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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – The home winning streak continued for the 24^th-ranked Columbus State University women's basketball team with a 76-57 victory over Montevallo on Wednesday night. The game was played in the Lumpkin Center.
 
Columbus State's (20-4, 14-3 PBC) streak is now up to 29 games as it continues to add to its Peach Belt Conference record.
 
Britteny Tatum led all scorers with 15 points on the night, knocking down 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. Ashley Asouzu and Michelle Mitchell each scored 13 points in the winning effort with Mitchell missing out on a double-double by one rebound.
 
"We struggled a little bit at the start," said head coach Jonathan Norton. "I thought we were going through the motions for a while, but we kicked it into gear and took care of business.
 
"We continue to keep all of our goals in front of us and now we get set for a North Georgia team on Saturday that already beat us in overtime."
 
The Lady Cougars scored the game's first six points and opened up a 12-4 lead nearly seven minutes into the contest. UM buried a pair of three-pointers though before the close of the quarter and trailed by just five (15-10) after 10 minutes.
 
Columbus State had the three-ball working in the second quarter, led by Erin Morrow. The sophomore hit one to open the quarter and another on the final possession before halftime giving CSU a 34-27 edge at the break.
 
The Lady Cougars put their foot on the gas pedal coming out of the locker room after halftime. CSU scored the first nine points of the third quarter, with another Tatum three pushing the lead out to a game high 16 points, 43-27.
 
The lead hung around the 16-point mark until Morrow's third trifecta of the night gave Columbus State a 20-point advantage with under five minutes remaining. Tatum connected again from outside at the two-minute mark, sending the Lady Cougars to their largest lead of the game of 25. In total, CSU outscored Montevallo (7-17, 4-13) 27-13 in the third quarter.
 
The only thing in question over the final 10 minutes was the final margin, which CSU saw dip inside of 20 after being outscored by a pair in the fourth.
 
Columbus State shot 46 percent (29-for-63) from the floor and made 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) three-pointers. The Lady Cougars connected on 11-of-12 free throws.
 
Despite scoring just 57 points, Montevallo turned in the third-best shooting performance of the season against the Lady Cougar defense. The Falcons shot 45.5 percent (20-for-44) as a team, but made only 2-of-8 from outside.
 
Columbus State will play its final regular season home game on Saturday. The Lady Cougars will take on North Georgia with tipoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m.