BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Women's basketball fell in their second straight road contest at Western Kentucky by a score of 56-41.
The Gamecocks were led by
Adriana Jones who scored 10 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
Eden Sample added nine points, while
Mina Djurdjevic added seven points. Maria Sanchez-Ponce had the next most rebounds with eight.
Jax State opened the game on a 9-0 run thanks to three-straight threes from
Kyera Thornsbury, Sample, and Sanchez-Ponce. Western Kentucky then scored seven straight to cut it to a two-point Jax State lead with 1:28 in the first. Sample nailed another three with 1:00 left in the first, then Djurdjevic hit one-of-two free throws to give Jax State a 13-7 advantage heading to the second.
Jones opened the second period with a made three to extend the Gamecocks' lead to 16-7. WKU took their first lead of the game at 26-23 on a three with 47 seconds left before halftime. Jones scored four-straight, including a buzzer beating jump shot, to make it 27-26 at the halftime intermission.
WKU went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter to go up 39-27 before Djurdjevic hit a three to make it 39-30 Hilltoppers with 2:05 on the clock. Sanchez-Ponce hit a shot from range to make it 44-33 WKU with 45 seconds left before the fourth quarter. WKU hit a buzzer beater at the end of the third to go up 46-33 as the teams headed to the final 10 minutes of action.
Djurdjevic made a three to cut WKU's lead to nine with 7:46 left in the game, but the Hilltoppers responded with four-straight points to extend their advantage to 50-37 around the six-minute mark. Sample hit a pair of free throws to give Jax State their final points of the game with 3:57 left in regulation.
The Gamecocks return home next weekend to face Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in Pete Mathews Coliseum. Sam Houston then visits the Pete on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2:30 p.m.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Women's Basketball), Instagram (@JaxStateWBB), and X (@JaxStateWBB) accounts.
