JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team returned to the win column with its return to Pete Mathews Coliseum on Monday, taking a 69-58 win over visiting Tennessee Tech.
The Gamecocks (8-4, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference) finished with five players in double figures for the first time in more than three years since JSU toppled Murray State by 32 on Jan. 11, 2018. This time around senior
Taylor Hawks' 15 points led the way ahead of junior
Yamia Johnson's 13. Junior
Kennedy Gavin and freshmen
Imari Martin and
Keiara Griffin each finished the game with 10 points.
Senior
Jessie Day pulled down a team-high six of JSU's season-low 30 rebounds after the Gamecocks shot 51-percent from the field. JSU shot a strong 7-of-15 from beyond the arc, and shut down the Golden Eagles (7-5, 5-4 OVC) from long range. TTU, entering the night on a three-game win streak, averaged eight three-points a game, but were held without a trey through the first three quarters and finished 2-for-15 overall.
Sloppy play in the opening minutes forced a Gamecock timeout less than two minutes into the game. From there, JSU slowly took charge for the night. Griffin had a few inside layups to pull JSU back from an 8-2 deficit, and Johnson buried a couple of long shots to hand JSU a lead by the end of the first period.
Midway through the second, a 13-3 run helped boost Jax State out in front by double digits and the margin with stand at nine by halftime at 34-25. Opposite from the start of the game, TTU burned an early timeout in the third after JSU opened with six-straight points.
JSU's lead reached its peak at the end of the third with an 18-point advantage up 53-35. Tech made a short rally in that cut the margin back to 10 before back-to-back layups by Hawks broke the momentum. JSU held on to secure the 69-58 victory for its seventh-straight win inside The Pete dating back to the end of last season.
The Gamecocks will have a chance to extend that streak with home games against Morehead State (Thursday) and Eastern Kentucky (Saturday) later in the week.
