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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – For the 27^th consecutive time, the Columbus State University women's basketball team came out victorious on its home floor defeating 24^th-ranked Clayton State 73-64 on Wednesday night. The game was played inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
The 27 straight home wins sets a new Peach Belt Conference record, previously set by the Lady Cougars from 1999-2001.
 
The victory also moves Columbus State into a first-place tie atop the PBC West division. The Lady Cougars and Clayton State have identical 10-3 marks in conference play with CSU holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. The two teams will meet again in the regular season finale in Morrow, Ga. on Feb. 27. 
 
"We played too fast to start the game," said head coach Jonathan Norton. "We made some adjustments against their press and took better care of the basketball, especially in the second half.
 
"We told our girls that this game wasn't going to be won in the first five minutes. This was going to be a heavyweight fight and it was a four quarter battle."
 
The night didn't start as planned for Columbus State (16-4, 10-3 PBC) as Clayton State jumped out to an 11-2 edge. The Lady Cougars made just one of their first eight shots from the floor.
 
Following a CSU timeout, the Lady Cougars composed themselves and answered back with a 7-0 run. Ashley Johnson and Eryn Cochran each got on the board before Gabby Williams knocked down her only three of the night.
 
Clayton State (16-4, 10-3) went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to stop the run, but Williams picked up two straight baskets to give the Lady Cougars their first lead.
 
The two sides went back and forth over the duration of the quarter and a late bucket gave the Lakers a 21-20 edge after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Lakers held the lead for the majority of the second quarter, leading 35-30 with two minutes until halftime. Ashley Asouzu cleaned up her own miss and started a 7-0 spurt for CSU.
 
Williams converted on a three-point play with under 30 seconds to go and Michelle Mitchell canned a jumper at the horn to push Columbus State in front 37-35 at the break.
 
CSU continued to add onto its lead coming out of halftime stretching it out to seven behind two straight makes from Johnson. After two Clayton State free throws, the Lady Cougars poured in six straight to open up the first double digit lead of the game at 53-42.
 
Clayton State closed to within six in the fourth quarter, however Britteny Tatum connected from outside to stop all momentum. The Lady Cougars stayed comfortably in front the rest of the way on their way to the record-setting victory.
 
Mitchell led all scorers with 18 points, despite only four points in the first half. The senior added eight rebounds as well. Asouzu turned in a double-double performance with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Williams finished with 14, all in the first half.
 
Columbus State travels to Milledgeville, Ga. on Saturday for its second meeting of the season with Georgia College. The Lady Cougars defeated the Bobcats 62-52 on Jan. 9 in Columbus. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 as the Division II Basketball Game of the Week. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.