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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – Double-doubles from Ashley Asouzu and Alexis Carter helped lift the Columbus State University women's basketball team to an 85-75 victory over Carson-Newman on Sunday. The non-conference contest was played inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
Carter led all scorers with 23 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double in as many games. Asouzu finished with 19 and 12 for her second straight. Britteny Tatum was the only other Lady Cougar in double figures, tallying 15 points.
 
"I'm very pleased with the effort today," head coach Anita Howard. "We did a nice job on the glass and got the defensive stops when we needed them.
 
"This is a very good out of conference win, but we still have plenty of areas that we need to keep improving on."
 
Columbus State (3-0) forced a turnover on the opening possession of the game and Tatum hit a runner on the other end to set the tone for the entire day. The Lady Cougars would never trail on the afternoon.
 
Carter got rolling early in the first, scoring seven straight points to keep CSU in front. Up 13-11, Columbus State scored the final five points of the opening quarter to take an 18-11 lead after 10 minutes.
 
In the second, Tatum connected from distance to give the Lady Cougars an eight-point edge at 23-15. Jasmine Herndon then scored on back-to-back possessions to stretch the margin across double digits.
 
Carson-Newman (3-2) closed to within five, but CSU continued to keep the Eagles at an arm's length and took a 41-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
The lead hung between five and nine for the majority of the third quarter until Asia Vetter stepped between defenders and laid in her only points of the day just before the clock expired to give CSU a 59-49 edge.
 
Columbus State would stay comfortably in front from there, keeping the lead in double figures until the final 90 seconds of the contest. Carson-Newman cut the margin down to nine (81-72) in the waning moments, but Narshanda Malone knocked down a jumper with less than one minute to play that put the game on ice.
 
CSU shot a season-best 47.2 percent (34-of-72) from the field in the victory. The Lady Cougars were just 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from three and 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) at the foul line.
 
The Lady Cougars continued to do well in the turnover department, forcing 23 and turning them into 23 points.
 
Carson-Newman was 27-for-63 (42.9 percent) on the day and knocked down 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) three-point attempts.
 
Columbus State will now have nine days until its next game, when the Lady Cougars host Albany State on December 9. CSU defeated the Lady Rams 80-56 in the season opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Lumpkin Center.