HUNTSVILLE—Jax State was outscored 22-8 in the third quarter of their Air National Guard Conference USA Basketball Championship quarterfinal loss to FIU.
 
After leading by as many as nine in the first half, the Panthers, fresh off a first-round bye used a 44-31 second half advantage for a 76-66 victory over the Gamecocks.
 
"The first half went as well as we could have asked for it to go for us," said coach Rick Pietri. "I think the third quarter is clearly where we lost control of it. I think a lot of that had to do with some breakdowns in terms of defensive assignments at times and then we had some opportunities to score and we just weren't able to put the ball in the goal."
 
Jax State (16-16) went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter after falling behind 9-4 at the 6:27 mark and took a 15-9 advantage at the 3:12 mark on a triple by Maria Sanchez Ponce.
 
Eden Sample and Sanchez Ponce hit 3-pointers on the last two possessions of the quarter for Jax State to take a 21-16 lead into the second.
 
A 9-0 run broke a 22-22 deadlock to give the Gamecocks a 31-22 advantage with 3:57 left in the second on a Mina Djurdjevic 3-pointer from the left corner. That was the fourth 3-pointer of the half on eight attempts less than 24 hours after going 4-of-19 from bonus range in the first round.
 
The second-seeded Panthers (20-10) were able to get the halftime deficit down to three at 35-32 with a pair of made free throws. During the first 20 minutes, Jax State made 12 of their 23 shots, good for 52% from the field and were 40% from 3-point land.
 
FIU hit four of their first eight shots of the third quarter and took a 42-40 lead with 5:55 left. After Mya Barnes converted a pair of free throws to tie the game, the Panthers went on an 11-0 run to take a 53-42 lead with 42 seconds left and held an 11-point lead to start the fourth.
 
Barnes finished the day with 13 points and six rebounds.
 
After the hot start to the first half, the Gamecocks went just 2-of-11 from the field in the third quarter and committed four turnovers. Foul trouble also mounted as seven different players were whistled for an infraction during the period, already dealing with a shortened bench.
 
"I feel like we came out strong," said Brooklyn McDaniel. "It definitely didn't look like we played 50 minutes the day before, but we just couldn't finish the third and fourth quarter."
 
McDaniel was also in double figures with 12 points, going 4-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line.
 
With 7:16 left in regulation, Sanchez Ponce converted a three-point play to get her team within six at 54-48, but the Panthers rattled off the next five points to go back up 11 with 6:24 left. Sanchez Ponce converted a tough layup from the right block with 6:03 left, but again the Panthers answered to seize momentum.
 
Sanchez Ponce finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting and was 6-of-7 at the free throw line. She and Kyera Thornsbury each pulled in a team-best seven rebounds.
 
Even after trailing by 15 with 3:04 left, Jax State battled to get within eight in the final minute.
 
"I thought we kept competing and kept fighting," said Pietri of the fourth quarter. "Unfortunately we just couldn't get enough stops or defensive rebounds."