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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – Opening up a 23-point lead after the opening quarter, the Columbus State University women's basketball team cruised to a 98-62 win over Augusta on Monday night. The Peach Belt Conference contest was played inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
The 98 points were the most for the Lady Cougars since they scored 100 in a win over Tuskegee on November 25, 2014.
 
Alexis Carter led all scorers with 23 points and added nine rebounds in just 21 minutes of action. Narshanda Malone put in a season-high 19, while Ashley Asouzu turned in her fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 boards. Twelve different Lady Cougars scored in the victory.
 
Keyrra Gillespie put together her second straight contest with double-digit assists, handing out 10 helpers to go with six rebounds.
 
"We are a quick starting team," head coach Anita Howard said. "We were focused to start the game and it set the tone for the rest of the night.
 
"Shay (Malone) stepped up tonight and played really well with Britteny (Tatum) out. We see her do it everyday in practice and it was great to see her do it in the game tonight."
 
Columbus State (7-0) exploded in the game's opening quarter. The Lady Cougars scored eight of the first 10 points and held a 10-6 edge just over three minutes in. CSU then blew the game wide open with 15 unanswered points and never looked back.
 
Augusta (4-3) broke the run with a lay-in, but Malone hit from distance on CSU's third look of the ensuing possession and started another 7-0 spurt.
 
Columbus State held a 34-11 advantage after the first 10 minutes, continuing its dominance of the first quarter. CSU has outscored the opposition 146-66 in the opening quarter through seven games.
 
The Jaguars clawed the game back under 20 at halftime (49-30), but the Lady Cougars turned it back on in the third quarter.
 
CSU came out of the locker room at halftime and opened on a 17-2 run to all but put the game away. Carter scored 10 of the 17 points, including eight straight midway through the stretch.
 
Malone put the cherry on top of the strong effort, burying a three from the corner at the buzzer to extend the lead to 78-40 after three.
 
The Lady Cougars put it on cruise control from there, opening up a 43-point lead (83-40) early in the fourth for their largest advantage of the night.
 
Columbus State shot a season-best 49.4 percent (41-of-83) on the night and made 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lady Cougars won the rebounding battle 59-33.
 
Augusta finished the game at 37.5 percent (24-for-64) overall and just 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from three.
 
Columbus State will now take the holiday break, returning to action with a non-conference contest against Auburn Montgomery on New Year's Eve. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in the Lumpkin Center.