Sports roundup: Lady Jaguars lock in on defense, baseball capitalizes in midweek win
By Rodrigo Burgos Avila | Editor in Chief
It was a busy week across Augusta athletics, with several contests taking place simultaneously. Here’s a look at how the Jaguars performed, highlighted by strong wins from women’s basketball, baseball and a third place finish for women’s golf.
Women’s Basketball: Defense Leads the Way
Augusta women’s basketball leaned on its defensive identity in a dominant 71-39 win over Lander at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The Jaguars set the tone early, holding Lander scoreless for nearly five minutes and building a 21-5 first-quarter lead. Augusta forced 23 turnovers, converting them into 23 points, and limited the Bearcats to just 39 total points.
Quinasia Abercrombie led the way with 19 points, while Amari Jackson added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sierra Burns contributed four steals as the Jaguars continued to show that defense remains their foundation in conference play.
Men’s basketball: Daramola’s career night not enough in fifth straight loss
Daniel Daramola scored a career-high 19 points, but Augusta fell 85-74 to Lander in Peach Belt Conference play during the Military Appreciation Game.
The loss marks the Jaguars’ fifth in a row, dropping them to 9-17 overall and 4-12 in conference play.
Elias Palsson (8) drives to the basket during the game against Lander. He finished the game with 13 points on the losing effort. (photo by Anna Biondolillo/the Bell Ringer)
Lander shot an efficient 61.9% from the field and opened the game on an 8-0 run before Augusta settled in. The Jaguars battled back to tie the game midway through the first half and briefly took the lead on a Camryn Pacheco three-pointer, but trailed 40-33 at halftime.
Augusta cut the deficit to single digits multiple times in the second half, however, Lander maintained control down the stretch.
Charlie McBeath added 16 points and six rebounds for Augusta, while Elías Pálsson finished with 13.
The Jaguars travel to USC Aiken next as they look to snap their five-game skid.
Baseball: Jaguars Capitalize in 8-4 Win
Augusta baseball took advantage of Southern Wesleyan miscues in an 8-4 victory to even its record at 4-4.
The Jaguars scored four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Davis Newman. Patrick Matsunaga earned his first collegiate win after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning.
Augusta tallied six hits and added insurance runs in the sixth before closing out the win.
They will open PBC play this weekend as they travel to Orangeburg, SC to take on Claflin in a three-game series.
Women’s Golf: Jaguars Finish Third
Augusta women’s golf placed third at the BGSU Women’s Intercollegiate after shooting the second-best team round of the final day.
Marine Legentil led the Jaguars with a fifth-place finish after shooting 72. Sara Adams finished tied for 15th, and Keira Gonzalez-McCarthy also posted a 72 to move up 16 spots on the leaderboard.
Augusta returns to action Feb. 23-24 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Contact Rodrigo Burgos Avila at rburgosavila@augusta.edu.
Note: At the top of the page, junior infield player Landon Leonard (12) practices his swing before consuming one of his turns. Leonard finished the game with two runs scored and he is hitting for .182 in the season. (photo by Anna Biondolillo/the Bell Ringer)
