JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State outscored Eastern Illinois by 27 points in the third quarter as JSU's women's basketball team pulled away for a 78-49 victory in its 2019 conference home opener.
 
The Gamecocks (8-6, 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference) shot 73.3-percent (11-of-15) in the third period to break a 29-all halftime tie with the visiting EIU Panthers (7-7, 1-2 OVC). The win marked the third-straight at home over EIU under head coach Rick Pietri.
 
True freshman JuToreyia Willis had a breakout game to lead the Gamecocks with a career-high 15 points, nine more than her previous best that came at Alabama A&M. Fellow freshman Yamia Johnson, who sparked the third-quarter scoring spree with a couple of treys, finished with 14 points, while sophomore Taylor Hawks added 13. Overall, 10 of the 11 Gamecocks to see the floor reached the scoring column. Junior Brittany Webster recorded a team-high eight rebounds as JSU finished with 45 boards and 19 second-chance points.
 
After EIU jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first, JSU called timeout to settle things down. Redshirt-senior Destiney Elliott scored the next seven points, capped by a three-pointer to pull JSU within three. An inside move from Jessie Day allowed the Niceville, Fla., native to even the score at 15, before JSU continued its 16-0 run to lead 22-15 after the opening quarter.
 
JSU struggled to carry its momentum into the next stanza as the Panthers came back to take the lead. Jayla Walker's layup just before the half tied things up at 29-29, which stood as the score during the half.
 
Johnson and Hawks buried back-to-back triples to start the third to quickly put JSU ahead by six and the Gamecocks never looked back. Johnson later had a four-point play that extended the lead to 14, which then turned to 17 on the next possession with another trey by freshman.
 
Jax State scored the first 17 points of the period, and outscored the Panthers, 31-4, overall in the period to take control of the game with a 60-33 advantage heading into the fourth. The margin remained similar throughout the final period of play as both squads went to their benches – JSU to gain experience, and EIU due to foul trouble.
 
The 78 total points are the most scored by JSU against a Division I opponent in 364 days, since beating Murray State 97-65 on January 11 last season.
 
Jax State returns to action on Saturday, hosting the league's other Illinois-based member in Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Cougars (6-8, 1-2 OVC) lost to Tennessee Tech on Thursday.