By Marlon Scott | Senior Staff Writer

The road has been unkind to the Lady Govs.

Before heading to Jacksonville, Ala. on Saturday, Jan. 23, they had lost seven-straight road games including three to Ohio Valley Conference opponents. The last was a 21-point beat down delivered by the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 21.

The road woes finally came to an end. The Lady Govs (7-13, 6-3 OVC) defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (6-13, 3-6 OVC) 78-70. It was their first OVC road win of the season.

“I think the most important thing is we had yet to win on the road and that was a monkey we definitely needed to get off of our back,” said Lady Govs head coach Carrie Daniels.

Senior forward Nicole Jamen led the Lady Govs with 18 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. She was one of four players with double-digit points. Sophomore center Jasmine Rayner scored 16 points and junior guard Ashley Herring added 12 points.

However, the star of the first half was junior guard Brooke Faulkner. Coming off the bench, Faulkner scored 14 of her total 17 points in the first half of the game. She missed only one field goal, including 4-of-4 from three-point range.

Faulkner hit her second 3-pointer of the game at the 11:19 mark in the first half. Herring and sophomore guard Whitney Hanley followed suit with their own 3-pointers to take an 18-16 lead.

From that point, the Lady Govs took over the game with an 18-6 run. It ended with another Faulkner dagger from downtown, making the score 36-22 with less than three minutes left before halftime.

The Lady Govs shot 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three-point range in the first half and led at halftime 40-27.

The Gamecocks stole the Lady Govs momentum in the second half. The home crowd crowed their approval as the Gamecocks pecked their way back to within three points, 48-51, with 11:54 left in the game.

“I’m a little disappointed, a little frustrated with how we came out in the second half and let Jacksonville State get back in this ball game,” Daniels said.

Sophomore guard Destiny Lane scored 14 of her total 16 points for Jacksonville State in the second half of the game. Freshman forward Danielle Vaughn added 14 points. Vaughn scored six points in the Gamecocks run.

The Gamecocks would not get closer than three points. The Lady Govs front-court, led by Jamen, put together a 13-5 run and established a lead the Gamecocks would not overcome.

The Lady Govs shot just 41 percent (12-of-29) from the field in the second half and were outscored 43-38. But they showed enough resilience for the win.

“It’s very important we didn’t fold,” Daniels said. “They did cut the lead and they got really close. But again, we were able to stretch it back out. That’s the most important thing.”

The Lady Govs will spend the rest of the month of January at home. At 5:15 p.m. in the Dunn Center Thursday, Jan. 28, they will play Eastern Kentucky. Then, Saturday, Jan. 30, the Lady Govs will play against Morehead State.

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