JACKSONVILLE, Ala. | Alabama State dropped an in-state matchup to Jacksonville State on Sunday afternoon 78-46 in non-conference action inside the Pete Mathews Coliseum.

Alabama State (1-5) finished the game shooting 23.6 (13-of-55) percent from the field and 70.4 (19-of-27) percent from free the throw line against the Gamecocks, while making just one three-pointer in the contest.

After struggling to score early, Jayla Crawford (Birmingham, Ala.) sank a pair of free throws to get the Hornets on the board with just under seven minutes to play in the opening quarter. With around four and a half minutes remaining in the quarter, Tederia Ashley (Huntsville, Ala.) scored on a putback layup to spark a run for the Hornets to close out the quarter, where they trailed 16-8 after one.

Jacksonville State broke the game open in the second, extending their lead to as many as 19 points in the quarter, while Alabama State made just three shots – with two being made by Crawford including a last second layup and free throw after a foul call.

Crawford led the Hornets with a team-high 16 points and went 9-for-9 from the free throw line along with grabbing a pair of rebounds, while Ayana Emmanuel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added eight points, four rebounds and two assists in her 24 minutes of play.

Imari Martin led three Gamecock scorers in double figures with 18 points, while Kiana Johnson and Nekiyah Thompson added 17 and 16 points respectively.

UP NEXT
Alabama State will have a week off and return to the court next Sunday with a road matchup against Big Ten opponent and No. 18/20 Ohio State. Tip-off is scheduled in Columbus for 7 pm in the Schottenstein Center.

Follow The Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University women's basketball, follow the Hornets on social media at @BamaStateWBB (Twitter), @BamaStateSports (Instagram) and /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at www.bamastatesports.com.