JACKSONVILLE – Behind graduate-senior Destiney Elliott's career scoring night, the Jacksonville State women's basketball team defeated Eastern Kentucky, 68-54, Thursday evening in a game that not as tight as the final score indicated.
 
Jax State (8-10, 4-3 Ohio Valley Conference) improved to 6-2 on its home court with the win, which also capped the season sweep of the Colonels (8-10, 2-5 OVC). In the process of matching its most points in a conference game this season, JSU hit double-digit three-pointers (10) in a game for the fourth time this season.
 
Elliott led the Gamecock offense tying a career-high with 24 points, previously reached against Harvard in last year's Thanksgiving Classic in California. Redshirt-junior Jessie Day was the second Gamecock in double figures with 10 points, joined soon after by Taylor Hawks who also finished with 10.
 
After scoring just 43 points total in the road win in Richmond, Ky., earlier in the month, JSU piled on 41 in the first half alone on Thursday. McKenna Lawrence began the night with a couple of early treys to send JSU out to an 8-4 lead. Elliott poured in nine in the first period alone to make it 21-13 following the opening quarter.
 
Hawks made the lead 12 with a triple midway through the second and followed it up with a pair of free throws to push JSU ahead, 36-22. The advantage grew to 17 before the the Colonels trimmed the margin back to 41-28 for halftime.
 
With just under five minutes to go in the third, EKU's Qay Staton, who led her club with 13 points, added a layup to bring the game back to within 10 at 46-36. From there, the Gamecocks held EKU scoreless the rest of the period and used an 8-0 run offensively to head to the final quarter up 54-36.
 
The lead only grew in the fourth for JSU, who would go win for the 10th time in the last 12 meetings against EKU. Leading by 20 most of the final stanza, the visiting Colonels drained back-to-back threes in the final minute to bring the final result to 68-54.
 
In the midst of a four-game homestand, JSU will go for back-to-back wins at home, and thee overall, when it welcomes Morehead State to The Pete on Saturday for a 1:45 tip time.