JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Women’s Basketball’s bid to have a home GPAC Tournament first-round game was quelled by Briar Cliff, but the Jimmie men continued their good play against the Chargers.
UJ split with Briar Cliff Thursday at Harold Newman Arena. The Jimmie women were defeated 78-66 before the men earned their fourth straight win, dropping Briar Cliff 89-74.
Women: Briar Cliff 78, Jamestown 66
Kennedy Benne made the pronounced difference in this game for Briar Cliff (19-8, 14-7 GPAC). Benne, a senior wing, who scored 23 points in Jamestown’s win over Briar Cliff in Sioux City in January, set a career high with 30 points, leading the Chargers to their sixth win in their last seven games.
Briar Cliff never trailed as Jamestown (16-11, 12-9) started slowly, hitting just 4-of-14 field goals in the first quarter. Still, the Jimmies trailed by just 15-10 after 10 minutes.
Kia Tower hit a three-pointer with 6:43 left in the first half and Jamestown was within three at 22-19. Briar Cliff then put together a 14-7 run to take a 10-point lead. Two buckets by Samantha Paulsen brought Jamestown back to within 36-30 but Benne made a three as the first half ended and the Chargers were up by nine at the break.
Promise happened for the Jimmies when they opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run over 3:59 with five points from Jailyn Martinson and four from Audrey Rodakowski and trailed just 41-39. A Benne three-pointer capped an ensuing 11-2 run for Briar Cliff, but Jamestown cut the lead back down to five on a Paulsen layup with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.
Then, with eight seconds left in the period, Grace Flanagan fired in a three-pointer and was fouled by Kate Busek. Flanagan made the free throw and Briar Cliff led 60-51 through three quarters, never again to lead by less than seven.
An 8-0 run for Briar Cliff in the fourth quarter sealed the road win.
Konnor Sudman added 15 points for the Chargers.
Kate Cordes led Jamestown with 15 points and six rebounds. Paulsen scored 13. Rodakowski scored 12 and became the 25th Jimmie women’s player to score 1,000 career points.
The loss assured the Jimmies that they will play on the road next Wednesday in the first round of the GPAC Tournament.
Men: Jamestown 89, Briar Cliff 74
Three lead changes in the first 6:26 led to a tight start, but Jamestown’s 23-11 run had the Jimmies up 12 with 2:35 left in the first half.
Briar Cliff rallied to within four on a three-pointer with five seconds left in the first half from Blake Sindelar, but the Jimmies’ Jimmy Llinas just beat the first half buzzer with a 40-foot three-pointer and Jamestown (16-11, 11-8 GPAC) led 40-33 at halftime.
A 15-7 run by Briar Cliff (15-12, 9-10) had the Chargers up a point at 48-47 with 14:17 remaining. Llinas dunked 13 seconds later and the Jimmies never trailed again. Colby Vazquez bookended an 11-2 run with a three-pointer and a two to stretch the Jamestown lead to 68-58 with 7:42 left.
Briar Cliff was back within seven at 73-66 on a Jamison Helmers three-pointer with 5:01 left, but he fouled out 15 seconds later and Jamestown outscored the visitors 16-8 for the balance of the game.
Jamestown shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, 52 percent for the game and had five players in double figures. Vazquez scored 17, including 15 in the second half. Llinas also had 17 with eight rebounds. Silas Bennion tallied 16 with six rebounds and seven assists. Will Cordes scored 16 and Antonio Chandler contributed 11.
Helmers hit five threes and paced Briar Cliff with 21, including 18 in the second half. Ty Eischeid scored 14 and Sindelar hit 12 for the Chargers, who played without the GPAC’s second-leading scorer, Matthew Stillwill.
UJ’s final regular season home games will be against Dakota Wesleyan Saturday. Coverage will begin at 1:30 on The Voice of the Jimmies, Jamestown 107.1.