MURFREESBORO, Tn. – Jacksonville State women's basketball fell behind early in the first quarter before eventually falling 57-48 at Middle Tennessee.
 
The Gamecocks were led by freshman forward Mina Djurdjevic who scored 11 points off the bench. Maria Sanchez-Ponce had the next most points with nine, also off the bench. Eden Sample scored seven points and tied for a team-best five rebounds. Adriana Jones scored six points and also had five rebounds.
 
Middle Tennessee outscored Jax State 14-1 in the opening five minutes of the game and never trailed for the rest of the game. By the end of the first quarter, the Gamecocks cut it to 19-9.
 
Djurdjevic nailed a three with 2:31 left in the first half to make it 31-25 before Mya Barnes made a layup late in the second to get Jax State within 31-27 at halftime.
 
In the third, Middle Tennessee went up 44-34 with 2:24 on the clock before Jax State went on a 5-0 scoring run to cut it 44-39 Blue Raiders with 39 seconds left in the quarter. Middle Tennessee hit a late bucket to go up 46-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Early in the fourth Jax State got within six points, but MTSU eventually extended their lead by the 5:57 mark in the period. A free throw made by Jones with 55 seconds left in the game cut it to 11, then a Sample jump shot made it a nine-point MTSU lead with 18 seconds left in the contest.
 
Middle Tennessee was led by Blair Baugus who scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
 
The Gamecocks (12-12, 6-6) are now tied for sixth place in the league, while Middle Tennessee (13-11, 8-4) are now in third place in CUSA.
 
Jax State will take on Western Kentucky on the road at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
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