JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team kept its perfect home record intact on Thursday evening with a hard-fought 58-56 win over Eastern Illinois.
 
It took a while to get going as the Gamecocks (10-6, 7-5 Ohio Valley Conference) didn't score for the opening three minutes, and trailed for the first five total before a Keiara Griffin three-pointer pushed JSU ahead. The Panthers (9-11, 7-8 OVC) would hang tough the rest of the way, eventually falling to JSU for the first time in four meetings.
 
Griffin would continue her strong start to finish with a new career-high 14 points to lead the Gamecock offense that saw several new faces step up on Thursday. Junior transfers Kyra Williams and Imari Martin joined Griffin in double figures with 10 points each. It was also a new career mark for Jacksonville, Ala., native, Williams. Sophomore Nekiyah Thompson followed with eight points.
 
After JSU rallied in the first, the two teams entered the second quarter tied at 14. The Gamecock defense shut the Panthers down to just six points in the second period, the lowest in any game, and took a 28-20 advantage into the half.
 
The margin didn't last long with EIU scoring the first eight points of the second half to even things once again. The visiting Panthers led 33-31 midway through the quarter, before a trey from Martin sparked a 10-2 Gamecock run. The scrappy bunch from Charleston, Illinois, who eliminated JSU in last year's OVC Tournament, fought back to tie again at 42. This time Thompson put JSU back in front on a buzzer-beating jumper to end the third.
 
The Gamecocks never trailed in the final 10 minutes, but the Panthers stayed with them throughout. In the final minute, EIU's Abby Wahl hit a jumper to pull EIU within a score at 56-53. After Taylor Hawks seeming closed the door with a free throw with six seconds to play, EIU's Lariah Washington buried a three to the final seconds to pull within one. Jessie Day added a free throw after being fouled on the inbounds and the Panthers were unable to get a final shot off on the last play.
 
Since moving to Division I in 1995, JSU had never won nine consecutive home games prior to tonight. JSU is 8-0 at Pete Mathews Coliseum this season, and won its final home game of 2019-20. Entering Thursday, JSU's eight-straight was tied for the 24th-longest active home win streak in the nation.  
 
Jax State can extend the streak on Saturday when it hosts Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at The Pete for a 1 p.m. tipoff on ESPN+.