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By: Richard Navratil

COLUMBUS – Closing out the opening weekend of Peach Belt Conference play, the 15^th-ranked Columbus State University women's basketball team earned a fourth straight victory on Saturday afternoon defeating USC Aiken 62-49 at the Lumpkin Center.
  
Michelle Mitchell kept up both her offensive and defensive efforts, collecting her second double-double of the year, turning in 22 points and 10 rebounds. The senior also added six assists and four steals. Ashley Asouzu came up just shy of a double-double of her own with eight points and 11 rebounds. Britteny Tatum chipped in 10 points and Eryn Cochran knocked down three three-pointers for her nine.

Columbus State (7-1, 2-0 PBC) forced 27 USC Aiken turnovers and turned them into 31 points on the offensive end.

"We've really focused on playing strong defense," head coach Jonathan Norton said. "We really tried to turn up the ball pressure and move to get some easy buckets.
 
In a low-scoring and sloppy first quarter, it took nearly two minutes for the first point of the game and almost four before the first field goal. Asouzu broke the ice for the Lady Cougars near the six minute mark and the Lady Cougars would score the opening six points.

USC Aiken (5-6, 0-2) didn't get on the scoreboard until six minutes into the contest, but the opening three brought the Pacers back within three as CSU struggled to score early.

Columbus State took an 11-5 lead on Cochran's first three of the night, but USCA scored the last eight points of the quarter and held a 13-11 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

Gabby Williams quickly tied the game at 13-all to start the second quarter as the teams went back and forth. With the Pacers up 17-13, CSU hit the gas pedal and put together a 16-4 run to open its largest lead at 29-21. The Pacers would get the final bucket of the half to cut the Lady Cougar lead to six at the break.

USC Aiken pulled within three in the early stages of the third quarter, but Columbus State answered with a 12-0 run to stretch the lead into double figures. Tatum connected on a pair of long balls to key the spurt.

The lead reached as much as 17, but the Pacers continued to hang around and closed it back inside of single digits by the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was a defensive struggle with neither side getting into a rhythm offensively. USC Aiken got as close as five down the stretch, but consecutive makes by Mitchell along with a three from Cochran and a Tatum three-point play put the game on ice for the Lady Cougars.

Columbus State shot just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) and made 5-of-17 three-pointers. The Lady Cougar defense proved tough again limiting the Pacers to 39.6 percent (21-of-53) shooting and 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from outside.
 
The Lady Cougars will take a break from PBC play and return to the Lumpkin Center on Wednesday, Dec. 30^th at 3 p.m.
 
Columbus State will resume its conference schedule with a pair of away games at Francis Marion (Jan. 2) and Armstrong State (Jan. 4), before coming back to host Georgia Southwestern and Georgia College on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9.