NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – In its first meeting against a member of the Pacific 12 Conference, the Jacksonville State women's basketball team came up short to Washington State on Saturday night to close out the CSUN Thanksgiving Basketball Classic in Northridge, California.
 
JSU (2-3) fell 64-51 to the Cougars who shot 44 percent from the field, and an even 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half. WSU started fast hitting five of its first eight three-pointers to build an early margin that the Gamecocks worked out night to erase.
 
After WSU jumped out to a 15-6 lead midway through the first, redshirt-senior Destiney Elliott had five-straight points to end the period to close the gap to 15-11 after 10 minutes. The Oneonta, Ala., native would lead JSU in scoring for the second-straight night, finishing with 17.
 
The lead was down to three following a Chloe Long jumper in the second, but WSU responded with a 14-2 stretch to make it 32-17 with under two minute to halftime. The advantage was 16 as the teams departed for the locker rooms.
 
The lead grew to 24 at the media timeout of the third, 51-27, where the Gamecocks began to chip away at the deficit. Over the final 14 minutes, the Cougars were held to just 13 points. Freshman Yamia Johnson's free throws to begin the fourth brought the margin back under 20 and it was down to 57-44 following Kiana Johnson's jumper with 5:06 remaining.
 
The Cougars fended off JSU's ensuing possessions as the clock became the enemy in the comeback effort.
 
Nine of the 10 Gamecocks that saw the floor scored on Saturday. Behind Elliott's 17, senior Rayven Pearson was just shy of another double-double with nine points and 12 boards. Junior Brittany Webster had six rebounds to go along with a block.
 
JSU returns home next and will face Montevallo on Tuesday at the Cherokee Arena in Centre, Ala., in its final off-campus home game of the season.