MARTIN, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State women's basketball team was unsuccessful in knocking off the Ohio Valley Conference leader for the second time this season, falling to 60-46 to UT Martin inside the Elam Center Thursday night.
The Gamecocks (8-5, 5-4 OVC) held par with the host Skyhawks (12-3, 11-1 OVC) through the opening half before a dreadful third period crippled their chances at the road upset.
Junior
Imari Martin, who had a career-high in points against UTM in the first meeting this season, led JSU with 12 points on Thursday on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown. She finished as the only Gamecock in double figures ahead of
Taylor Hawks and
Yamia Johnson with seven points each. On the glass,
Winnie Kuimi hauling in a team-best five rebounds.
Down three late in the first quarter, Martin and Johnson drained consecutive treys in the final minutes to give JSU a 15-12 advantage at the end of the opening stanza. In the second, the two squads battled point-for-point in a tight matchup through halftime. Trailing 24-22, Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 2:12 remaining until halftime to even the score for the final time. Down 26-24 at the half, JSU didn't know Johnson's free throws before the half would be the final points until the fourth period.
While the defense still had a valiant effort in holding an offense that averages 71 points to just 60, the effort went for not as JSU's offense was shutout of the third quarter. The Gamecocks shot 0-for-15 from the floor as the Skyhawks would eventually carry a 23-0 run into the final 10 minutes.
A jumper by Kuimi to start the fourth ended the scoring drought, and made it 47-26 after JSU's previous score evened things up at 24-all before halftime. The Gamecocks continued to battle, outscoring UTM 22-13 in the last segment of the game. Jacksonville's
Kyra Williams came off the bench and hit both of her three-point attempts for a career-best six points.
JSU remains on the road to face Southeast Missouri on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Redhawks beat Tennessee Tech, 59-55, on Thursday and moved up to fourth in the league standings.
