CHARLESTON, S.C. – A rough second half for the Gamecock women's basketball squad spelled doom in their 69-58 loss at the College of Charleston on Monday night. The Cougars trailed by 20 at the half but outpaced Jax State 46-15 in the final 20 minutes, handing them their sixth road loss of the year. 
 
"I thought we were reasonably prepared," head coach Rick Pietri said. "We did not handle the pressure they applied to us well. We didn't capitalize when we had chances to score against it. We just never had that push-back, punch-back opportunity."
 
Jacksonville State (3-6) came out knocking down shots at TD Arena. Bre'Anna Rhodes opened with six points and the Gamecocks shot 40% from the field to begin the contest, leading to a 17-12 advantage through one. A trio of treys from Jaz Spencer and Samiya Steele opened the second on a 9-0 run, but Spencer stole the show down the stretch with a 17-point interval highlighted by five made threes. Her efforts opened up a 20-point lead at the break, 43-23.
 
A nightmarish third period ensued for the Red-and-White. Jacksonville State went ice cold from the field, resulting in a 17-0 spurt by the hometown Cougars (6-2). Freshman Taryn Barbot scored 10 in the frame, bringing them within three heading into the fourth. College of Charleston's swing of momentum carried over into the fourth as they outscored the Gamecocks 19-5 and cruised to a 69-58 win.
 
"In their last game against Appalachian State they got down a bunch and came all the way back to tie it, so I told our team that at halftime," Pietri said. "We just haven't shown that we're capable of playing more than one good half. We were really good in the first half, when Jaz Spencer got open and made a few shots, but we defended with the right energy too.
 
"In the second half they attacked us, and we didn't have anybody who could make a basket to stop the onslaught," Pietri said. "It was a snowball that kept rolling and we couldn't fight back."
 
Spencer had a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting with five three-pointers. Elsie Harris added 14 points and Rhodes ended up with eight points and nine rebounds in the loss. The Gamecocks out-shot the Cougars 32.3% to 29.0%, but were out-rebounded 55-42 and committed 18 turnovers. 
 
Jax State finally returns home later this week to close out its non-conference slate with three showdowns at Pete Mathews Coliseum over the span of two weeks. They will welcome Coastal Carolina to Calhoun County on Dec. 17 before hosting UT Arlington on Dec. 19 and South Carolina State on Dec. 29. Their meeting with the Chanticleers will tip-off at 1 p.m. Sunday and it will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Gamecock Sports Network. 
 
Links to listen, watch, or follow along with live stats for that game will be provided at JaxStateSports.com. In addition, score updates will be posted on Jax State Women's Basketball's X account (@JaxStateWBB).  

To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Women's Basketball), Instagram (@JaxStateWBB), and X (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.