Lady Cougars Prepare to Face Off Against North Georgia
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North Georgia vs. Columbus State Complete Game Notes
The Match-Up
Columbus State (12-7, 7-3) is playing great basketball of late winning the past three games including seven of the last nine contests. After a weekend sweep against Peach Belt Conference East Division foes, an in-state rival arrives in town as North Georgia looks to gain ground in the PBC Standings. Currently, CSU is second in the PBC West while the Lady Saints are in fourth after a critical loss to Georgia Southwestern Wednesday. While the Lady Cougars enter the game with a three-game winning streak, North Georgia is desperately in need for a victory on Saturday as they have lost four of the past five games. The only team that NGCSU has beaten in that stretch is Flagler who currently boast a 2-17 record. There will be a game within a game on Saturday as two of the top post players in the PBC will be facing off against each other for the first time. Dominique Gilbert has been heating up for CSU as she averages 14.6 points per game and 9.2 rebounds a game. She also has rejected 47 shots this season. On the other hand, Jaymee Carnes is leading the nation in scoring (25.9), 14th in rebounding per game (10.9) and has swatted away 59 shots.
Scouting the Lady Saints
North Georgia (10-9, 4-6) will conclude a two-game road swing on Saturday when the Lady Saints come into the Lumpkin Center. The Lady Saints lost to Georgia Southwestern 87-68 on Wednesday. Despite shooting 46.9 percent from the floor, NGCSU issued 28 turnovers to GSW and allowed the Hurricanes to shoot 46.2 percent from three-point range.
North Georgia is led by Jaymee Carnes, who seems to do everything for the Lady Saints. Carnes leads the nation in scoring averaging 25.9 points a night and has scored over 20-points 16 times this season. She has also notched a 40 point performance against Brenau and two 30-plus point games. The sophomore also averages 10.9 rebounds per game, 14th best in the nation, and 3.3 blocks per game, fourth best in the nation. Stephanie Huffman and Jessica Trice are also scoring threats averaging 9.5 points and 8.8 points per game, respectively.
As a team, North Georgia averages 64.3 points per game, which is the seventh best mark in the Peach Belt Conference. The Lady Saints attempt the most free throws in the conference taking 21.9 free throws a game. The game could be decided on the glass as both CSU and NGCSU are good rebounding teams. North Georgia is third in the PBC averaging 43.8 boards per game while the Lady Cougars are second (46.3).
Columbus State in the Nation
Columbus State continues to climb up in the nation in three different statistical rankings. The Lady Cougars are 28th nationally in field goal percentage defense limiting their opponents to shoot just 35.1 percent. CSU is also 20th in rebounding margin out-rebounding opponents by 7.6 boards a game. The Lady Cougars are also committing the third fewest personal fouls a game (13). Individually, Dominique Gilbert is 21st in block shots per game (2.5) and is one of just 29 players in the nation to have eight or more double-doubles. The senior is also 48th in the country in rebounding (9.2).
A CSU Win Would
• Be Jonathan Norton's 175th career victory and 45th victory as the head coach at Columbus State.
• Give Columbus State a season long four-game winning streak. It is the second time this season that CSU has the opportunity to win four in a row.
• Be the sixth straight time that Columbus State has defeated North Georgia in the city of Columbus.
