JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's women's basketball team held off Morehead State, 66-61, on Tuesday night to stay unbeaten at Pete Mathews Coliseum this season in the first of four-straight home contests.
The Gamecocks (9-6, 6-5 Ohio Valley Conference) raced out to a big opening quarter lead, only to see the Eagles (5-12, 4-9 OVC) charge back by halftime and battle back-and-forth down the stretch. The win marked the eighth straight for Jax State at home going back to last season, tying the program's Division I record set in the spring of 1997 when Dana Austin's bunch won their final eight games at home that year.
Highlighting Tuesday's important win, which helps JSU remain in control of reaching the postseason, was senior
Taylor Hawks' 15-point effort that boosted the Gainesville, Ga., native past 1,000 for her career. She becomes the 14 th Gamecock in program history to eclipse the milestone, the first since Briana Benson in 2017. At 1,007 now, Hawks sits just six behind Destany McLin on the list.
Topping Hawks' total against MSU, fellow senior
Kiana Johnson etched a new season-high with 18 points, beating her previous mark that came against MSU on the road last month.
Hawks and Johnson got the scoring going early, along with
Yamia Johnson who finished with 10 points. The Gamecocks shot out to a 19-4 lead in the first eight minutes of the contest. However, MSU slowly fought back and managed to even the score at 34-34 heading into the halftime break.
Hawks' milestone-clinching moment came to begin the second half when she scored five-straight points to push JSU back in front. By the end of the third, JSU had an eight-point advantage at 53-45, but the Eagles weren't finished.
MSU cut the deficit to four with six minutes to play. Hawks and K. Johnson kept JSU just ahead scoring the Gamecocks' next six points to match MSU and move the score to 64-59 with just over a minute left. With 40 second to go the Eagles were able to make it a one-score game at 64-61, but Y. Johnson secured the win with a pair of free throws on the following possession.
The Gamecocks will go for their 10th win of the year, and nine-straight overall at home, on Thursday afternoon when they host Eastern Illinois at 4:30 p.m.
