JACKSONVILLE – A career-high 18 points from fifth-year guard Kyra Williams was not enough for Jacksonville State in Sunday's 71-56 home loss to Davidson. JSU simply could not match the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, resulting in their first loss at Pete Mathews Coliseum since Jan. 22 against FGCU.
 
"(Davidson has) been playing shorthanded due to injury and haven't had the success that they've wanted to," Jacksonville State head coach Rick Pietri said after the game. "You could tell by their reaction after the game, they cared more today than we did. They were more invested, and they were hungrier because they hadn't won in a while. We just had a nice win on Wednesday, and we're feeling good about ourselves, and that's this team's problem. We cannot muster the same effort from one day to the next."
 
Williams, a hometown product from nearby Jacksonville High School, posted her most productive performance as a Gamecock. She was 4-of-10 shooting with 18 points and three rebounds. In addition, Williams was 9-of-11 at the charity stripe in the loss.
 
"Kyra was the only kid on our roster today that brought it with the energy and efficiency necessary to win. She was the only one," Pietri said. "Other kids had moments; don't misunderstand me. We had other kids who had moments, but in terms of throughout, Kyra was our best player today- bar none."
 
Both offenses shined in the opening period, combining to hit 14 of 28 shots. Davidson led for much of the period after taking an early advantage due to an administrative technical foul, but Jax State stormed back down the stretch thanks to a pair of five-point performances by Brooklyn McDaniel and Kyra Williams. Kennedy Gavin knocked home a couple of late free throws to give the home team a 20-19 lead going into the second period. The shots simply did not fall for the Gamecocks in the second interval, as they shot just 3-of-15 from the field, and went into the locker rooms trailing 35-31.
 
The Wildcats overtook the lead early in the second half and never looked back. Davidson went on an impressive scoring run and pushed their advantage to as many as ten points midway through the frame. JSU would go on a run of their own, outscoring the visitors 10-2 down the stretch to cut their deficit to two. That 49-47 difference would not last, however, as the Wildcats turned it up a notch in the final stanza. Davidson's offense hit seemingly every shot they put up and pulled away with a 22-9 fourth quarter to claim a 71-56 victory in Jacksonville.
 
Shaw added seven points and four boards while Thompson and Evangelia Davlakou ended up with six points each. Madison McCoy had a game-high nine rebounds against Davidson and Thompson led the team with three assists.
 
Jacksonville State will have six days off before their next outing. Pietri's squad will travel to Oxford, Miss., next Sunday for a non-conference test at Ole Miss. It will mark Jax State's second road game at a SEC opponent, as the Gamecocks suffered a 52-44 loss at Georgia on Nov. 13. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Gamecock Sports Network. 
 
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