CENTRE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team turned up the pressure in the second half to pull away for a 66-42 exhibition victory over Auburn University – Montgomery on Thursday night.
 
Redshirt-senior Destiney Elliott led the way with a team-high 15 points in her first full contest since 2016. The Oneonta, Ala., native was one of two Gamecocks to reach double figures along with sophomore Taylor Hawks who finished with 11. True freshmen Yamia Johson and JuToreyia Willis both finished with eight points as several young Gamecocks made an impact throughout the night.  
 
On the defensive end, senior Rayven Pearson brought down nine boards followed by Chloe Long with eight rebounds. Jessie Day grabbed five boards in her unofficial debut following her transfer from Troy.
 
JSU led 13-8 after the opening period easing back into action following a semifinal run in last year's Ohio Valley Conference tournament. AUM pulled within two early in the second at 13-11, but JSU quickly built a double-digit advantage at 23-13 with 3:31 remaining until halftime.
 
At the break, the Gamecocks led 29-21. The Warhawks continued to hang around early in the third before JSU found its rhythm at the midway mark of the quarter. After leading 36-30 at the media timeout, Jax State shutout AUM the remainder of the period and used a 10-0 run to propel itself to a 46-30 margin entering the final quarter.
 
The lead extended as far as 24 in the fourth as the Gamecocks scored 20 in their highest period of the game. A total of 10 Gamecocks in all made their way into the scoring column as JSU shot 41.5 percent as a team.
 
JSU officially opens the season next Tuesday, Nov. 6 at Florida A&M in Tallahassee.