Box Score

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team dropped a 78-57 decision to SIU Edwardsville on Monday night in Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball action in Pete Mathews Coliseum.

SIUE, playing its first year in the OVC, moved to 12-8 on the season and 6-3 in league play.  JSU fell to 4-19 on the season and 1-9 in the conference.  The Cougars swept the season series from the Gamecocks as they claimed a 79-39 victory at home earlier in the season.

Jax State started the contest by knocking down its first eight baskets and knotted the contest for the fourth time in the first seven minutes of the opening half after senior Brittany Manning knocked down a jumper in the post.  Over the next three minutes the contest went back and forth before Manning gave her squad its last lead of the contest at 24-23 with 10:37 left in the first half.  SIUE built a double digit lead over the next seven minutes at 40-29 and limited JSU to just one basket over the final three minutes of the half to take a 13-point, 44-31 lead into the halftime break. 

Manning, who led all JSU scorers for third time this season and the first against OVC competition with 12 points, scored seven of her final point total in the first half.  The Huntsville, Ala.-native hit 5-of-12 from field and credited with a pair of blocked shots in 33 minutes of game action. 

JSU could never get the deficit under ten points in the second half and suffered another scoring lull from just under the 16-minute mark to the 12:23 without a basket.  SIUE pushed its lead out to 15 minutes while the Gamecocks went cold from the field and eventually pushed the lead out to as many as 23 points with just over three minutes left to play. 

The Cougars held the advantage in every specialty stats category as they scored 46 of its 78 points in the paint and pushed the pace of the contest with 14 fast break points.  SIUE turned 18 Jax State turnovers into 19 points on the offensive end.  SIUE, who out-rebounded the Gamecocks for the second time this season, had 20 second chance points in the 21-point win.  The Cougars finished the affair shooting 50 percent from the field and shared the basketball with 22 assists.

JSU junior Danielle Vaughn flirted with another double-double for the second-straight game as she posted 11 points and eight rebounds.  The Huntsville, Ala-product nailed 5-of-8 from the free throw line and registered two steals.  Senior Destiny Lane reached double figures in the scoring column for the fifth consecutive game with her ten-point outing.  The Gamecocks' leading scorer, Briana Morrow, came off the bench for nine points and seven rebounds.  Freshman Candace Morton chipped in six points, while Amanda McCarthy added five points off the bench.

SIUE's Jazmin Hill, who had 11 points against JSU in the first meeting, turned in a game-high 16 points.  Hill drained four of SIUE's six treys on the evening.  Austin Tierny sparked the Cougars off the bench with 12 points.  Michaela Herrod finished with ten points.

JSU's three-game homestand wraps up on Saturday, Feb. 4 as it begins the month of February against Tennessee Tech.  Tip off is set for 2 p.m.