Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Defending Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball Player of the Year Chynna Bozeman returned to the form that earned her last year's award Saturday night, scoring a career high 39 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, but visiting Jacksonville State sent the game to overtime and eventually escaped Morehead State with an 81-80 victory Saturday at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles fell to 11-5 overall and 4-2 in the OVC, while JSU, which won both games on the Eastern Kentucky-MSU road trip, improved to 6-10 and 3-2 in the OVC.
Bozeman shattered the MSU and Ohio Valley Conference single-game record for field goal attempts with 41, hitting 14. She broke Donna Murphy’s field goal mark of 30 for the MSU record and eclipsed former Middle Tennessee player Liz Hannah’s OVC record of 33 attempts set in 1976-77. She was just six attempts away from tying the NCAA Division I single game standard of 47. She also nailed five three-pointers to push her to 19th on the NCAA Division I career list as she scored 27 points in the second half and overtime.
Bozeman also became the first player in school history to record at least 1,500 career points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals.
But, the story of the game was the Gamecocks’ rally in the final 1:39. After Bozeman’s pair of free throws gave Morehead State a 67-58 lead at the 1:39 mark, JSU outscored the Eagles 11-2. Danielle Vaughn, who had a double-double to lead JSU with 19 points and 10 rebounds, hit a layup with 1:30 left and then hit a foul shot to make it 67-61. Bozeman’s jumper was off the mark with 23 ticks left in regulation, and then Brittany Wiley drilled a trey to cut the Eagles lead to 67-64 with 15 seconds on the clock.
After JSU forced an Eagle turnover, Brittany Manning worked free for a layup to trim MSU’s advantage to 67-66. Bozeman hit two more free throws to give MSU a three-point cushion, but Danielle Beneby hit an uncontested three-pointer with two seconds left to tie the game and send it into overtime.
The Gamecocks took a 71-69 lead early in the extra five-minute period, but Bozeman hit her fifth triple to switch the lead back to MSU. With 1:29 left, the Gamecocks held a 78-75 lead after another Wiley bucket. MSU freshman Allie Turner knocked down a high-arching three-pointer from the far right corner and got fouled on the play. She hit the free throw, and MSU again had a one-point lead. Destiny Lane put in a layup with 30 seconds left, and Amanda McCarty hit one free throw with eight ticks remaining as JSU led 81-79.
With 0.3 seconds left, Turner was knocked to the ground and was awarded two free throws to try and send the game into double overtime. She hit the first but the second went long, sealing the win for the Gamecocks.
Bozeman, who played all 45 minutes, and Linda Dixon keyed a first half that saw the Eagles build a 35-28 lead at the break. Dixon finished with 17 points and tied her career high with nine rebounds in 39 minutes. JSU’s victory marked the first time the Eagles had lost when leading a game with a minute left in regulation, ending a perfect 9-0 run.
Wiley nearly also had a double for JSU with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Gamecocks out-rebounded MSU 49-44 and finished the contest shooting 44 percent (29-of-66). They topped MSU 41-34 in second half points when they blistered the nets for 57 percent.
Morehead State travels to Southeast Missouri on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. EST game.
