AUBURN – A season-high 21 points for senior Destiney Elliott kept Jacksonville State close, but the Gamecocks were unable to complete a late rally on the road, falling at Auburn 62-53.
 
Keeping it around a 10-point margin most of the game, the Tigers (6-5) moved out to an 18-point advantage in the fourth quarter before a barrage of JSU (4-7)  three-pointers brought the Gamecocks back late.
 
Elliott's 21 points came on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, along with three free throws from a fouled attempt. Junior Taylor Hawks also reached double figures with 12 points, behind a trio of triples. Jessie Day and Yamia Johnson knocked down multiple deep shots as Jax State drained a season-best 13 three-pointers. It marked the fifth-most threes in a single game for JSU, and the second-most against a Power-5 opponent behind 14 at Florida State on Nov. 11, 2016.
 
While JSU found its rhythm from the outside, it was initially forced out there by a suffocating Auburn defense. Compared to 13 made shots from beyond the arc, JSU managed just three from inside and were outscored 22-2 in the paint by the Southeastern Conference foe.
 
Auburn brought the full-court press straight out of the gate, stumping the Gamecocks early as AU jumped out to a quick 14-4 advantage. A couple of buckets by Kiana Johnson kept JSU in it until Day connected on a late triple to shave the deficit back under 10. Early in the second, Elliott knocked down back-to-back threes to cut it to a three-point contest at 16-13, but the Tigers ran off six-straight to follow. Day converted another much-need deep shot to bring the margin back to nine as JSU went to the half down 27-18.
 
Hawks pulled up for a couple of threes early in the third to make it 30-24, but it would be as close as the Gamecocks would get after AU used a 9-0 run to rebuild its double-digit advantage.
 
Trailing 56-38 midway through the final period, JSU refused to pack it in, instead turning the tables on Auburn with a press defense itself after Elliott got the late rally started. Seven of JSU's 13 three-pointers came in the final quarter, with Johnson providing two off the bench to force Auburn to regroup late to hold on to the lead. JSU ended on a 15-6 run over the final 4:05 of game time, bringing the deficit down as low as eight at one point before running out of time.
 
JSU will look to carry its late fourth-quarter momentum into its next game as the Gamecock begin Ohio Valley Conference on Thursday, Jan. 2, at Morehead State.