By Nathan Deen
Published on November 21, 2007
PJC women’s basketball head coach Chanda Rigby said that she’s starting to see improvement and more contribution from her young players off the bench. Several of those young players, including freshman forward Geneshia Dunbar, helped lead the Lady Pirates to a 72-59 win Saturday night over Gadston State at the Nova Care Classic. Dunbar grabbed a total of 16 rebounds and 6 blocks over the two-game span of the tournament and was named to the all-tournament team.
“It’s really good to see the young players coming around,” said Rigby.
Sophomore Dominique Sutton and Freshman Sierra Highgate led PJC in scoring. Sutton finished with 13 points and Highgate finished with 12. Sophomore Victoria Hunt, who was named MVP of the tournament, scored 11 points. Hunt and Highgate were key factors in the second half as they helped spark an early run that allowed PJC to pull away.
Gadston State was led by sophomore point guard Shannon Wilson, who finished the game with 25 points and shot 15/18 from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Andrea Beardan also scored in double figures with 17 points.
The first half was very well-contested and both teams played very physical defense. The Lady Pirates were down early 15-9 but were able to go on a 9-0 run to take the lead. During the run, Gadston State had a scoring drought of almost seven minutes. PJC went into halftime leading 28-21. No three-pointers were made in the first half.
PJC pulled away in the second half, due to some early prolific scoring by Highgate and Hunt, and at one point led by 20 points. The Lady Pirates were able to keep Gadston State off the boards, out-rebounding them 39-22.
PJC shot 40 percent from the field and 66 percent from the free-throw line.
This marks the last game of the non-conference season for PJC, whose record currently stands at 11-3. They will start conference play on Jan. 4 at North Florida Community College. Tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.