JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team defeated visiting Southeast Missouri on Saturday afternoon, 55-48, to improve to 13-8 overall, and 7-3 in Ohio Valley Conference action.
The 13th win of the season for JSU (13-8, 7-3 OVC) matches the Gamecocks' win total from a season ago when Jax State posted a 13-15 overall mark. JSU just began the second-half of a newly-expanded conference schedule, and has eight regular-season games remaining.
SEMO (10-12, 5-5) lost for the first time in three games. The Redhawks shot just 27 percent (17-63), and were held to 15 points below their season average.
Freshman
Taylor Hawks led JSU with 13 points. She was 4-of-4 from the stripe, leading a Gamecock unit that made 20 free throws total during the game. Senior
Tyler Phelion finished with eight points, all coming in the first half, while
Kiana Johnson and
Gretchen Morrison tallied seven points.
SEMO's Ashton Luttrell hit a three-pointer to open the game and give the Redhawks a 3-0 lead, which would stand as its largest lead in a game that Jax State led for more than 34 minutes. Luttrell was one of three Redhawks to reach double figures, led by Tesia Thompson's 12.
Hawks quickly evened the early score at 3-3, and JSU continued on to a 10-7 advantage after the first quarter. SEMO would fight back to grab an 11-10 lead, before
Leah Strain's three-pointer would spark a 10-0 JSU run over the next four minutes to go ahead by nine. The Gamecocks still led by six heading to the half with a 28-22 edge.
SEMO chipped away at the deficit in the third, pulling within three, 37-34, entering the final period. The visitors from Cape Girardeau, Mo., scored the first five points of the fourth to go up, 39-37, with under eight minutes to play.
Morrison put the Gamecocks back on top with her triple at the 7:50 mark. She later another while still up by one with just 1:22 remaining to boost Jax State ahead, 49-45. JSU's final six points would come at the charity stripe in the final 63 seconds of play.
The Gamecocks remain in third-place in the league standings as the prepare for the longest road trip of conference action, with visits to SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois next weekend.
