JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team stunned first-place Belmont with a 19-point victory over the Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
 
Jax State (10-11, 6-4 Ohio Valley Conference) put its trademark defense on full display in front of one of the hottest shooting teams in the OVC. The Bruins (13-8, 8-2 Ohio Valley Conference) entered Saturday's contest fresh off a win over previously unbeaten Tennessee Tech in league play to move into a tie for the top spot in the conference standings.
 
Head coach Rick Pietri has now won 100 games at the helm of the Gamecock program, but few came with such a dominating statement. JSU not only snapped a string of 12-straight losses to Belmont, but also handed BU its worse OVC loss since January 11, 2014 (UT Martin) in the process. Along with his time at South Alabama, Pietri is now one of 33 Division I women's basketball head coaches with 200 wins at one program and at least 100 at another.
 
Junior Taylor Hawks paced the offense with 15 points and assisted on five other JSU baskets. Sophomore Yamia Johnson also reached double figures with 13 points to mark her highest mark in a game since November, while Destiney Elliott rounded out the top producers with 10 points. On the glass, Chloe Long and Jessie Day recorded 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively, while JSU tied its season high with 51 team boards.  
 
The marquee win started with a layup by the Bruins in the first 10 seconds of the game for the opening 2-0 lead, but the Gamecocks would take a stand from that point. Hawks and Elliott buried the first of nine JSU three-pointers to open a 10-3 advantage and force an early BU timeout.
 
JSU's league-leading scoring defense shut down the Bruin attack, especially from the outside where JSU is one of the top three-point defenses in the nation. Belmont opened the game just 4-of-23 from the floor, and 0-for-10 from deep, as the Gamecocks led 20-12 midway through the second period. The Bruins cut it to three with a minute left at 20-17, but a triple and then long jumper by McKenna Lawrence added five points for Jax State before the half.
 
A 7-0 run for JSU to open the second half forced another quick Belmont timeout with the Gamecock up 32-17 as the momentum began to build inside Pete Mathews Coliseum. Yamia Johnson's first of back-to-back corner threes doubled up the scoreboard with JSU on top 40-20 nearing the end of the quarter.
 
In the fourth, an early deep ball from Lawrence brought a roar as JSU moved out to a 50-25 lead. The Bruins locked down for a 10-0 run over the next three minutes, but as time slipped away it would be as close as the visitors would get.
 
A breakaway layin Elliott in the final minute sealed the deal as the Gamecocks closed out the triumphant 60-41 decision.
 
JSU hits the road next weekend in conference play traveling to Southeast Missouri and UT Martin.