NASHVILLE – Tenn. – A late rally by the Jacksonville State women's basketball team pushed the Gamecocks to an unconventional 67-61 road win over Tennessee State on Saturday.
 
A win for the Gamecocks (13-7, 10-6 Ohio Valley Conference) over a winless TSU (0-20, 0-18 OVC) team may seem predictable, but Saturday's journey to the final score proved to be anything but that. JSU trailed for more than 28 total minutes of game time, and still needed a late basket in the final seconds when a TSU technical foul shifted the entire final scenario.
 
Trailing by one with 23 seconds remaining, JSU was looking to inbounds the ball and make a play in the final seconds to avoid the upset when the Lady Tigers reached over the out-of-bounds line and made contact with the ball. By rule, that results in a deadball technical for TSU and the Gamecocks sent Yamia Johnson to the line where she connected on two free throws to send JSU ahead, while the Gamecocks still retained possession. On the following inbound, Imari Martin was immediately fouled and added to JSU's lead, bringing it to a 64-61 game which the Tigers would not come back from.
 
Martin led JSU with 21 points, followed by Johnson with 20 as the Gamecocks had two players score 20 in a game for the first time since Gretchen Morrison and Briana Benson did it at UT Martin on Dec. 29, 2016. On the glass, senior Jessie Day pulled down 11 rebounds, ahead of sophomore Winnie Kuimi's new career-best nine.
 
The Gamecocks opened a 7-2 lead, but the Lady Tigers quickly picked up momentum on TSU's senior day and to lead by three by the end of the first quarter. The two sides swapped scores in the second, but every time JSU made a charge, TSU responded with a bucket of its own to keep control.
 
While JSU trailed 27-25 at the half, the pressure didn't begin to build until the Lady Tigers opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run over the first four minutes before a free throw from Martin snapped the JSU drought. After the 11-point deficit, JSU worked the rest of the quarter to close the gap capped by a trey from Martin that brought the score to 44-41 heading into the final frame.
 
TSU once again bounced back with a trio of early three-pointers in the final period to extend the lead every time JSU made it tight. Finally, Martin buried her fifth triple of the day to knot the score at 57-57 with 3:50  left to play. TSU would momentarily stall JSU's offense as it regained a late 61-58 advantage while the clock ticked below a minute.
 
Senior Kiana Johnson, who finished with eight point, hit a jumper with 43 seconds to play to pull JSU with one at 61-60. After a defensive stop, JSU advanced the ball to the front court to inbound where TSU would commit the critical error of picking up the technical foul while defending the inbound pass. Yamia Johnson and Martin would both top 20 points with late free throws to make it 64-61 before the Lady Tigers got possession again. Following missed chances for TSU to tie it up, Keiara Griffin and Day would also head to the line when fouled to add to the final margin.
 
Overall, JSU finished on a 9-0 run in the final 43 seconds. The third-quarter 11-point deficit was the largest of the season for the Gamecocks to overcome in a win. It also marked just the second time JSU won this year when trailing at the half, which also occurred at Morehead State on Jan. 9.