Box Score
RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky used a 10-0 run late in the game to take a 13-point lead but had to hold off a rally by Jacksonville State to secure a 67-62 Ohio Valley Conference win Thursday at McBrayer Arena.
A three-pointer by Charlease Williams cut a six-point deficit in half for JSU with 7:53 left in the game, but Eastern Kentucky answered with a 10-0 run. Nadia Mossong and Kayla Drake hit consecutive shots to get the run started. Cherie White had a pair of free throws and then capped off the spurt with a lay-up to give EKU a 13-point lead, 61-48, with 4:15 left in the game.
After their run, the Lady Colonels missed their final five shots from the field, allowing the Gamecocks to close to within three. Jacksonville State scored seven unanswered to close the margin to 63-60. With 25 seconds remaining, Brittany Wiley missed the second of two free throw attempts that would have made it a two point game. Eastern made all four of its free throws in the final 22 seconds to secure the win.
Mossong scored a game-high, and career-high, 25 points for Eastern Kentucky (5-8, 2-3 OVC). The sophomore made 5-of-8 attempts from the field and went 14-for-16 from the free throw line. She also had seven rebounds and five assists.
Jolie Efezokhae recorded a double-double for Jacksonville State (3-11, 0-4 OVC), finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Drake scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Lady Colonels. White finished with nine points, nine boards and four steals.
EKU went 27-for-32 (84.4 percent) from the free throw line. The Gamecocks struggled from the charity stripe, finishing 10-for-21 (47.6 percent).
Jacksonville State won the tip, but a steal by White led to a Drake lay-up and an early 2-0 lead for the Lady Colonels. Efezokhae, JSU’s leading scorer, picked up her second foul less than four minutes into the game. Sarah Fraser-Jones converted one of two free throw attempts to give Eastern a 6-2 advantage with 16:22 remaining in the first half.
Back-to-back baskets by White and Sonjia Hoston stretched the EKU advantage to six, 13-7, with 12:38 to go in the opening half. The Gamecocks answered with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game. Kelsey Johnikin’s three-pointer from the right wing put JSU on top 15-13. Wiley followed with a lay-up at the 8:29 mark to cap the run.
The lead exchanged hands 10 times the remainder of the half.
A jumper by Fraser-Jones capped a quick 5-0 run by the Lady Colonels and gave the home squad an 18-17 lead. Zenobia Pitts answered with a three on the other end to put the Gamecocks back in the lead. Mossong’s three at the 3:48 mark moved Eastern in front by one, 23-22. A trey by Jacksonville State’s Cassi Stuart gave the visitors a 27-25 advantage with two minutes to go before intermission. Drake answered two possessions later with a three from the right wing to give the lead back to the Lady Colonels.
The two teams exchanged a pair of free throws in the final 10 seconds of the first half. A pair from the charity stripe by Candice Carmine gave JSU a 31-30 halftime lead.
Six straight points by Eastern Kentucky early in the second half turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead. White’s lay-up with 16:36 left in the game made it 38-35.
Efezokhae’s bucket gave the Gamecocks a brief 39-38 lead with 14:11 to play. Mossong answered with a lay-up on the other end and the Lady Colonels never trailed again. A jumper by Wiley for JSU tied the score at 41-41. A pair of free throws by Mossong gave Eastern the lead for good.
Back-to-back baskets by Drake and Colette Cole, sandwiched around a Jacksonville State turnover, stretched the EKU lead to five, 47-42, with 10:50 left in the game. Two more Mossong free throws extended it to a six point game, 51-45, with 8:12 showing on the clock. Williams followed with a three-pointer that preceded Eastern’s decisive 10-0 run.
The Lady Colonels will finish off their two-game home stand on Saturday when they host Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
