JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team was unable to hold a fourth-quarter lead, falling 51-47 to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Saturday.
 
The Gamecocks (8-7) drop to 2-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play, matching the record of the Cougars who stole their second league win after trailing for more than 30 minutes. A dormant 1-for-17 shooting in the fourth quarter alone plagued JSU to just five points in the final frame as SIUE overcame a double-digit second-half deficit.
 
Sophomore Taylor Hawks was the lone Gamecocks to reach double figures with 11 points. Senior Rayven Pearson finished with nine points, just missing her seventh double-double of the year after a team-high 12 rebounds.
 
A three-pointer from Jessie Day that rattled in off the rim gave JSU a 15—8 advantage late in the opening period. The lead was five heading into the second quarter where SIUE slowly worked its way back to a 22-all tie with 4:45 remaining until halftime. After the Cougars briefly took a onr-point lead on three of Nakiah Bell's game-high 13 points, Hawks made a layup with 30 seconds to go to take a 26-25 lead into the locker room.
 
A 6-0 run midway through the third handed JSU a 42-32 lead, but JSU would hit just one of its final 22 shots the remainder of the way as SIUE began to chip away at the margin.
 
With 6:00 to play the Cougars regained the lead, 43-42, and soon had a three-point lead that would get erased by Yamia Johnson's corner three that evened things up at 45 with 5:05 left in the period. Late free throws from Pearson pulled JSU back within two, but the Gamecocks came up short in the final possessions as SIUE secured the 51-47 win marking the first loss of the year by JSU after leading at halftime.
 
JSU remains at home next week to host Belmont and Tennessee Tech.