Like Columbus State Athletics on Facebook!
Tweet #GoCSU

By: Stephen Williams

FLORENCE, S.C. – Down six at halftime, the 15^th-ranked Columbus State University women's basketball team scored 50 points in the second half and defeated Francis Marion 79-75 on Saturday afternoon. The Peach Belt Conference contest was played at the Smith University Center in Florence, S.C.
 
Michelle Mitchell turned in her third consecutive double-double and fourth in five games going for 27 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday. The senior scored 23 points in the second half.
 
Ashley Johnson finished with a career-high 17 points, 15 of which came in the final two quarters. Ashley Asouzu narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Gabby Williams picked up 11 points and seven assists, while Britteny Tatum ended with 10 points of her own.
 
"I'm really proud of our girls' toughness and resiliency in the second half continuing to battle back," head coach Jonathan Norton said. "We did a better job in the second half on the glass and limiting our turnovers and that made a huge difference."
 
A poor first half shooting effort from Columbus State (9-1, 3-0 PBC) left the Lady Cougars trailing 35-29 at halftime. CSU made just 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) field goals and was 1-of-7 (14.3 percent) from the three-point line.
 
It all changed for the Lady Cougars coming out for the third quarter though, as Asouzu scored on CSU's opening possession. Mitchell then went to work, putting in nine of the next 13 Columbus State points to pull the Lady Cougars within two (46-44) at the midway point of the quarter.
 
Asouzu tied the game at 46-all with four minutes left in the third, but Francis Marion (10-2, 1-2) ran off five straight points to go back in front.
 
Mitchell forced a turnover in the closing seconds of the quarter and raced to the other end for the layup to leave CSU down just one (53-52) entering the final 10 minutes.
 
Columbus State took an immediate lead in the fourth quarter as the Patriots were called for a substitution violation. Mitchell sank the two technical free throws to give the Lady Cougars their first lead since the opening quarter. The lead grew as wide as seven (60-53) after five straight points from Williams.
 
Following a three-point play from Francis Marion, Johnson came up huge collecting an offensive rebound and converting a three-point play of her own.
 
CSU's lead reached its largest margin with just under five minutes to play as Mitchell canned her only three-point attempt of the afternoon to stretch it out to 68-58.
 
The Patriots still wouldn't go away though, putting together a 9-2 run to make it just a three-point game (70-67) with 2:50 to play.
 
Down just three, FMU missed a game tying three-pointer with a little over one minute remaining giving the ball back to Columbus State. On the ensuing possession, Mitchell missed a mid-range attempt, but Johnson was in the right place again for the rebound and put back.
 
Tatum and Johnson combined to go 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to help CSU ice the game and secure its sixth straight victory.
 
Columbus State shot 51.5 percent (17-of-33) in the second half to finish at 43.8 percent for the game. The Lady Cougars were 20-for-24 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Francis Marion was 28-for-62 (45.2 percent) on the day and made 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from outside.
 
Columbus State will conclude its two-game road trip at Armstrong State on Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Savannah, Ga.