learning how important it is to value each possession. Each game is a battle, also we can’t take for granted the opportunities we have and we have to be ready for the moment.”

The Jaguars, now 12-4 overall and 4-2 in Peach Belt Conference play, will look to bounce back when they travel to face Lander on Jan. 22. “In preparation for Lander, we will reevaluate how we’ve been playing and figure out what adjustments we need to make defensively and how to get better offensive flow,” Stewart said.

Contact Jaxon Garner at jaxgarner@augusta.edu.

AU’s Quinasia Abercrombie (#24) looks for an open teammate against Georgia Southwestern on Jan. 18 (Photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics). Photo at the top of the screen is Nyaneit Puok (#11) driving to the basket for a layup (Photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics).

AU’s Amari Jackson going up for a contested layup versus Georgia Southwestern (Photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics).