Final Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville State (2-8) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final eight minutes of the second half to claim a 59-56 win over South Carolina State in game three of the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Osprey Classic on Friday.

The Bulldogs (4-6) held a 49-39 lead with 8:31 left in the contest when JSU's rally started.

Brittany Wiley scored 15 of her game-high 23 points during the rally, scoring seven straight to cut the SCSU lead to 49-45. The Carrollton, Ga., native would finish with a game-high 11 rebounds to register her first career double-double.

Sophilia Hipps three-point play gave SCSU a 52-47 lead with 3:08 left, before Danielle Beneby's jumper trimmed the deficit to 52-49 and Brittany Wiley connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give Jax State a 55-52 lead with 1:08 remaining.

Tiana Hemphill's layup cut the lead to 55-54 followed by a Brittany Wiley layup that gave the Gamecocks a 57-54 lead with eight seconds left.

Karisma Boykin made two free throws to give JSU a 59-56 lead with six seconds left in the contest.

South Carolina State had one last shot in the final seconds but Danielle Beneby blocked a Whitney Wiley 3-point attempt at the buzzer to preserve the JSU win.

With the game tied 4-4, the Gamecocks went on a 13-2 run take a 17-6 lead in the first half. Candice Carmine and Danielle Vaughn combined for nine points during the run that was capped by a Boykin layup with 12:29 remaining in the first half.

The lead grew to 15 points after a Vaughn jumper gave the Gamecocks a 27-12 lead with 6:58 to play in the first half.

South Carolina State used a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 27-25 after a Hipps free throw with 1:08 left. Beneby's layup with 40 seconds left ended the first half scoring with JSU leading 29-25.

Candice Carmine finished with a season-high 11 points and seven rebounds. Zenobia Pitts added nine points while Beneby had seven boards, five assists and two blocked shots.

Hipps led South Carolina State with 18 points followed by Whitney Wiley with 10 points. Paris Alston collected 11 rebounds while Joi Walker had 10 rebounds.

Jacksonville State wraps up its three-game road trip on Sunday against Georgetown University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.