GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: Jan. 6, 2024
TIME: 2:00 PM |
LOCATION: Swisher Gymnasium
Jacksonville, Fla. |
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GAME DAY LINK
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LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
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THE LEAD
The Stetson Hatters opened up conference play with a 61-57 win over North Florida on Thursday, extending their win streak to three games. Having won four of their last five games, the Hatters return to the Gateway to Florida to face-off with the Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled for 2:00 PM at Swisher Gymnasium with all the action streamed on ESPN+ and live stats available on www.judolphins.com.
INSIDE THE SERIES
This will be the 51st time these two programs from the Sunshine State meet. Through their 50 previous match-ups, the Hatters hold a 33-17 record. While dominant at home, racking up an 18-5 record, the Hatters narrowly lead on the road, 12-10. They last meet in the ASUN playoffs during the 2022-23 season on March 4, 2023 when the Hatters knocked off the Dolphins in the Quarterfinals, 60-53. In the long standing history between the two, they first met back on Dec. 16, 2000 when the Hatters took the inaugural game 79-68. Stetson began the series on a 10-game win streak and enter this weekend's match-up riding a three-game streak against the Dolphins.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS (6-9, 1-0 ASUN)
Stetson approaches the weekend with an overall record of 6-9 after winning their conference opener on the road against North Florida on Thursday, marking their fourth win in their last five games. The win was also the Hatters' first win away from the Edmunds Center this season.
Leading the Hatters on offense in their last game was
Jaelyn Talley, who finished the game with a season-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while pulling in seven rebounds, five of which came on offense. Over the sophomore forward's last two games, she has scored 31 points and recorded 18 rebounds.
Also reaching double-figures were
Quentarra Mitchell and
Jamiya Turner, who recorded 15 and 10, respectively. The former, coming off the bench, sank 3-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds after pulling in a clutch offensive rebound to secure the Hatters' win. It was a season-high in points for the graduate, who has now reached 10+ points and 5+ rebounds in each of her last three games.
Turner, who recently hit 1,000 career points the other week, scored 10 on Thursday as she has now racked up double-figure points for the seventh time this season. The redshirt-senior guard has been doing it all lately, reeling in eight rebounds and dishing out five assists in the win. In each of her last three games she has reached 10+ points, 8+ rebounds and 4+ assists.
So far this season, the offensive output for Stetson has been fronted by Turner, who maintains a team-leading 172 points, 11.5 per game. Turner showcases a 44.2 percent shooting accuracy from the field (69 of 156) and a 70.8 percent from the free-throw line, 10th highest in the ASUN.
Jordan Peete, with 12 starts this season, averages 8.9 points per game, making a team-high 15 of 56 shots from beyond the arc.
McNeal and Kunzwiler have been a key piece in the rotation as they average 8.8 and 6.4 points. The duo has been a threat from beyond the arc, combining for 28-of-103 from three-point range, 13 of which have come from the freshman sharpshooter.
Promise Keshi leads the team in steals, contributing 20 steals, 16th most in the conference. Kunzwiler has recorded six blocks, tied-most on the team with freshman forward
Sophia Fontaine. The former has blocked a shot in each of the last three games as the team recorded a season-high six blocks in the win over UNF.
Talley has excelled on the glass, leading the Hatters with 109 total rebounds, 7.3 per game. Her 59 offensive rebounds rank second-most in the ASUN and she ranks third most in total boards. The sophomore forward is also tied for 14th most in all of NCAA.
Skylar Treadwell has pulled in 80 rebounds on the season after grabbing 21 against High Point earlier this season.
As a team, Stetson averages 58.7 points per game, as opposed to a conference third fewest average points allowed (60.9), on 330-897 shooting from the field (36.8%) and 63-287 from three-point range. They exhibit a conference seventh-best free-throw percentage of 67.7 percent (157-232) and boast an ASUN second-most 565 total rebounds, 37.7 rebounds per game. Stetson has forced opponents into 257 turnovers and capitalized on them with 12.9 points off turnovers.
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS (4-10, 0-1 ASUN)
Jacksonville currently holds a record of 4-10, sitting 12th place in the ASUN Conference standings after dropping their last five games. Their most recent loss came in their conference opener against FGCU after facing stiff competition from Miami, Florida State, Alabama and LSU throughout the season.
In the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the coaches selected Jacksonville ninth in the poll with 48 points after finishing the prior season with a 6-11 conference record. They were also selected ninth in the media poll with 214 points.
Looking to build off of a 12-17 finish last season, the Dolphins average 66.0 points per game and have outscored their opponents by an average of 12 points.
As a team, they have a shooting percentage of 41.1 percent from the field (309-751) and 31.3% from beyond the arc (68-217). The Dolphins are rebounding at an average of 32.6 per game and distributing 8.4 assists.
On the defensive end, they allow opponents to shoot 44 percent from the field (382-868) and 31.6 percent from three-point range (92-291), 11th and 6th in the ASUN. The defense has also forced 276 turnovers, scoring 16.7 points off them, while tallying 137 steals and 33 blocks.
Junior guard Edyn Battle has started 13 games in 14 appearances and averages an ASUN second-most 18.7 points per game. She has made a team-high 101 field goals including 16 from beyond the arc. Battle is also averaging 3.8 rebounds per game while assisting on 31 baskets.
Freshman forward Saniyah Craig also averages double-figures. The Arizona native has racked up 11.3 points per game while leading the team with 6.7 boards per game after recording an 11 point-11 rebound double-double in the loss to FGCU on Thursday.
Junior guard Jalisa Dunlap rounds out the Dolphins' scorers who have reached 100+ points this season, having averaged 8.1 while starting in all 14 games. The junior has also racked up 21 assists and 16 steals.
On defense, Battle and Sana'a Garrett have each come away with 25 steals while freshman center Jada Jones leads the team with 11 blocks.
NEXT UP
Stetson will return home to the historic Edmunds Center on Saturday, Jan. 13 as they host the FGCU Eagles for the Green Out Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM with all the action to be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats available on www.gohatters.com.
