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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – Shaking off its first loss of the season, the 19^th-ranked Columbus State University women's basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to pull away and defeat Armstrong State 79-60 on Monday night. The Peach Belt Conference contest was played inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
Alexis Carter turned in her seventh double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Keyrra Gillespie added 14 points and nine assists. Ashley Asouzu closed the night with 12 points and nine boards.
 
"I'm happy with the way we bounced back after a loss," head coach Anita Howard said. "Armstrong played us tough all night, but we responded well and took care of business."
 
Columbus State (10-1, 4-1 PBC) roared out of the gates to start the game. Up 4-2 with nearly three minutes off the clock, Carter got her first bucket of the game and started a 13-0 CSU run. Carter and Gillespie combined for nine of the 13.
 
Armstrong State (6-8, 2-3) had an answer though, scoring the final eight points of the quarter to trail just 15-10 after the first 10 minutes.
 
The game stayed close until just before the half, when CSU's offense asserted itself once again. Gabby Williams buried the first of her two threes and Gillespie laid one home just before the buzzer sounded to close out a 7-0 Columbus State run that made it 37-25 at the break.
 
Like in the first quarter, the Pirates had an answer. Armstrong clawed its way back to within five (52-47) in the final minute of the third right before CSU would put it away for good.
 
Gillespie again beat the horn, which this time started a run of 16 unanswered Lady Cougar points. Carter scored eight of the final 10 points during the spurt that pushed CSU out to its largest lead of the night at 70-49.
 
The Lady Cougars would coast from there, extending the lead to as much as 25 before getting the 19-point victory.
 
CSU shot 47.7 (31-of-65) percent for the game, its second-best total of the season. The Lady Cougars dominated the paint, outscoring the Pirates 46-22.
 
Armstrong State ended at 32.8 percent (20-for-61) and 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) from three.
 
Columbus State will now begin a run of three straight road games, starting with a trip to Young Harris on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.