Like Columbus State Athletics on Facebook!
Tweet #GoCSU

By: Stephen Williams

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – For the first time in over a calendar year, the 13^th-ranked Columbus State University women's basketball team dropped a Peach Belt Conference game falling 73-70 in overtime at North Georgia on Wednesday. The contest was played at Memorial Hall in Dahlonega, Ga.
 
Columbus State (12-2, 6-1 PBC) had won 19 straight PBC regular season contests, with its last loss coming on Jan. 10, 2015. The loss also ends a streak of nine consecutive victories this season.
 
The Lady Cougars were forced to play the final 8:50 of regulation and all of overtime without their head coach after Jonathan Norton collapsed on the sideline. Play was stopped for an extended period of time while Norton was tended to and ultimately taken to a nearby hospital. He was in stable condition upon arrival.
 
CSU held a 53-51 lead at the time of the incident.
 
Once play resumed, Michelle Mitchell knocked down her second three-pointer of the night to extend the advantage out to five. The Lady Cougars led by six (61-55) with under five minutes to go, however the Nighthawks connected on back-to-back threes to tie the game with 3:24 to play.
 
Three straight turnovers followed with the score staying tied before the Lady Cougars committed a foul. Kelsey Hutchins knocked down the two free throws with two minutes remaining and UNG moved in front for the first time on the night.
 
Columbus State came up empty on its next two possessions, but the Lady Cougar defense forced a pair of turnovers to keep the deficit at just two.
 
With 40 seconds showing on the clock, Erin Morrow missed from beyond the arc. Gabby Williams grabbed the offensive rebound and put it back in to once again tie the game.
 
A Nighthawk miss gave the Lady Cougars the final possession with 12 seconds to go. Coming out of a timeout, Mitchell had a clean look on the baseline, but her shot fell off the rim at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
 
North Georgia (12-4, 4-3) scored the opening bucket in the extra period. After Mitchell split a pair of free throws, Britteny Tatum forced a turnover and raced to the other end for the layup that put CSU back in front.
 
UNG tied the game with 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, but it was Tatum again that found the big shot. The junior put in a runner with 1:42 on the clock to seesaw CSU back in front.
 
Two more Nighthawk free throws tied the game at 68 and another gave UNG a one-point lead (69-68) with 42 seconds remaining. Columbus State missed on the ensuing possession and the Nighthawks knocked down two more free throws.
 
Eryn Cochran had a clean look at a game-tying three with less than 20 seconds left, however her shot just missed. After UNG knocked down a free throw, Mitchell raced to the offensive end and cut the deficit down to two with eight seconds showing.
 
North Georgia once again split two free throw attempts leaving CSU with one final possession to try and force a second overtime. The Lady Cougars were unable to get a tying shot off though and suffered the tough defeat.
 
Columbus State led for the majority of the game after starting the night on a 15-1 run. The Lady Cougars led by nine after the first quarter and held a six-point edge at halftime.
 
The Lady Cougars were led in scoring by Mitchell, who turned in 24 points and eight rebounds. Ashley Johnson finished with 12 points and nine rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. Ashley Asouzu and Tatum each ended with nine before also reaching the foul limit in overtime.
 
CSU shot 39.4 percent (28-of-71) from the field for the game, knocking down 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from the three-point line.
 
North Georgia was at 36.2 percent (21-for-58) on the night, but made 25-of-35 attempts (71.4 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Columbus State will be on the road again on Saturday as the Lady Cougars travel to take on Augusta. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Augusta, Ga.