BEREA, Ky. – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team was able to shake its short three-game losing skid on the road Thursday evening with a 53-44 victory over Eastern Kentucky.
 
Playing inside the Seabury Center on the campus of Berea College while EKU's arena was occupied, the Gamecocks (9-9, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference) evened their overall record and knocked off the Colonels for the seventh time in the last nine meetings. EKU (2-16) remained winless in conference play with the setback.
 
Freshman Yamia Johnson led offensively with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half when Jax State needed it the most. Behind Johnson, sophomore Taylor Hawks had 11 points while junior Chloe Long added a season-best 10. Senior Rayven Pearson controlled the boards with a game-high 13 rebounds to run her career total to 717, and inches closer to fifth on the school's career list.
 
The score was deadlocked at 10-10 after the opening period of play. The Colonels would build their largest lead of the day at 18-12 midway through the second, but JSU used a 12-3 run to retake the lead late in the half.
 
Up just one, a defensive stop by the Gamecocks on the final possession sent JSU to the half with a 24-23 advantage.
 
JSU scored the first five points of the third quarter, capped by Destiney Elliott's steal and pass up the court to find Pearson for a fastbreak layin to make it 29-23. Jax State later stretched the lead to a dozen at 37-25 late in the third, but a 6-0 run by EKU cut the lead in half heading into the fourth quarter.
 
It became a 7-0 run for EKU overall, until Elliott snapped JSU's drought with on a shot with one second left on the shot clock after an inbounds. Elliott's quick release hit nothing but the bottom of the net as the horn sounded.
 
With 6:36 remaining, EKU made it a two-point game at 39-37, forcing a JSU timeout. After a free throw from Long, Johnson hit just the second triple of the game to make it 43-37 in the closing minutes. The two sides were a combined 2-for-30 from beyond the arc before Johnson's connection, but JSU added three late triples for Johnson and Hawks to end any late chance at a Colonel comeback.
 
Now looking to even its league record, JSU heads to Morehead State on Saturday for a 1 p.m. ET (noon CT) tip against the Eagles. JSU went 3-0 against MSU last season, including sending the Eagles home from the OVC Tournament, but the blue and gold will have plenty of momentum after knocking off OVC-leader Tennessee Tech, 77-56, on Thursday.