MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. - The Columbus State University women's basketball team shook off a slow start by going on a dominating 20-0 run late in the third quarter propelling the Lady Cougars to a 68-48 victory over Georgia College Wednesday evening. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Centennial Center in Milledgeville, Ga.

After its worst offensive half of the season, CSU (8-2, 2-1 PBC) went to work midway through the third. Down 35-29, LeeAysia Williamson stole a pass and laid it in to jumpstart the 20-0 spurt that lasted until the opening minute of the fourth quarter. The Lady Cougars held GC off the scoreboard for over eight minutes to take a 49-35 advantage early in the fourth. CSU closed the game on a 37-10 run to grab the 20-point victory.

"What a second half by the girls," commented head coach Matt Houser. "Give Georgia College credit. They slowed our pace down in the first half and tried to make us play their style, and it phased us for a little."

"I keep telling the team at practice to just focus on our game and things will start to pan out. If we focus on us, good things usually happen, and the second half is proof of that."

Behind a strong fourth quarter, Kaihla Carter scored a career-high 22 points. The senior was 8-for-14 from the floor with 12 of her points coming in the final 10 minutes. Williamson was in double figures once again with 14 while Jurnee Smith added 10. Aujana Dawkins fell a bucket shy of a double-double with eight points and tied a season-high in rebounds with 12. 

Despite hitting just seven of its first 28 shots, Columbus State shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) from the floor. CSU was 5-for-15 from beyond the arc and 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

Columbus State returns home on Saturday, Jan. 11 to host UNC Pembroke. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center.
 

Play-by-Play

First Half

Both teams got off to a slow start scoring only a combined 18 points in the opening quarter. Eboni Williams scored the opening bucket of the game before GC scored the next eight points to take an early lead. In spite of committing five turnovers in the first, CSU was able to go into the second down just 10-8 following a Chrisalyn Boston layup. The shots started to fall for Georgia College in the second as the Bobcats scored eight of the first 10 points of the quarter to go in front 18-11 at the 6:38 mark. CSU kept itself in the game from the charity stripe even though the shooting woes continued. Six straight free throws by the Lady Cougars made it a 20-18 game midway through the quarter, but Georgia College was able to hold off any rally to go into the break up 26-23.

Second Half

The game was shaping up to be a nailbiter early in the third with the two sides exchanging baskets. Following a GC layup that made it 35-29 with 6:16 showing on the clock, the Columbus State defense fueled one of the most dominating stretches of the season. From the 5:05 mark until the opening minute of the fourth quarter, CSU outscored Georgia College 20-0 to grab a 49-35 lead. Williamson had nine in the stretch while Smith added five, including a 3-pointer. CSU's defense forced eight turnovers in the six-plus minute run. Columbus State's lead continued to balloon to a game-high 27 points in the fourth after Carter nailed a trifecta. The three capped off a 37-4 scoring stretch for CSU. Over the second half, Columbus State shot 54 percent (20-for-37), including going 11-for-17 from the field in the third quarter.

 

Inside the Numbers

• Columbus State's 23 first-half points were a season-low for any half this season. • It was the third time this season CSU failed to score 30 or more points before halftime.  • The Lady Cougars forced 26 Georgia College turnovers while grabbing a season-high 17 steals. CSU entered the game 10th at the Division II level in steals per game.  • LeeAysia Williamson had six of the 17 steals for CSU. It's the most by any CSU player this season and is tied for the second-most by any player in the Peach Belt Conference.  • After setting a career-high in points last Saturday, Kaihla Carter did it again Wednesday night. Carter posted her first career 20-point game and is averaging 13.0 points per game in conference play this season. • It was the first time this year that Columbus State has won a game after trailing at the half. CSU was 0-2 previously.  • The Lady Cougars were 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Over the past five games, CSU is shooting 72.1 percent (62-for-86) at the line. CSU had three games in its first five that it failed to shoot over 50 percent from the charity stripe.  • Columbus State improves to 16-3 against Georgia College since the 2011-12 season.