MARTIN, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team gave three-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champion UT Martin all it could handle in the league opener for both squads, before falling late.
 
The Gamecocks (7-6, 0-1 OVC) made a school-record 16 three-pointers and shot 59 percent from long range in its bid to end the fourth-longest home conference-game winning streak in the country. The Skyhawks (4-10, 1-0 OVC) made 14 triples of their own and boasted six players in double figures scoring en route to their highest offensive output of the season.
 
Junior Gretchen Morrison led the way for JSU with 27 points, primarily off her 9-for-12 shooting from the outside. She came one three away from matching her own school-record for individual threes in a game. Senior Briana Benson started hot with 20 points in the first half, but managed only five in the final two periods, still leaving her with a career-high 25.
 
JSU took an 8-2 lead out of the gate before the Skyhawks too their first lead at 12-11. UTM proceeded to gain a 10-point margin at 25-15, before JSU buried one of it's many threes to make it a seven-point game after the first.
 
UTM would increase its advantage to 11 before the Gamecocks began to rally nearing intermission. Destany McLin, who will soon join the 1,000 Point Club, and Lacey Buchanon got baskets to help JSU climb within two by halftime, 45-43.
 
Jax State shot a staggering 83 percent from three-point range (10-12) in the opening 20 minutes, but as the Skyhawks adjusted, openings became limited in the second half. For the first time, JSU made more inside baskets than outside in the third period, and a two-point deficit became five entering the final quarter.
 
Within the first minute of the fourth, UTM jumped out to a 10-point lead using a tight press, and continued its lead all the way to a game-high 18 points with 5:48 to play. The Gamecocks closed the gap to 11 in an effort to play its way through the end.
 
 
UTM did the majority of its damage off turnovers with 29 points from turnovers off tight pressure. But JSU outscored the Skyhawks 27-14 on fast break opportunities when it was able to get a quick turnaround.
 
Despite the setback, JSU shot 55 percent overall and had its highest scoring output against a Division I opponent this season and will look to carry the efficiency to Charleston, Ill., when it faces Eastern Illinois on Saturday.