COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Junior Yamia Johnson had a season-high 24 points, but it wasn't enough as the Jacksonville State women's basketball team fell short in the final possession of a back-and-forth game with Tennessee Tech on Sunday.
 
The Gamecocks (2-2, 0-1 Ohio Valley Conference) watched Nekiyah Thompson drive to the lane for a layup to hand JSU a one-point lead, followed by a three-pointer from Tech on the other end to go back up two, followed by a pull-up from Johnson just outside the paint to even the score once more, and that all came in just the final minute of the game.
 
In the OVC opener for both squads, TTU (1-1, 1-0 OVC) survived the back-and-forth contest with a pair of free throws in the final five seconds to secure the 68-66 win over JSU. The game featured 19 lead changes, and was tied 14 other times. Both teams led for more than 13 minutes each and were deadlocked for almost an entire quarter's worth of time.
 
Behind Johnson's dynamic 24-point performance on 11-of-19 shooting, Thompson tied a career-mark with 11 points for the third time. Senior Jessie Day led the way with eight rebounds, followed by freshman Keiara Griffin with six.
 
A steal by Imari Martin, who finished with three steals and six points, led to a fastbreak layup at the buzzer to give JSU a 16-14 advantage after the opening quarter. The Golden Eagles would claim their largest lead of the day in the second period after a three-pointer made it 24-19 in favor of Tech. JSU slowly fought back, and fittingly for how the day played out, the two sides went to the half tied at 26.
 
TTU led almost all of the third stanza, claiming a 45-40 lead with 1:22 to play in the period before Griffin knocked down JSU's first triple of the night and sparked a 12-0 run overall. The Gamecocks would finish the third with a 7-0 stretch to lead by two, and opened the final quarter with five straight points to make it 52-45.
 
Still up seven with 6:40 remaining, JSU saw Tech string together its own 10-0 run to retake the lead by three. JSU made it a one-point contest after a free throw by Griffin to set up that final minute scenario.
 
Tech's Kesha Brady finished the day with a game-high 27 to go along with Anna Jones' 21 points.
 
JSU steps back out of conference on Wednesday with a home matchup against Samford.