Box Score
RICHMOND, Ky. – The Lady Colonels built an 11-point second half lead, but couldn’t hold of a rally by Jacksonville State in a 72-65 loss Thursday at McBrayer Arena.
Alex Jones and
Brittany Coles each scored 17 points to lead the Lady Colonels (4-9, 1-4 OVC). Jones added 16 rebounds for her 12th career double-double.
Brittany Wiley had a game-high 20 points for JSU (5-10, 2-2 OVC). Danielle Beneby added 19 and Brittany Manning contributed 15 for the winners. The Gamecocks shot 55 percent and scored 50 points in the second half.
Jacksonville State had a four-point lead when Danielle Vaughn stepped to the free throw line with 54 seconds left in the game, but she missed the front end of a one-and-one. Coles scored on a driving lay-up on the other end and drew a foul. She converted the free throw to cut the margin to a single point. The Gamecocks couldn’t get the ball in bounds after the free throw and turned it back over to the Lady Colonels.
Coles made another lay to put EKU in front 65-64, but those would be the final points for the home team. Jacksonville State did not attempt another field goal but went 8-for-8 at the free throw line to complete the come from behind victory.
A three-pointer by
Reese Bass from the left corner and a 16-foot jumper from Jones allowed Eastern to take its largest lead of 11 points, 48-37, with 12:59 left in the game.
JSU answered with six straight to stay in the game. The Gamecocks hit 10 of their first 17 shots of the second half (59 percent).
Wiley’s lay-up with 8:27 remaining to play cut the margin to five, 52-47. A three-pointer in transition by Beneby made it a four-point game, 54-50, with 7:33 on the clock. Another trey by Manning, less than a minute later, drew the Gamecocks within two, 56-54. Wiley’s three-pointer followed by a lay-up from Vaughn completed the JSU comeback, putting the visitors ahead 59-58 with 4:52 to go.
After shooting 31 percent in the first half, Jacksonville State went 17-for-31 in the second half and made 4-of-8 from behind the three-point arc. EKU turned the ball over 19 times and was out-rebounded 36-35.
The Lady Colonels will play host to Tennessee Tech on Saturday at 4 p.m.
