PENSACOLA, Fla. - A dominating third quarter pushed the Columbus State University women's basketball team to an impressive 73-55 road win over West Florida. The non conference game was played Wednesday afternoon at the UWF Field House in Pensacola, Fla.
Up 30-28 at halftime, Columbus State put together their best defensive quarter of the season. West Florida was held scoreless for the first 6:21 of the third, eventually finishing with only six total points over the 10-minute stretch. The Lady Cougars rained four 3-pointers in the period helping them to bust the game open as they took a 20-point lead into the fourth.
"I was extremely proud of this group and the way we fought this afternoon," stated head coach Matt Houser. "You can't ever take a team like West Florida lightly and we came into their gym and put up 73 points. Give credit to our defense, especially in that third quarter where our girls really got after it."
LeeAysia Williamson led CSU in scoring with 16 points to go along with four steals, while Chrisalyn Boston and Jurnee Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points respectively. In total, 11 different players ended up putting their mark in the scoresheet for the Lady Cougars.
As a team, Columbus State shot 40.2 percent (25-for-62) from the field, while hitting seven 3-point attempts. At the free throw line the Lady Cougars finished 16-for-26.
Columbus State will have a two-week break as they won't be back in action until December 18 to take on USC Aiken. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C.
| Play-by-Play |
| First Half |
| Columbus State got off to a hot start shooting 53 percent from the field in the opening quarter. A UWF jumper gave the Argonauts a 6-4 lead with 6:48 left in the first, but from there the Lady Cougars clamped down defensively holding West Florida to just two points over the next 5:30 minutes of play. Williamson and Eboni Williams each scored four points in the 12-2 run to give CSU a 16-8 lead. West Florida would open the second quarter with back-to-back threes, eventually taking a 24-23 lead with 5:14 left. But CSU answered and finished the half with a Taya Gibson layup to give them the two-point lead heading into the break. |
| Second Half |
| CSU locked in defensively with their best quarter of the season forcing the Argonauts into difficult shots to open the second half. West Florida was held scoreless for the first 6:21 of the third, going 0-for-9 from the field. Meanwhile, the Lady Cougars found their stroke from distance as they drilled four 3-pointers in the quarter. Columbus State scored the first 14 points of the third, eventually busting the game open to a 20-point advantage thanks to a Williamson three as the buzzer sounded. UWF tried to crawl back into the game with an 8-2 run to open the fourth, but two layups and a three from Valeria Merlos brought the lead comfortably back up to 18. |
| Inside the Numbers |
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• Columbus State (5-1) handed West Florida their fourth consecutive loss, and first home loss of the season.
• The 16 made free throws for CSU were a season high.
• The Lady Cougars received a contribution of 29 points off the bench, outscoring the Argonauts bench 29-7.
• West Florida scored just six points in the third quarter, the lowest that CSU has allowed in a quarter this season.
• The 13 turnovers for Columbus State also represent a new season low.
• Jurnee Smith reached double figures for the second time in her career, tallying 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
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