OXFORD, Ohio – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team couldn't close a late fourth quarter rally, falling 58-55 to Miami University inside Millett Hall on the Ohio campus.
 
JSU (5-3) entered looking for its second consecutive road win, while the Redhawks (6-3) have now won four straight. The Gamecocks held the best three-point shooting team in the nation based on percentage (46.1) to just 1-of-7 (14.3) on Saturday in a strong defensive effort. MU's leading scorer Lauren Dickerson was also kept in check with just 10 points, less than half of her season average and far below the 42 she registered in her previous game.
 
For Jax State, Rayven Pearson led the way with 16 points and finished just one rebound shy of her third double-double of the year with nine boards. Chloe Long joined Pearson off the bench as the only other Gamecock to finish in double figures with 10 points. Leah Strain and Taylor Hawks both had nine.
 
JSU looked in trouble in the opening possessions as Miami quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Tyler Phelion eventually put JSU on the board with a layup that would spark the Gamecocks surge through the rest of the period. Long has a string of six-straight points that tied the game at 11 and eventually handed Jax State a four-point advantage. As MU got within one, Strain hit a three to put the Gamecocks back up 18-14, before Long hit the final basket to end the quarter on a 20-7 run.
 
JSU was able to continue the momentum in the second quarter and took a 33-28 lead into halftime. The third quarter however once again gave the Gamecocks fits as the Redhawks rallied back to grab their first lead since the midway point of the opening period. Miami shot 67 percent through the period and outscores JSU by 12 to take a 46-39 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
 
An early basket in the fourth game Miami its largest lead of the game at nine, but JSU wasn't finished. After Pearson cut it to seven, Hawks reeled off four straight points make it a three-point contest with  6:41 remaining. Back down five with just over two minutes left, Pearson hit drew a foul on a made layup and hit the free throw to make it 54-52. After each team exchanged goals on the following possessions, JSU got a needed block from Long that gave the Gamecocks the ball with nine seconds to play down 56-54. On the final play, Kiana Johnson was unable to hit a runner, but Pearson snagged the rebound and was fouled with under a second on the clock. She hit just one-of-two and after MU hits its last two free throws, JSU didn't have time to get off a good try at a game-tying three.
 
JSU closes the books on a four game road swing and will return home Tuesday, December 12, at Pete Mathews Coliseum to face Alabama A&M.