Jolie Efezokhae was clutch twice on Thursday night.

Jacksonville State’s 6-foot-1 forward sank a 3-pointer as time expired to force the first overtime but a put-back of her own missed layup sealed a 103-98 victory for the Gamecocks in double overtime.

“It was an exciting college basketball game but they made one more play than we did,” said Eastern head coach Brady Sallee. “(I’m) drained.”

JSU overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half in dramatic fashion.

The Gamecocks took their first lead of the game with 28.1 seconds in regulation but sophomore forward Rachel Galligan made a layup to put the Panthers up by one. Galligan then rebounded LaTonya McKinney’s shot and was fouled. Galligan made both free throws and put Eastern up by 3 with 2.9 seconds left.

This is when Efezokhae wowed the crowd for the first time.

The freshman caught an inbounds pass from the left side, turned and shot quickly from the top of the key. Her 3-pointer rattled in as the backboard lit up orange and time expired in regulation.

“She hit the shot, what are you gonna do?” said freshman guard Jessica Huffman. “It happens. We were just hoping her toe was on the line.”

The shot was reviewed and allowed by the referees but Huffman would quickly have a game-saving shot of her own.

The freshman point guard drove the length of the court with the clock ticking away and made a floating layup to force the second overtime.

The Panthers were down by two after a pair of Galligan free throws when Efezokhae’s putback layup put the Gamecocks back up by four points with only 33 seconds left in the second overtime.

Efezokhae finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Thornwood High School graduate and Dolton native Courtney Slaughter led the Gamecocks with 25 points and also pulled in 11 rebounds.

In the first half, the Gamecocks alternated 6-foot-6 Ashley Clay and 6-foot-2 Christine Pierce at center but Galligan used her quickness and body control to get the basket but in the second half JSU tried to use Efezokhae to cover Galligan.

“I felt that girl guarding me was a mismatch,” Galligan said. “I wanted to take advantage of that and capitalize on it.”

Galligan paced the Panthers with 28 points and 17 rebounds, both game-highs.

Huffman had 26 points and four assists to only three turnovers and sophomore Ellen Canale had 14 points, her season high.

“There’s a lot of build up inside right now,” Galligan said about the heart-breaking loss. “We’ve been playing this game our whole lives and we’ve been in these situations and they hurt more than anything. It’s a horrible, horrible feeling.”

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