NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season on Saturday, 71-55, on the road at preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite, Belmont.
 
The Gamecocks (9-6, 3-1 OVC)  were tied with Belmont (14-3, 4-0 OVC) early in the third quarter, before the Bruins showed their strength en route to their 29th-straight OVC victory. The two-time reigning league champions outscored Jax State, 21-7,  in the third quarter to pull away in the second half.  
 
Tyler Phelion ended the day as the lone Gamecock to reach double-digits finishing with 10 points. Tasha Magruder and Chloe Long each added eight points. The Gamecock defense held BU to nine points below its season scoring average and held a squad averaging more than 10 three-pointers per contest to just 5-of-17 shooting from the outside. Rayven Pearson saw her string of six-straight games with 10-or-more rebound come to an end as she led the team with six.
 
The Gamecocks answered the bell early and often in the first half, trading shots with the Bruins through the opening 20 minutes of play. BU grabbed its largest lead of the first half at seven points, 15-7, in the first quarter, but a three by Phelion sparked a short 5-0 run to put JSU right back to a possession.
 
Hawks and Phelion opened the second quarter with back-to-back triples to give Jax State a brief 19-18 lead. The Bruins quickly reclaimed the advantage, holding a five-point margin for most of the quarter before Chloe Long's inside bucket with 30 seconds to go pulled JSU within two, 35-33. BU's Darby Maggard had a half-court attempt at the buzzer roll around the rim and come off sending, keeping it a two-point deficit heading into the break.
 
Maggard would finish with a game-high 21 points leading a group of Bruins who finished in double figures.
 
Pearson opened the second half with an inside layup to even the score at 35, but BU responded with a 10-0 run to build first double-digit lead. The 14-point advantage for BU in the third gave way to a 56-40 score heading into the fourth period.
 
JSU played point-for-point with Belmont again in the final quarter, but was unable to cut into the deficit.
 
JSU returns to Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday, January 11, hosting Murray State at 5:30, before welcoming the Governors of Austin Peay to campus next Saturday.