JACKSONVILLE – Sophomore Taylor Hawks set a new career-high on a near half-court, buzzer-beater to beat visiting Tennessee State, 76-73 in overtime, in a thriller inside Pete Mathews Coliseum on Saturday.
 
The Gamecocks (12-13, 6-8 Ohio Valley Conference) took a big step in continuing their fight for postseason play in the OVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind., with the late win that came after JSU trailed for more than 27 minutes. The Lady Tigers (4-22, 4-10 OVC) fell to Jax State for the fifth-straight time.  
 
Hawks broke her her previous high of 18 points set against Eastern Kentucky last season on her final shot, and led a trio of Gamecocks in double figures with Destiney Elliot scoring 17, and freshman Yamia Johnson pocketed 13. Elliott also matched senior Rayven Pearson with a team-high five rebounds as Pearson now sits 10 boards shy of 800 for her career.  
 
"At this stage, every game is enormous," said head coach Rick Pietri. "Winning a game like this is huge for us to catch up, now we just have to pass them…the thing about that kind of play, you remember that for the rest of your life."
 
"Our team was in a funk for two and a half quarters, and the one who pulled us out was Brianna Perry. Today, those first two and a half quarters, that wasn't the team that has been playing the past few weeks. We needed somebody to get us refocused. Bri's effort and energy did that."
 
JSU still led after the first quarter, 18-14, but TSU extended the lead in the second outscoring the Gamecocks, 18-11, for a 32-29 halftime advantage.
  
JSU responded after halftime as the Gamecocks momentum changed with an early steal and layup by Elliot to cut the deficit to one, but the Lady Tigers kept the pressure on to build a 44-36 lead midway through the third and didn't close the gap as they still trailed by seven with 4:55 remaining in the fourth.
 
After a late technical foul on TSU, JSU's Destiney Elliott went to the line on the ensuing possession to even the game at 62-all. A jumper by TSU's Tia Wooten who finished with 18, behind Taylor Robert's team-high 27, with four seconds left looked to be the spoiler for the Gamecocks until Elliott drove to the basket following a timeout to send the game to overtime.
 
In the extra period, Hawks gave JSU its first lead since the 6:51 mark of the second quarter on a three to make it 67-66. The two battled back-and-forth until TSU's Roberts even things up at 73 with a pair of free throws with six seconds left to threaten for a second overtime before Hawks's late heroics.
 
Season tickets and single-game tickets are now available for purchase online at JSUGamecocksTickets.com, by phone at (256) 782-8499 and on campus at the JSU Ticket Office at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Children 18-years-old and under and JSU students are admitted free.
 
For more information on the JSU women's basketball team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JaxStateWBB). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks), Instagram (@JSUGamecocks) and Snapchat (@JSUGamecocks).