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By:
Stephen Williams
COLUMBUS – The
Anita Howard era of Columbus State University women's basketball gets underway on Friday as the Lady Cougars compete in the PBC/SIAC Challenge at Fort Valley State.
CSU will open up with Albany State on Friday night at 8 p.m. before taking on host Fort Valley State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Last Time Out
Columbus State suffocated Agnes Scott on its way to an 89-33 victory in Saturday's exhibition contest. All 13 Lady Cougars that stepped on the court scored in the game, led by
Alexis Carter's 13.
Tatiana Wayne and
Toxiana Wilson each finished with 10 on the afternoon.
Series History
Columbus State and Albany State will be meeting for the 21
st time on Friday night. The Lady Cougars hold a 13-7 edge in the series.
Saturday's game against Fort Valley State will be the 14
th all-time meeting. CSU has won three straight over FVSU and now holds a 7-6 advantage in the series.
Last Meeting
Columbus State raced out to a 20-7 lead after one quarter of play and rolled to a 71-47 victory against Albany State last December.
Michelle Mitchell led all scorers with 20 points on the night.
CSU gave up just 20 points in the first half of the season opener last year against Fort Valley State, as the Lady Cougars defeated FVSU 81-41. Six different Lady Cougars scored in double figures.
Howard on the Matchup
"The girls have worked extremely hard in the preseason and are ready to get the season started. Albany State and Fort Valley State are talented teams and should present a good challenge for us."
About Albany State
Albany State started its season last weekend at the Valdosta State University Invitational, where the Lady Rams dropped games to Valdosta State and West Florida.
ASU averaged just 60 points over the pair of contests and was outscored by an average of 32.5 points.
Senior Zuri Frost is leading the Lady Rams in scoring at 18.5 points per game, including 23 against West Florida.
About Fort Valley State
Like Columbus State, Fort Valley State will be opening its season with this weekend's challenge.
FVSU will take on Georgia Southwestern on Friday night before going up against the Lady Cougars on Saturday.
Fort Valley State will enter the season with a very young roster, featuring eight freshmen and just two seniors.
CSU Notes
Columbus State returns three starters from last year's PBC regular season championship squad.
The Lady Cougars ramped up the defensive pressure in Saturday's exhibition, forcing 40 turnovers resulting in 54 points.
CSU held Agnes Scott under 30 percent shooting for the game, including just two points during the third quarter of play.
Senior
Keyrra Gillespie played just 13 minutes Saturday, but was still able to stuff that stat sheet going for six points, five rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
