Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Briana Morrow's heave from behind the three-point arc as time expired gave the Jacksonville State women's basketball team a thrilling 74-73 win over Austin Peay in Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball action at the Dunn Center on Saturday evening.

With the Gamecocks trailing 73-71 with 1.9 seconds left in the game, Morrow received the inbound pass from Brittany Manning and then turned for the game winner that hit nothing but the net from the right wing.  It was just Morrow's third made three-pointer of the year.  After an official review, the trey left Morrow's hand before time expired giving Jax State its first OVC win of the season and snapping a nine-game losing skid.  The one-point win on the Lady Govs' home floor was just the second win for JSU in the nine previous meetings in Clarksville.  The last win in Dave Aaron Arena inside the Dunn Center came in January of 2008. 

Jax State erased a 13-point, 37-24 halftime deficit in the road win thanks to hitting 50 percent from the field, 18-of-36, in the final 20 minutes along with finding its touch from three-point range.  JSU out-scored APSU 50-36 in the final half.  After going two and half consecutive games without a basket from three-point range, the Gamecocks hit four key treys before the Morrow game-winner.  After missing its first three in the first half, the Red and White finished the game 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.  Senior Destiny Lane connected on three treys in the second half to push her final point total to 14 points.

APSU senior Whitney Hanley looked to give her squad the win on two occasions within the final 35 seconds with two baskets.  Junior Danielle Vaughn matched Hanley on the other end with a basket to even it at 71-all with eight tics left.  Hanley's lay up with five seconds left gave APSU a 73-71 lead before JSU's final game-winning possession.

APSU held its largest lead of the game on the first basket to start the second half as Jasmine Rayner had a lay up.  The Lady Govs looked in control of the contest at the midway point of the half with a ten-point, 57-47 lead with 10:37 left in the game.  The Gamecocks' offense started clicking and trimmed the deficit down to 57-56 after a 9-0 run.  Freshman Candace Morton would even the contest for the sixth time with a free throw with 6:01 left to play.  APSU took the lead on a Shelby Olszewski bucket at the 5:11 mark.  The Lady Govs extended the advantage out to five points just under the four-minute mark on a three-pointer, but JSU would not go away as they would match APSU at 67-all with 2:02 on the clock.  Morton gave Jax State its first lead since the 15:33 mark of the first half with pair of free throws.

Morton, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Friday, had a career night on Saturday.  The 5-foot-8 guard recorded her first career double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds.  Morton nearly reached her double-double mark by the end of the first half as the Lexington, Ky.-native pulled down 11 rebounds and scored nine of her 23 in the first 20 minutes.  Both of those marks are career bests for Morton.  She filled the stat sheet in her 38 minutes of action with seven assists, a pair of steals and credited with a steal in the win. 

The rest of the Jax State starting line up joined Morton in double figures in the scoring column.  Along with Lane's 14 points, Vaughn turned in 11 points and eight rebounds as she was vying for her fourth consecutive double-double.  Morrow, a Tennesse product from just down the road in Nashville, tallied ten points.  Maninng added ten points and five rebounds.

For the third straight game, the Gamecocks owned the boards with a 52-30 rebounding edge.  The +22 rebounding edge led JSU to 24 second chance points.  

Hanley led all scorers with a career-best 32 point effort in the loss.  Leslie Martinez came off the bench for 12 points.

JSU continues its trip to Murray, Ky. on Monday, Jan. 16 against the Racers of Murray State.  Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at the CFSB Center.